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PARIS

7 reasons why you should stay in Paris in August

For many, just the mention of the stifling heat and the influx of tourists that take over Paris in August is enough to make them want to leave the city and head for the beach - but Evie Burrows-Taylor argues that there are good reasons to stay in the city.

Published: 31 July 2018 16:58 CEST
Updated: 29 July 2022 09:53 CEST
7 reasons why you should stay in Paris in August
Photo: AFP

It’s standard practice for thousands of Parisians to leave the city in the summer, and some people even question the sanity of those who stay behind. 

Nevertheless, others consider August to be one of the best months for the French capital, with many (many) excellent reasons to revel in the joys of spending the last month of summer in the city.  

Here they are:

Extra space

While the obvious tourist spots remain busy with, well, tourists, large parts of the rest of the city are nearly empty as locals flee to the beaches.

Think of everything in Paris that you can’t do at other times of the year — get a seat on a terrace, get a seat on the Metro, find a bit of green space in a park… the list is endless. 

And in August you can do all these things – not to mention enjoy the empty roads for some stress free bike rides around the city. 

Paris plages and other events

During Paris plages, you can enjoy cool lawns, sun umbrellas, deckchairs and palm trees along the River Seine!

You can also take advantage of the (free) open-air swimming pools at Bassin de la Villette in the city’s 19th arrondissement. 

And even though it might not feel like the real thing, at least you’ve got absolutely no chance of getting attacked by a horrible jellyfish, like you might on the Riviera.

There’s also the open-air cinema at La Villette and Rock-en-Seine music festival, not to mention the joys of just spending evenings sat on café terraces.

Pace of life

The pace of life in Paris slows dramatically in August, because everyone is away, stress levels are reduced, the Parisians that are left smile at each other and have even been known to exchange small talk. 

Prime people watching

With the City of Light drawing people from everywhere in August you get a sample of the world’s cultures delivered to your doorstep. 

August is decidedly peak season for people watching.

The boss is gone

Some may complain about having to work while everyone else is away, but they miss the point.

In August, your boss is likely to be on beach, your colleagues too, so you can get away with doing pretty much ‘rien’! 

You can then go on holiday in September, missing the terrible month of la rentrée when all work restarts and the August holidaymakers are suffering from post-holiday blues/grumpiness.

Discover new places

So your usual haunts and boulangerie might be shut. Why not consider it an opportunity to find new places you wouldn’t have dreamed of going otherwise and discover some new favourite spots?

August is a great time to get out of your comfort zone and explore other parts of the city, or even just fully explore your own neighbourhood and try out a new boulangerie – you never know, its baguette might be better than your regular bakery.

New friendships

Similarly, it might be annoying that most of your good friends are gone, but this opens up a unique opportunity to hang out with some of the other “stayers” who you might not usually spend time with. 

You’ll learn pretty quickly who’s left in Paris, and if that means extending your circle of friends then embrace the chance and see the benefits of a revitalised friendship group come September. 

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TRAVEL NEWS

What’s the deal with passport stamping in France?

There are clear guidelines in place about who should have their passport stamped when they enter or leave France - but the letter of the law doesn't always seem to be applied on the ground. Here's what you need to know.

Published: 17 May 2024 14:24 CEST
What's the deal with passport stamping in France?

When you pass through a French border control post, officers will check your passport and – in some cases – stamp the date of your entry or exit of the country onto one of the blank pages in the booklet.

Although the system should be clear and simple, it becomes complicated when conflicting information is given on the ground.

Here’s what the rules say, and whether it’s really a problem if your passport is incorrectly stamped.

Who should be stamped?

The purpose of the date stamps for entry and exit is to calculate how long you have been in France, and therefore whether you have overstayed your allowed time – whether that is the time allowed by a short-stay Schengen visa or the visa-free 90-day allowance that certain non-EU nationals benefit from. 

