Discover the 13 Best Places to See Fall Foliage in Paris

Other Attractions near Luxembourg Garden

• The Pantheon - Where French heroes (including American-born French citizen Josephine Baker for her contributions to the Résistance during World War II)
• Musée Zadkine  - One of my favorite small Paris museums; free admission
• Cluny Museum - Medieval treasures (including the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries) and Roman artifacts and baths; free admission with a Paris Museum Pass

Where to Eat and Drink near Luxembourg Garden

• Angelina (19 Rue de Vaugirard) - Rich hot chocolate, pastries

Where to Stay near Luxembourg Garden

• Bonsoir Madame 
• Hotel de l'Abbaye Saint-Germain
• Hotel Michelet Odeon

Best Places to See the Fall Foliage Framing the Eiffel Tower: Passy Cemetery

You can find a lot of locations near the Eiffel Tower where you can enjoy wonderful views framed by fall foliage, such as the Trocadéro Gardens (Jardins de Trocadéro), Champ de Mars, or even the end of Rue Université that's closest to the tower.

One of my favorites, though, is the leafy Passy Cemetery (Cimetière de Passy), located next to Place de Trocadéro but on slightly higher ground.  The cemetery's trees perfectly frame the tower and the graves add an extra interesting dimension.

Plus, you can wander toward the back of the cemetery and enjoy even more fall foliage as you pass through the tree-lined lanes.  If you happen to visit on All Saints Day or even 2-3 days later, you'll see lovely pots of mums and other brightly-hued flowers left on graves to honor the Dead.

Other Attractions near Passy Cemetery

• The Eiffel Tower - Almost directly across the Seine
• Closest to the cemetery:  Musée National de la Marine de Paris (Naval history and maritime museum), Musee de l'Homme (anthropology), Cité de l'Architecture et de Patrimoine (museum with scale models of the great cathedrals of France, among other things) and Aquarium de Paris (one of my daughters' favorite Paris attractions when they were kids and teens); free admission to all except the aquarium with a Paris Museum Pass
• A Bit Farther (8-10 minutes on foot): Musee Guimet (Asian art; considered the best in Europe), Palais de Tokyo (contemporary art), Palais Galliera (fashion), Musee d'Art Moderne de Paris (modern art; free admission to permanent collections, small fee for temporary exhibitions), Musee Yves Saint Laurent (devoted to the late fashion designer)

Where to Eat and Drink near Passy Cemetery

• Girafe - 1 Place de Trocadero/Avenue de President Wilson - Direct Eiffel Tower Views; expensive; reservations necessary
• Cafe Kleber - Place de Trocadero, & all the other cafes around the plaza - touristy, reasonably good food

Where to Stay near Passy Cemetery

All of these hotels offer Eiffel Tower views from some guestrooms

• Canopy by Hilton Paris Eiffel Tower
• Plaza Tour Eiffel
• Eiffel Trocadero

Where to See Fall Foliage along the Seine River

Here are 6 different enjoyable ways to see the fall foliage along the Seine River:

1.  Stroll along the lower banks of the river just above water level

2.  Look down (or across) from the upper banks by peering between the bouquinistes' (booksellers') dark green kiosks

3.  Stand on any of the many bridges spanning the river

4.  Take a Seine River cruise - daytime is best in order to see the foliage

5.  Look down from a rooftop terrace (my favorite is at Institut du Monde Arabe, which you can access for free and enjoy the views while sipping mint tea and savoring North African pastries

6.  Pack cheese, fruit, and a beverage and head to Square de Vert Galant at the western tip of Ile de la Cité to enjoy a picnic along with fantastic autumn foliage and water views.  Since the ground is often damp here because it's so close to the water level, you should bring a small blanket or cloth to sit on; look for inexpensive options such as a small cotton tablecloth as a larger Monoprix

Favorite Seine River Cruises

• Batobus - This hop-on hop-off river bus is one of my favorite ways to see the fall foliage along the river is from the hop-on hop-off Batobus because you can get off at any or all of the 9 stops and explore the surrounding neighborhoods
• Lunch cruises  - You enjoy beautiful views and a delicious meal - this is also one of my favorite rainy-day activities, although the foliage views are more subdued
• 1-hour Seine River cruises - Hop on the boat right before sunset for a relaxing and memorable experience.

