Between All Saints' Day and the December rush, Paris allows itself four quieter weeks. The queues outside the major museums thin out, theatres sell out in the evening, and night falls so early that the city is lived mostly indoors: glass-roofed fairs, exhibitions, bistro counters.
November 2026 sets two dates already on the calendar, Paris Photo at the Grand Palais from the 12th to the 15th and the Beaujolais nouveau on Thursday the 19th, before the city turns toward the festive season in the closing days of the month. Here is what is confirmed, what still needs checking, and how to fit it all into a month where daylight counts double. If your stay falls earlier, our What to Do in Paris in October 2026 guide covers the preceding weeks.
A Quiet Season That Works in Your Favour
Average November temperatures in Paris hover around 11 to 12°C in the afternoon and 6 to 7°C in the early morning, with about ten days of rain spread across the month. Nothing like a harsh winter, but the days are genuinely short: by late November, night has fallen by around 5pm.
That is precisely what makes the month interesting. Tourist numbers dip between the All Saints' break and the Christmas rush: on weekdays, Paris's museums can be visited without the spring queues, and same-evening tables are still to be had. The month's only public holiday, Wednesday 11 November, marks the 1918 Armistice, with the traditional ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe at 11am.
Paris Photo and the Crafts of Luxury, Two Fairs Under the Same Glass Roof
The 29th edition of Paris Photo runs from Thursday 12 to Sunday 15 November 2026 at the Grand Palais, 3 avenue du Général Eisenhower in the 8th arrondissement, from 1pm to 8pm and until 7pm on Sunday. International galleries, publishers, rare prints: it is the season's major photography event in Paris, and a chance to see under one glass roof what is usually scattered across dozens of galleries. 2026 prices were not published at the time of writing, so check the official box office before you come.
A few days earlier, from 11 to 15 November, the same Grand Palais hosts Les DeuxMains du Luxe, devoted to the crafts of luxury: 32 luxury houses and around twenty schools and associations spread across seven themed worlds, from tableware to leather, jewellery to perfume. The two events overlap from the 12th to the 15th, enough to fill a whole day on avenue du Général Eisenhower.
A word for chocolate lovers: the Salon du Chocolat runs from 28 October to 1 November 2026 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, hall 5, from 10am to 7pm. Only Sunday 1 November falls in November, and it is the final day of the show. The month's other public fairs are detailed in our November fairs and shows guide.
On Thursday the 19th, Beaujolais Reopens the Bars
Beaujolais nouveau 2026 goes on sale at 12:01am on Thursday 19 November, under the third-Thursday-of-November rule in force since 1985. In Paris, the evening spills well beyond the winemaking ritual: chalkboards announcing the first cases, shared tables, wine shops staying open late. The 9th arrondissement and the Grands Boulevards have plenty of wine bars and small merchants, and our guide to the neighbourhood's restaurants and bars offers a few starting points. One simple tip: book ahead, even for a single glass.
Two Rugby Fixtures at the Stade de France
The Stade de France hosts two matches for the French national rugby team in November 2026: France against South Africa on Friday 13 November, then France against Argentina on Saturday 21 November. Kick-off times were not officially confirmed at the time of writing: the stadium's box office is the source to check, for times as well as tickets.
Exhibitions Already Settled in for Winter
November is a good time to catch the major autumn exhibitions: they have opened, the opening-week rush has died down, and they will run through to January or February. At the Musée d'Orsay, three shows run side by side: "Mary Cassatt, l'indépendante" (Mary Cassatt, the independent one) until 31 January 2027, "Jenny Holzer. J'ai vu" (Jenny Holzer. I have seen) until 21 February 2027, and "La Liberté éclairant le monde" (Liberty Enlightening the World), devoted to Bartholdi, until 31 January 2027. We covered the first in our article on the Mary Cassatt exhibition at the Musée d'Orsay.
At the Louvre, "Louvre Photo" opens on 4 November 2026 on the Mezzanine Napoléon and runs until 3 May 2027: more than 300 photographs that take the museum itself as both subject and source of inspiration, an unintended echo of Paris Photo week. The exhibitions that opened in September and October, on Zurbarán, seventeenth-century Spanish sculpture, and the affinities between Islamic and Western art, also remain on view in November.
On the opera side, an exhibition devoted to Wagner's Ring, "La Révolution du Ring" (The Ring Revolution), is announced at the Palais Garnier for this autumn, echoing the full cycle programmed this season. The information comes from secondary sources: dates, venue and availability should be confirmed on the Opéra national de Paris website.
The Centre Pompidou Remains Closed, Worth Knowing Before You Cross Paris
Beaubourg still appears in many guides and itineraries copied from one year to the next. Yet the Centre Pompidou has been closed to the public since 22 September 2025 for a complete renovation of the building, with reopening announced for 2030: no exhibition can be visited there in November 2026. The collections keep circulating outside its walls, in other institutions, through the Constellation programme. That is where to look to see modern art from the Pompidou this season.
