What to Do in Paris When It Rains: Passages, Museums, Tea Rooms

Galerie Vivienne in Paris, with glass roofs, a mosaic floor, hanging lanterns and an old bookshop's tables of books and postcards where two arcades meet

The short answer: walk the 19th-century covered passages around the Grands Boulevards, spend the afternoon in a small artist's house such as the Musée Gustave Moreau or the Musée de la Vie Romantique, and finish with tea or hot chocolate. If it's a Saturday, Sunday or Monday, go to the covered halls of the Saint-Ouen flea market instead. Paris gets rain on about one day in three in late autumn, but usually not much of it, so a wet day is worth planning for, not writing off.

How rainy is Paris?

Short answer: often, but lightly. Plan on some rain if you're visiting between autumn and winter.

MonthDays with at least 1 mm of rainTotal rainSun hours
October9.555 mm119
November10.454 mm70
December11.462 mm57
January9.948 mm59
February9.142 mm84

These are 1991 to 2020 averages for the Paris-Montsouris station. In November, that works out to about 5 mm on a typical rainy day: enough to soak your shoes, rarely enough to stop you walking. Bring waterproof shoes and a small umbrella, and save the outdoor sights for the dry hours.

Which covered passages should you walk in Paris?

Short answer: the chain from Galerie Vivienne to Passage Verdeau, which keeps you under glass for most of a morning. Entry is free. Shops keep their own hours, so go after 10am.

PassageHoursWhy go
Galerie VivienneDaily, 8:30am to 8pmMosaic floors, a glass roof, an antiquarian bookshop, a tea room and a wine shop. Start here if you love old shopfronts
Galerie ColbertMonday to Saturday, 8am to 8pmNext door, with a glass-roofed rotunda and a café. Restored from 2022 to 2025. Home to France's art history institute, so it's quieter
Passage des PanoramasDaily, 6am to midnightParis's first covered passage, from about 1799. Stamp and postcard dealers, the Stern engraver's old shopfront, and the Théâtre des Variétés attached to it
Passage JouffroyDaily, 7am to 9:30pmThe first built entirely of iron and glass, with toy shops, bookshops and the Hôtel Chopin. The Musée Grévin's exit opens here
Passage Verdeau7:30am to 9pm on weekdays, to 8:30pm on weekendsA high herringbone glass roof and antique dealers, close to the Drouot auction house. If you collect anything, linger here
Passage du Grand-CerfMonday to Saturday, 8:30am to 8:30pmAt nearly 12 meters, the tallest of them, with designers and craft workshops. A short detour, closed on Sundays

The last four are close together. Panoramas and Jouffroy face each other across Boulevard Montmartre, and Verdeau picks up across rue de la Grange-Batelière, so you only cross two streets. Many restaurants in Panoramas close in the late afternoon and reopen for dinner, so plan lunch around that.

Is the Saint-Ouen flea market covered?

Short answer: partly. Stick to the covered markets and you'll stay mostly dry, though you'll get wet walking between them.

The market is open Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 6pm, and Monday from 11am to 5pm, year-round. Friday mornings are partial and mainly for professionals, and many shops stay closed on Mondays. Take metro line 4 to Porte de Clignancourt, line 13 to Garibaldi, or line 14 to Saint-Ouen.

  • Marché Dauphine (132 to 140 rue des Rosiers). The safest bet in the rain. It's fully indoors, and its own site promises you'll stay dry. Two floors of posters, photography, maps, comics, vinyl and old books, so go here if you like paper and records. The upper floor is reached by stairs.
  • Marché Vernaison. Narrow covered alleys, and more of a maze. Good for vintage jewelry, old postcards and small things you can actually carry home.
  • Marché Serpette. Mostly 20th-century French design: lighting, tubular chairs, the occasional signed piece.
  • Marché Biron. The formal one, with high-end furniture, chandeliers and sculpture.
  • Marché Paul Bert. Art Deco, industrial pieces and salvage, but it has outdoor sections, so it's the one to skip if it's pouring.

Where to eat. La Chope des Puces (122 rue des Rosiers) is a bistro with gypsy jazz concerts on weekend afternoons, and it's open Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 8pm. Reviewers say it fills quickly, so go early. Check older guides against the market's own directory: when we checked, it listed Ma Cocotte as temporarily closed, and Le Picolo and Markotte as closed.

Which smaller museums are best on a rainy day?

Short answer: artists' houses and private collections, where a couple of hours feels like enough and the crowd is smaller than at the big museums, which can get very busy in bad weather.

