From caves to catacombs, lakes to France’s coldest village – if you’re not a fan of the heat, here are 6 places you can go to stay cool this summer.
With another long, hot summer forecast for France you might be looking to avoid the sun – so here is our pick of the places to visit that promise not to be too sweltering:
Go to the beach in Brittany or Normandy
France’s west coast is notorious for getting lots of rain throughout the year, but it is also known for moderate summers that – usually – don’t get too hot.
Although both Brittany and Normandy have already been placed on alert for heatwaves this year, they remain cooler than much of the rest of the country – outside of heatwave periods, temperatures in the summer typically stay around 25C.
Go surfing off of Brittany’s largest island Belle-Île-en-Mer or sunbathe in Saint-Malo.
While not in Brittany or Normandy, you could also venture further up the coast to northern France for Le Touquet in the Pas-de-Calais département. Escape the heat by walking along the cliffs at the nearby Parc naturel régional des caps et marais d’Opale.
Head for the Alps
The Alps are not just for winter sports.
Well-connected by train, you can easily take a trip to the mountains to enjoy the cooler temperatures, mountain breezes and lovely views filled with colourful wildflowers.
As well as hiking, you can also enjoy rafting or biking. If you’re not as sporty, you can still enjoy the mountaintop by taking the year-round ski lift up the mountain.
The pretty town of Chamonix is also well worth a visit.
Visit the prehistoric caves in Dordogne
Down in southern France it gets quite hot in the summer, but there are still plenty of cool options for the scorching days.
Dordogne is home to several prehistoric caves, which in summer are a great place to escape the heat. You can also see the reconstruction of the original Lascaux cave, known for its cave art and referred to as the ‘Sistine chapel of prehistory’ with some of the earliest known artworks created by humanity.
In the Vézére Valley several of the caves have made the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites.
The cave of Lascaux is a system of caves in Dordogne (France) where they have discovered significant samples of the cave and paleolithic art, dated 17,000 or 18,600 years ago (Magdalenian period) according to the analysis of a rod of reindeer antler. pic.twitter.com/MvzCdJ0uuM
— Archaeology & Art (@archaeologyart) May 30, 2022
Caves in general are a good bet on a hot day – if you go to the Roquefort caves in Aveyron it’s nice and cool and you can witness the famous Roquefort cheese maturing in the natural cave system (and taste it, naturally).
Visit France’s ‘coolest’ village
Famous for having the coldest recorded temperature in France, Mouthe is located in the Doubs département, which is in Eastern France along the Jura mountains.
The reason Mouthe stays so cold is because of its altitude – it is at 930m above sea level. That makes for some bracing winters, but it’s also a great place to visit during a heatwave.
Enjoy the village, go hiking in the surrounding countryside, or take a day trip into Switzerland which is just over the border.
READ MORE: Why is Mouthe the ‘coldest village in France’?
Float on the lake in Annecy
Known as the “Venice of the Alps,” Annecy is located in the mountains, so it also has a higher elevation, which helps keep it comparatively cooler in the summer months.
Annecy is mostly known for its sparkling blue lake that is clean enough to swim in – the water typically stays at around 22 to 24C – but it also has a highly picturesque town centre and the local vin jaune is worth sampling.
Visit the kingdom of the dead
If you’re in Paris and don’t have the time or the funds for a trip out of the city, there are still cooler places to go.
The city’s museums are often air conditioned while the churches offer cool indoor spaces, but for something a little different why not visit the Catacombes?
The temperature in the network of limestone passages underneath Paris stays at around 14C all year round – considerably cooler than the city in summer. There’s also the ‘chills’ imparted by the inhabitants of the Catacombes – thousands of skeletons dug up from the city’s cemeteries and arranged into interesting patterns.
The Catacombes also provide a fascinating snapshot of the history of Paris.