Fall Foliage & Fall Flowers in Jardin des Plantes

The Jardin des Plantes dates back to 1635 and began as a royal medicinal garden for King Louis III (whose mom, by the way, was Marie de' Medici, creator of Luxembourg Garden, and whose son, Louis XIV, transformed a hunting lodge outside of Paris into the dazzling Palace of Versailles). 

But back to the Jardin des Plantes.  Today, it is the main botanical garden in France and is part of the Sorbonne University.  The "garden" is actually a sprawling area covering about 60 acres (28 hectares) and containing over 10,000 botanical species in 11 distinct habitat areas including four gorgeous early-19th greenhouses, plus a small menagerie and several museums related to academic research.

The area where you'll see the best displays of fall foliage, however, is a large 6-acre (2.5 hectares) formal French garden spanning almost the entire length of the entire Jardin. 

Surrounded by a backdrop of trees and high hedges, the planting beds contain an ever-changing display of spectacular blooms from bulbs, perennials, ornamental grasses, and shrubs of various sizes. 

The garden displays an ever-changing tapestry of color and forms from spring when daffodils and tulips steal the show through early December when the deep hues of autumn announce the end of the blooming season.

Although I love this garden throughout the blooming season, fall is my favorite time for a leisurely stroll, thanks to the brilliant colors of dahlias combined with other flowers and foliage plants, some of which become quite huge.

Other Attractions in and near Jardin des Plantes

• Within Jardin des Plantes, the Gallery of Evolution (a natural history museum famous for its large giraffes), the menagerie, and museum displays at several of the other research institutes are huge favorites of kids and families; during winter months, giant outdoor "illuminations" in the formal garden and the annual "1001 Orchids" show in the greenhouses in February; admission fees apply
• The Grande Mosquée des Paris - Visit the mosque's beautiful interior garden or just stop by the tea room to enjoy hot mint tea and Tunisian pastries
• Arenes de Lutece - a 1st century AD Roman arena, accidentally buried and forgotten for centuries and then re-discovered during a street excavation - one of my own favorite hidden Paris attractions

Where to Stay near Jardin des Plantes

I love staying in the part of the Latin Quarter near Jardin des Plantes, and have especially enjoyed recent stays at Hôtel Pilgrim and Hotel Monge. 

Other excellent choices at various budget points in this area include Off Paris Seine (a floating hotel on the river), Hotel Orphée, Le Jardin de Verre (serviced apartments and hugely popular so book far ahead), Hotel Saint-Christophe, and Hotel des Arenes (book a room with a view of the Arena).

Where to Eat near Jardin des Plantes

A few nearby Latin Quarter favorites include Restaurant la Mosquée de Paris (wonderful couscous, tangines, and other North African dishes), Hugo & Co on Rue Monge (contemporary gastro-bistro cuisine; owner/chef Tomy Gousset has a Michelin star for another restaurant, although this one is my favorite), and Flocon on Rue Mouffetard (another of my favorite chef/owner gastro-bistros). 

Reservations are usually necessary for all three of these, although if you are a solo traveler, you can sometimes get a last-minute spot at the counter at Hugo & Co and Flocon.

You can also find lots of casual places where you can almost always walk in (or get carryout) along the nearby Rue Mouffetard food street (south of Place de la Contrescarpe; very popular with Latin Quarter students) and some of the side streets that branch off from it such as Rue du Pot de Fer. 

Best Places to See Fall Foliage around Montmartre and Sacre Coeur

Thanks to its hills - some gently rolling, others quite steep - and many trees and even vine-covered walls, Montmartre is one of the best neighborhoods in Paris for seeing the vivid golds and oranges of fall foliage set against scenic backgrounds.

Not surprisingly, you can find some of the best scenes from the viewing platforms at the top of the hill surrounding Sacre Coeur (take the funicular up the hill from Rue Tardieu, unless you want to climb up the 222 stops to the top).