Those people who are exempt from 90-day restrictions should therefore not have their passports stamped.

EU passport – people who have an EU passport should not have it stamped, because they have the right to unlimited stays due to EU freedom of movement.

Dual nationals – people who have passports of both EU and non-EU countries should not be stamped when they are travelling on their EU passport. However, because the passports of dual nationals are not ‘linked’, those travelling on their non-EU passports will be stamped, unless they have other proof of residency.

READ ALSO What are the rules for dual-nationals travelling in France?

French residents – the passports of non-EU citizens who have a residency permit in France (carte de séjour) should not be stamped, because they have the right to stay in France for as long as their permit is valid.

Visa holders – people who have a long-stay visa or a short-stay visitor visa should not be stamped, because they have the right to stay in France for as long as their visa is valid. 

Tourists/visitors – people making short visits to France who do not have a visa should be stamped, with the stamps keeping track of their 90-day allowance. Visitors from nationalities who do not benefit from the 90-day rule (eg Indians) are also stamped.

Travel practicalities

When crossing a French border, you should present your passport along with other documents – visa or carte de séjour – if relevant. Don’t wait for border guards to ask whether you are a resident.

It should be noted that the carte de séjour is not a travel document and cannot be used to cross borders, not even internal Schengen zone borders. The only valid travel documents for entering France are a passport or national ID card. Any other forms of ID – driving licence, residency card etc – cannot be used for travel purposes.

Border problems

While the rules on stamping are simple in theory, many readers of The Local have reported having their passports incorrectly stamped at the border, and this seems to be a particular problem for non-EU nationals who are resident in France.

Travellers are also often given incorrect information by border guards – for example being told that only holders of the post-Brexit Article 50 TUE carte de séjour are exempt from stamping, that all non-EU nationals must have their passports stamped or that only being married to a French national exempts you from stamping.

None of these are correct.

It’s also sometimes the case that people whose passports should be stamped – tourists, visitors and second-home owners who don’t have a visa – do not receive the stamp. For frequent visitors this can be a problem because it looks as though they have had a long stay in France, due to their exit not being recorded.

The system of stamping itself is also a bit haphazard with stamps scattered throughout the passport book in random order, so border guards sometimes make mistakes and miss an entry or exit stamp and therefore think that people have overstayed when they haven’t.

So how much of a problem actually is it if your passport is wrongly stamped?

It’s one thing to know the rules yourself, it’s quite another to have an argument with a border guard, in French, when a long queue is building behind you. Numerous Local readers have reported feeling that they had no choice but to accept a stamp when an implacable guard insisted upon it.

But is this really a problem?

One thing is clear – if you are a resident of France then you have the right to re-enter, and your proof of residency (visa or carte de séjour) takes precedence over any passport stamps. So it’s not a question of being barred from the country – it can, however, be inconvenient as it might lead to delays at the border while your passport record is queried.

Meanwhile people who did not receive correct exit stamps can be incorrectly told that they have over-stayed and even be liable for a fine. 

Will the new EES passport control system improve this?

Theoretically, the EU’s new Entry & Exit System – which does away with the manual stamping of passports – should get rid of these problems.

However, as we have seen, theory and what actually happens on the ground are two different things.

The EES system, due to come into effect later this year, brings in two main changes – it makes passport checks more secure by adding diometric data such as fingerprints and facial scans and it does away with manual stamping of passports and replaces it with scans which automatically calculate how long people have been in France.

You can read full details of how it works HERE. 

So that should eliminate the problems of unclear stamps, stamps being read wrongly or passports not getting the stamps they need.

Residents in France – carte de séjour and visa holders – are not required to complete EES checks and should have a separate system at ports, airports and railway terminals.

However, at present it’s pretty common for border guards to give incorrect information to non-EU residents who are resident in the EU – let’s hope that they are properly briefed before EES is deployed.

Have you had problems with passports being incorrectly stamped? Please share your experiences in the comments section below

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