Paris in December?

[beebee]

Uniworld offers a Parisian Winter Holiday cruise which goes roundtrip from Paris to Paris. I like the idea of using the riverboat as my hotel and getting to see some of the sights around Paris as you cruise as well as spending some time in Paris. From the description it sounded like you could easily get from the boat to the heart of Paris by using the metro system.

 

I have two questions.

 

1. Has anyone ever done this cruise?

 

2. Even more importantly, my husband is very hesitant about visiting Paris and the surrounding area in December. We generally like to travel during the warmer months. What are your thoughts about Paris in December? Would we be disappointed going at this time of year?

 

Thanks for any thoughts!

[4774Papa]

Uniworld offers a Parisian Winter Holiday cruise which goes roundtrip from Paris to Paris. I like the idea of using the riverboat as my hotel and getting to see some of the sights around Paris as you cruise as well as spending some time in Paris. From the description it sounded like you could easily get from the boat to the heart of Paris by using the metro system.

 

I have two questions.

 

1. Has anyone ever done this cruise?

 

2. Even more importantly, my husband is very hesitant about visiting Paris and the surrounding area in December. We generally like to travel during the warmer months. What are your thoughts about Paris in December? Would we be disappointed going at this time of year?

 

Thanks for any thoughts!

Paris is a wonderful city to visit any time of the year. Sorry, never done the cruise.

I will say that I would never spend good money going to Northern Europe in the Winter. We lived in Germany for four years and found touring in the Winter to be a chore. It is cold, the days are very short (Christmas time the sun goes down before 5PM) and it may snow.

 

Of course, I am from the South and don't care for cold weather. If you are planning three days at the Lourve, where you would be inside, that would be a great time to do that, with smaller crowds. If you go in December, take warm clothes.

[gdefazio]

Paris is Magical in December! The city is decorated for the holidays, but not over the top like in the states. The weather is cold and the days are short, but who cares....You're in Paris!

[suspaul]

You are so right gdefazio, Paris is magical during the holidays and any time of year for that matter, only my opinion. I was in Paris last December for a week (stayed in an apartment) and loved visiting the Christmas markets all over the city, lots of wonderful food, decorations and gifts. Don't forget to visit Bon Marche department store in Paris, the Christmas tree suspended from the stained glass domed roof is gorgeous.

[drcpa]

After some deliberation, we've decided to take the AMA Nuremberg to Amsterdam cruise that starts with 2 nights in Prague then on to the Amalegro.

We know it will be cold (and then some), but we decided to throw caution to the wind, take advantage of the winter river cruise sales, and celebrate

Christmas in Wurzburg and New Years in Amsterdam.

Our bedroom already looks like we're planning to scale Mt Everest with all the winter clothes and accoutrements.

We had a more traditional Holland America Iberian cruise scheduled for September of this year, but had to cancel due to a death in the family.

Our first reaction was to reschedule for that same time next year, but quite untraditional for us we decided "what the heck", life is too short as it is, and to just go for it.

I'm sure the winter cruises are not for everyone, maybe not even for us :), but we'd always wonder what we'd be missing.

[beebee]

I feel the way that you do and after looking at the itinerary and the tours for the trip I was looking at I was ready to also say "let's just do it"! Unfortunately, or not, I cannot convince my husband to give it a try. I will be looking for some type of review from you when you have gone on your cruise and will be interested to hear what you have to say about winter river cruising. Actually, if anyone reading this board has any comments about winter cruising I would love to hear them!