Another source of fall color comes from baskets overflowing with vegetables and fruits from the fall harvest along the Rue des Abbesses market street. 

To spot the best fall foliage from Rue des Abbesses, look up the side streets along the north side to see foliage on the hills above.  For example, if you look up Rue Tholozé, you'll spot the Blute-Fin windmill (also sometimes called the Moulin de la Galette), which Van Gogh featured in several paintings when he and his brother lived in Montmartre in the mid-1880s.

Of course, back when Van Gogh painted the windmill, it was on the edge of the countryside which is no longer true, but the trees give the illusion that it's surrounded by nature rather than shops and apartments.

To find more scenic autumn views, walk up Rue Lepic from Rue des Abbesses, and detour along the side streets wherever your feet choose to take you. 

Eventually, Rue Lepic merges into Rue Norvins, which brings you to Place du Tertre, another scenic spot filled with artists.  Some of the artists (who are carefully vetted in order to get a spot here) are quite good.  An advantage to visiting during the fall is that crowds of tourists here are much smaller than during the summer so you can actually see their work.

Autumn Colors in the Jardin d'Acclimatation

Next to Fondation Louis Vuitton, one of Paris's premier exhibition spaces for modern and contemporary art, is where you'll find the historic 1860 Jardin d'Acclimatation, which today is both a beautiful place to stroll as well as the only children's amusement park within the city (my own daughters, now in their 20s, totally loved it when they were younger and, in fact, still do.)

Both FLV and the park are located in Bois de Bologne, former royal hunting grounds and one of the two tree-filled "forests" bookending the east and west sides of Paris.

If you're visiting during the fall with kids or teens, the park offers 40+ rides, a narrow-guage train, a small menagerie, and other amusements (but beware that the park will be packed during the Toussant fall school vacation weeks at the end of October/early December). 

Plan to be there for at least half a day because if your kids love it as much as mine did/do, there's no way they'll let you leave any sooner. 

However, if you're catching a show at LFV, you can simply walk through the back door to access the park for no additional cost, and enjoy all the beautiful scenic views during fall. 

In addition to woodland strolls along various paths with possible peacock sightings along the way, other highlights include a traditional Korean Garden, a gurgling brook, a pond where you can rent a small sailboat, and a charming recreation of a Normandy farm complete with animals.

Autumn Foliage in Parc Monceau

The trees at English-style Parc Monceau, located at the border of the 18th and 17th arrondissements, turn brilliant as the fall progresses.

The park dates back to the 1800s and still retains a few "follies" - replicas of famous architectural feats popular at that time - that were popular additions to parks and estates during that period.  Stroll around and you may spot a small Roman-style colonnade and even an Egyptian pyramid - unexpected focal points enhanced by the autumn colors.

Parc Monceau contains a wide variety of tree specimens, including some with leaves that change to bright red and brilliant orange during the early fall.  As October ends and November begins, trees with more mellow gold foliage dominates. 

Although some Paris visitors visit the park (which is quite close to the Arc de Triomphe), I mostly see locals who are there with their children or dogs.  There's a very popular playground and carousel for kids, and I can vouch for the deliciousness savoring a freshly-made crepe nutella at the little snack kiosk nearby.

If you visit, keep in mind that the park closes at sunset during most of the year, although it stays open a bit later during the summer. 

Other Attractions near Parc Monceau

The Arc de Triomphe, where you can get sweeping panoramic views of fall foliage from the rooftop terrace, is the closest famous Paris attraction to Parc Monceau, and you can easily walk to the park by going straight up Avenue Hoche from the Arc - about an 8-minute walk unless you dawdle along the way, which I always do. 

But even closer are three wonderful museums.  Musee Cernuschi (superb collection of Asian Art) and Musee Nissim de Camondo (one of my favorite house museums in the city, known for its collections of French furnishings and decor; closed for renovations until 2027) are next to the park, and Musee Jacquemart-André (another wonderful house museum) is 5-6 minutes away on foot.

