Paris Shines in Summer

Few cities can even come close to Paris when it comes to cultural, artistic, and historic heritage. And few residents are as confident as Parisians in their expertise in good living. While that uniquely French joie de vivre can be enjoyed throughout the year, Paris kicks it into high gear in summer.

An old travel mantra tells you to avoid Paris in summer, when its citizens traditionally go on vacation. Sure, it's hard to schedule an appointment with a dentist or accountant…but when you're on vacation, who cares? It's the tourists' Paris that the tourist is looking for — and the Paris I'm after is in full swing in July and August.

For the benefit of Parisians who do stay in town — and the countless tourists who visit through the summer — France's ministry of culture sponsors plenty of action, including an entertaining Summer Festival for three weeks in July. Its diverse programs — dance, theater, concerts, acrobatics, and installations — take place all around the city, and many are outdoors and free.

During the summer, the Seine River — where the busy arterials that once lined it banks have been replaced with a green and inviting riverside park — is filled with life. Landscaped promenades, tailor-made for strolling and biking, rather than traffic jams, now line the river banks. I love spending a balmy summer evening just downstream from Notre-Dame, where there's an engaging people zone with an open-air art gallery, music, and salsa dancing.

Parisians have a habit of spilling onto the river's bridges and embankments to enjoy the early evening hours. It's the perfect time to share a simple picnic with friends. Join in — for the cost of groceries and a bottle of wine, you can enjoy a gourmet spread with ambience that no restaurant can touch.

If you'd rather toss a Frisbee than ponder the river's reflections, head to the one-mile stretch of the Right Bank (just north of Ile de la Cité) where the city government trucks in potted palm trees, hammocks, and lounge chairs to create colorful urban "beaches" in July and August. With climbing walls, "beach" cafés, stylish swimsuits on parade, volleyball courts, and trampolines, it's an ideal place to see Paris at play — and to play along with Paris.

July is also enlivened by two big events — first on the 14th, the country's national holiday, when Bastille Day is celebrated in towns big and small all over France. And Paris goes all out: There's a big parade down the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, concerts galore, and fireworks lighting up the sky over the Eiffel Tower. Later in July, the Tour de France culminates in the center of Paris, with cyclists crossing the finish line, with much fanfare, on the Champs-Elysées.

Summer also means sightseeing after dark: Some sights and museums — such as the Eiffel Tower — keep longer hours, and others host special summer-only events. In nearby Versailles, summer Saturday nights offer a cool array of gushing fountains, lighted displays, and fireworks. King Louis XIV had his engineers literally reroute a river to fuel his fountains and feed his plants. Even by today's standards, the fountains are impressive.

Paris' many lovely parks work overtime in summer as playgrounds for all ages. The sprawling Esplanade des Invalides is just right for afternoon lawn bowling (boules). Puppet shows, pony rides, rental toy sailboats, and a merry-go-round enliven the Luxembourg Garden. A temporary amusement park pops up at the Tuileries Garden, complete with a huge Ferris wheel. An open-air cinema at Parc de la Villette screens films in their original language with French subtitles on many summer nights (no charge if you sit on your own blanket).

While the big formal music venues such as the opera go on vacation in summer, the city keeps making music. The Paris Jazz Festival swings its hip beats among the spacious lawns and gardens of Parc Floral in July and August (and in early September the Jazz at La Villette enlivens Parc de la Villette). The city's many old churches do double-duty as venues for chamber-music concerts.

I like seeing the City of Light after dark, lacing together the iconic floodlight sights on a self-guided taxi tour, or on a boat cruise — or even by bike. While Paris is enthusiastically bike-friendly, for tourists, the easiest option is to join a bike tour (try Fat Tire Bikes). Seeing the Eiffel Tower sparkle in the night sky is an unforgettable way to cap any Parisian day.

Sure, summer in Paris requires patience and flexibility. It's peak tourist season, and it's hot. City buses are like rolling greenhouses. If you neglect to make advance reservations, you'll swelter in lines at the Eiffel Tower or Louvre. But for the thoughtful and well-prepared traveler, summer can be a fine time to enjoy such a great city so in love with life and expert at enjoying it.