Winter in France

I often get asked by my guests when I’m guiding, ‘what is winter in France like’? Guiding is very seasonal, with my busiest months in May/June and September/October. And there is no surprise that the winter months are the quietest. Though not as quiet as you would think. And that’s because winter here is …

It Depends on Where

Of course what winter is like in France, like anywhere, really depends on where we are talking about. Head to the Alps, the mountains to the east of the country, for example and it will surprise no one that there is generally an anticipation of snow to be found. It’s where the ski areas abound, and as they hinge their livelihood on snow, you can expect to find some there.

The skiing season in France is typically from end of January until April. This may surprise some, that it is not in say November or December, but here in France overall winter doesn’t hit typically until January. Actually the 21st of December is considered the first day of winter, technically before this is autumn. And I can attest to this. I was picking raspberries in my garden until the end of November. Of course, these are late harvest raspberries, but even so November is still quite late. This autumn was particularly mild.

Elsewhere

It will come as no surprise that the north of France is colder than the south of France. (If you wish to read about the weather of different parts of the country, read my Weather in France write up.) But even with a noticeable difference between north and south, overall winter here is quite mild. Particularly compared to some other countries. And short. That’s one of the things I really love about living in France, how short winter is.

When I lived in the north of the US, winter draaaggggged. It took forever, so it seemed to me. It started at the beginning of November and ended sometime in April, slush abounding. That’s essentially 6 months, half the year! In the UK it was not too dissimilar a timeframe, except usually it was rain rather than snow (excepting when I lived in the Highlands of Scotland). Shift myself sideways to France and winter is more typically from mid-December into the beginnings of February.

Not Too Cold Please

For me, I adore the shortness of winter in France. Or rather I should say maybe shortness of cold temperatures. I don’t mind cold, or darker months, they are an opportunity to get inside projects done, to hibernate and recharge. But I prefer that in the scheme of a year, this only be a quarter or less of the year. And this means, to me, needing to have warmer temperatures so I can get all I wish to do done. Particularly as I like to garden, and live a good portion of my time outdoors. And then there is my restoration house, too. Hard to restore stuff if your fingers are freezing.

Typically, in the places I have lived here (middle-ish of the country), the cold starts in November, sometimes early on, or like this year, near the end of the month. The darker days certainly mean less warmth, no surprise there. And then I gleefully wait for the second week in January, when suddenly the days start to noticeably get longer and you can begin to feel spring coming. Sometimes, in a lucky year, the daffodils start to show their sunny faces at the end of the month. For me, this is a perfect winter.

Let it Snow

As I mentioned above, snow in the Alps can carry on well into April. But that’s the Alps. Elsewhere snow is far less tangible. In all the places I have lived in France the longest the snow lingering on the ground was 2 days, of about 2 cm (1 inch), and that was one time in over a decade. Snow does happen. We had some flakes 2 days ago, but it doesn’t stick around. And this again is perfection for me.

I love snow, to see, but not to walk or drive in. So I am happy to watch the fluffy flakes drift down but grateful they don’t stick. This of course means rain. If temperatures don’t stay cold enough to create snowflakes, then rain it is. So winter is normally (excepting 2024) the wettest time. Something to keep in mind if you visit France in this quiet season.