Fall Foliage along Canal Saint Martin

The best time to see fall foliage along Canal Saint-Martin is to stop by right before sunset when light slants across the water from the west. 

Maybe because of their proximity to the water, the leaves on the trees along the canal tend to stay green for quite awhile.  During most years, they don't really start to change color until late October or early November when they fade to a light brown before turning a deeper russet. 

But when the setting sun hits them at just the right angle in later afternoon, they look redder than they actually are and make beautiful reflections in the water.

Although the Canal is a popular local destination in the summer, cooler fall weather makes it less appealing.  But if you're nearby in the Upper Marais or even in the Bastille/Goncourt neighborhood, stop by around sunset and enjoy the mellow autumn colors.

Best Places to See Fall Foliage: Pere Lachaise Cemetery

As the world's first "garden cemetery," it's not surprising the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in the 20th arrondissement boasts a multitude of magnificent trees, shrubs, and even flowering plants, and during the autumn, they all sport brilliant fall foliage - one of the many reasons along with the celebrity graves why this is also the world's most-visited necropolis, or "city of the dead."

You can easily spend hours here (which I have) exploring the winding lanes, rolling hills, and checking out the numerous unique tombstones which range from poignant and beautiful to macabre and, quite frankly, bizarre.

If you are visiting Paris during the fall and can possibly squeeze a visit to Pere Lachaise into your agenda, do it.  The autumn colors combined with the already beautiful combination of ornate graves in a naturalistic setting make it an unforgettable experience.

When is the best time to come in the fall, if your schedule offers you the luxury of choice?  I would try for All Saints Day (November 1) or on one of the following days when the flowers left on tombs by families make an already beautiful fall scene even more intense.

Autumn Color in Tuileries Garden

Golden fall foliage and colorful beds filled with fall flowers such as dahlias make Tuileries Garden a wonderful spot to stroll, relax, and enjoy the mellow vibe. 

The garden is directly to the west of Musee du Louvre, so you can easily visit the garden after a visit to the famous museum (be sure to book a Louvre ticket or tour in advance to avoid the long lines, especially if you want to see Da Vinci's Mona Lisa painting. 

Around mid-November, the Tuileries Marché de Noel, which is the city's most popular Christmas market, opens.  One of the market's top attractions is the gigantic ferris wheel. 

To get sweeping views of the fall foliage along with iconic sites including the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, and Sacre Coeur high on its Montmartre hill, queue to get a ticket for the ferris wheel.  Bonus points if you time your ride to coincide with sunset when the sinking sun casts a golden glow over every tree in the Paris.

Jardin du Tuileries Location

Location:  Directly west of the Musée du Louvre, and between Rue de Rivoli and the Seine River; at the western edge is Place de la Concorde

Other Top Attractions Nearby:  Musée de l'Orangerie (where you'll see Claude Monet's famous water lily paintings, and across the river, Musée d'Orsay, home to the world's best collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings

Autumn Foliage in Palais Royal Garden

One of my favorite places in central Paris to enjoy autumn foliage is Jardin du Palais Royal, the lush garden hidden behind the former palace, now occupied by France's Ministry of Culture.

In September, leaves on the magnolia and cherry trees that grace the garden with their exquisite blossoms on the earliest spring days are the first to change colors as their leaves begin to show tints of gold and crimson. By mid-to-late October, their branches may be bare.

Meanwhile, the long double rows of stately linden trees start showing the first hints of of yellow, orange, and amber.

As the season progresses, you'll see lots of hue variations among these trees as the leaves on some turn to a deep amber and then begin to drift to the ground while others retain golden and even green tones.

The foliage on numerous ever-blooming roses with long, arching canes reaching 10-12 feet in height also slowly fades to yellow and eventually drops off even as new blossoms continue to appear.

Where to Stay Near Palais Royal Garden

• Hotel Moliere - Highly-rated 4-star boutique hotel
• Hotel Montpelier - Popular budget-friendly choice
• Grand Hotel du Palais Royal - Luxurious 5-star hotel

Fall Foliage & Dahlias at Parc Floral

Parc Floral, another of Paris's four botanical gardens, is located in Bois de Vincennes, the other large woodlands on the city's eastern side. 