  • Musée Gustave Moreau (14 rue de La Rochefoucauld). The Symbolist painter's home and studios, kept as they were, with canvases hung close together and a spiral staircase people come just to photograph. Open 10am to 6pm, closed on Tuesdays. Listings show a full price of 7 or 8 euros. If you love strange, jewel-like mythological painting, this is the one.
  • Musée de la Vie Romantique (16 rue Chaptal). A small house near Pigalle devoted to the Romantic movement, reopened on February 14, 2026, after 17 months of work. The permanent collection is free. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm.
  • Musée Jacquemart-André (158 boulevard Haussmann). A grand private mansion, and the one open latest: until 10pm on Fridays, 7pm on weekends and 6pm on other days. Timeless Tintoretto runs from September 11, 2026 to January 24, 2027. Book ahead for that.
  • Musée Cognacq-Jay (8 rue Elzévir). 18th-century paintings and sculpture in the Marais, in one founder's collection. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm, and listed as free entry.
  • Maison de Victor Hugo (Place des Vosges). The writer's apartment, reached along the square's arcades. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm. Listings conflict on whether entry is free, so check first.

Know the closing days before you go: Moreau closes on Tuesdays, and Vie Romantique, Cognacq-Jay and Victor Hugo close on Mondays. Jacquemart-André is open daily.

Where can you get tea or hot chocolate in Paris in the rain?

Short answer: match it to where you already are, because crossing the city in the rain defeats the point.

  • Near the Louvre: Angelina (226 rue de Rivoli). The historic tea room, known for its hot chocolate and Mont-Blanc. For a proper meal nearby, see where to eat near the Louvre.
  • In the Marais: Mariage Frères (30 rue du Bourg-Tibourg). If you take tea seriously, this is your stop: a tea house founded in 1854. The official site lists the tea room from noon to 7pm, and the shop from 10:30am to 7:30pm.
  • In Galerie Vivienne: A Priori Thé (35 Galerie Vivienne). A long-running tea room in the passage itself. An undated listing shows noon to 6pm, so call ahead (01 42 97 48 75).
  • At Vie Romantique: Rose Bakery. The tea room sits in the museum's greenhouse, and is listed as open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5:30pm.
  • At Jacquemart-André: Le Nélie. The museum's restaurant and tea room, for a long stop after the show.

What's a good rainy day route in Paris?

Short answer: passages in the morning, a bistro at lunch, two small museums in the afternoon. It works from Wednesday to Saturday. On Sunday, you'll miss Galerie Colbert and may find fewer shops open.

  1. 10am, Galerie Vivienne and Galerie Colbert. Start at Bourse (line 3). Walk both, and take a coffee if the rotunda café is open.
  2. 11am, Passage des Panoramas. It's about a five-minute walk north, and this is the one stretch with no roof.
  3. 11:30am, Passage Jouffroy, then Passage Verdeau. Cross Boulevard Montmartre, then rue de la Grange-Batelière.
  4. 12pm, lunch at Bouillon Chartier (7 rue du Faubourg Montmartre). An old-school Paris canteen, open daily from 11:30am to midnight, with no reservations. It's around the corner, and getting there before the lunch rush matters more on a wet day.
  5. 2pm, Musée Gustave Moreau. Allow 12 to 15 minutes on foot, heading uphill, or take a short taxi.
  6. 3:30pm, Musée de la Vie Romantique. About five minutes away. See the collection, then have tea at Rose Bakery before it closes.
  7. Evening. If it's Friday, Jacquemart-André is open until 10pm. Otherwise, book dinner from our list of the best restaurants in Paris.

On a weekend or Monday? Swap the morning for Saint-Ouen. Start at Marché Dauphine at opening time, then have lunch at La Chope des Puces on a weekend, and head back to the passages in the afternoon.

In December? Our Christmas in Paris guide covers the department store displays and the Grand Palais rink, both under glass.

FAQ

Are Paris's covered passages open on Sundays?

Galerie Vivienne, Passage des Panoramas, Passage Jouffroy and Passage Verdeau are listed as open daily. Galerie Colbert and Passage du Grand-Cerf close on Sundays. Many individual shops also close on Sundays.

Is the Saint-Ouen flea market open when it rains?

Yes. It's open every weekend of the year, including public holidays. Marché Dauphine is fully indoors, and Vernaison, Serpette and Biron are described as covered. Paul Bert has outdoor sections.

Which Paris museums are free on a rainy day?

The permanent collection at the Musée de la Vie Romantique is free, and the Musée Cognacq-Jay is listed as free entry. Temporary shows can cost extra, so check before you go.

Which small Paris museum is open late?

Musée Jacquemart-André stays open until 10pm on Fridays and 7pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

How many rainy days does Paris get in November?

About 10, with roughly 54 mm of rain across the month, based on 1991 to 2020 averages at Paris-Montsouris.

Sources

Cover photo: Benh Lieu Song, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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