Like Bois de Boulogne, Bois de Vincennes is fast and easy to reach by metro, and is packed with additional attractions: a large zoo featuring naturalistic habitat, a large pagoda, an aquarium, a 12th-century castle that you can explore, a lake with row boats to rent, and a huge spring carnival with lots of amusements called Foire du Trone established in 957 by a 15-year old boy-king who wanted to have some fun. 

In addition to the thousands of trees throughout the park, Bois de Vincennes also has an arboretum containing wide variety of labeled species - so you can imagine the ever-changing display of spectacular foliage colors here during the fall months.

The best reason to visit during the fall, however, is the Parc Floral Dahlia Competition.  

Professional and amateur dahlia breeders from all over Europe plant their prize specimens here each year in a dazzling display of around 400 different varieties in shades of red, crimson, purple, fuchsia, cream, gold, and orange, as well as some multicolored flowers.

Thanks to the park's talented professional gardeners, the dahlias are arranged according to color, variety, and height in a tiered series of large beds connected by winding garden paths. 

Parc Floral's dahlia display starts each year in mid-August, competition prizes are awarded in mid-September, and the blooms continue through late fall/early winter.

Getting to Parc Floral

Parc Floral is located in the Bois de Vincennes in Paris's 12th arrondissement east of the Peripherique.  Several metro stations border the Bois, but the one you want is Chateau de Vincennes, located about a fifth a mile to the north. 

Once you reach the entrance to Bois de Vincennes, you'll see signs for Parc Floral.  Admission is free from October 1 - March 31, and €2.60 at other times.

Where to See Fall Foliage at Giverny

Autumn Foliage in Monet's Garden in Giverny

Although Impressionist painter Claude Monet's gardens in Giverny are beautiful at any time when they're open between late March/early April and late October/November 1, you could argue that they're most spectacular toward the end of their blooming season in fall when both flowers and foliage take on vivid autumn hues.

In the gardens closest to his house, you'll see a profusion of colorful dahlias, asters, and other flowers, and even a long border featuring mostly purple and lavender blooms and foliage. 

Even apple trees with branches hanging low due to the weight of the fruits add color.

Monet planted his gardens as inspirations for his canvases, starting by introducing a framework of Japanese maples with foliage that turns brilliant shades of crimson, gold, orange, and deep red in the fall around his water lily pond.

The water lilies continue to bloom in shades from the purest white to deep pink, and while the pads fade from the brilliant greens of spring and summer to autumnal hues of pale green and purple. 

You can see some of the same tones reflected in a couple of his water lily paintings at l'Orangerie in Paris.

If you've been wondering if Giverny is worth visiting during the fall, I hope my photos have convinced you that it is!

How to Get to Giverny from Paris

The easiest and fastest way to go to Giverny is to take one of the large group, small group, or private tours from Paris.

If you basically want just transportation plus a general overview about what you'll see once you arrive, the large-group tours are comfortable and affordable.  For a more personalized although pricier experience, choose a small-group or private tour.

This is my favorite small-group tour because you also get to see Giverny village and visit a graveyard with Monet's family tomb and a poignant memorial to seven British RAF airmen who died when their plane was shot down after the D-Day landings

You can also take the train from Paris's Gare Saint-Lazare station. This is a little more trouble and takes longer, but if you have the time, it is also the cheapest way to get there. 

You'll need to get to the Gare Saint-Lazare train station in the 8th arrondissement, and once you reach Vernon, the small town closest to the village of Giverny (which doesn't have its own station), you'll need to catch a shuttle, take a taxi, bike, or walk the final stretch.

Map Showing Fall Foliage Locations in Paris

This map shows the best places in Paris for viewing fall foliage including Bois de Boulogne (Jardin d'Acclimatation) on the city's western side and Bois de Vincennes (Park Floral) on the city's eastern side.  It does not include Giverny as it's located outside of Paris.

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