Paris, Rome and Barcelona in the summer heat: what to pack

The story

It’s three in the afternoon in Rome, and the thermometer on the pharmacy sign says 36 °C. You’ve been in the queue for St Peter’s Basilica for forty minutes, and just ahead of you a guard turns someone away: shorts above the knee and bare shoulders. You’re in shorts too, but you have a pair of light linen trousers rolled up in your bag, and a scarf. Two minutes in a corner and you’re through the door.

Outside again, you refill your bottle at one of the city’s little drinking fountains, which have been running cold water for more than a century. You’ve walked 22,000 steps today. Your sandals are the broken-in kind, and your feet are fine. Your friend’s new ones gave her a blister before lunch.

In Paris, the next week, the heat wave arrives with you. Your hotel is old and charming and has no air conditioning. You sleep with the windows open, which means you also sleep with the sounds of the street. The earplugs in your wash bag turn out to be the most valuable thing you packed. In the morning you visit museums, where it’s cool, and save the walking for the evening, when the city comes out along the river.

Barcelona is humid, with a sea breeze that makes the heat bearable. You swim at the city beach at seven in the evening, dry off in ten minutes, and walk to dinner in the same linen shirt. On the metro, your bag is the zipped, cross-body kind, and you keep it in front of you: pickpockets love summer crowds.

Europe’s cities in summer are easy to pack for if you think about three things: heat, a dress code at the church door, and a lot of walking.

What to pack

Pack light, breathable clothes and one outfit that covers shoulders and knees.

Clothes

• Linen or cotton shirts and dresses, loose and light in color.
• Shorts, plus light long trousers or a long skirt for churches.
• A light scarf to cover your shoulders: churches in all three cities ask for it, and St Peter’s and the Vatican Museums enforce it.
• A thin layer for air-conditioned trains and museums.
• A swimsuit for Barcelona’s beaches.

Shoes

• Broken-in walking sandals or sneakers. You’ll walk more than 20 km on some days.
• Blister plasters, just in case.

For the heat

• A hat, sunglasses and sunscreen.
• A refillable bottle. Rome, Paris and Barcelona all have public drinking fountains.
• Earplugs and a sleep mask, if your room has no air conditioning.
• A small fan or a cooling towel, if you really suffer in the heat.

For the crowds

• A cross-body bag with a zip, worn in front in the metro and in busy places.
• Tickets booked in advance for the big sights, which sell out in summer.

Documents, money and tech

• Passport or ID card, and train tickets between cities.
• A card: contactless works almost everywhere.
• A plug adapter if needed, and a power bank.

Good to know

• Weather: July and August usually bring about 20 to 32 °C (68 to 90 °F); heat waves can push past 35 °C (95 °F), especially in Rome.
• Dress codes: covered shoulders and knees for churches; St Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums check at the entrance.
• Plugs: type E in France, F and L in Italy, F in Spain, all 230 V. A Europlug (type C) adapter fits all three.
• Money: euro.
• Getting around: a high-speed train links Paris and Barcelona in about six and a half hours; between Barcelona and Rome, most people fly.
• Entry: all three countries are in the Schengen area. Non-EU visitors should check visa and travel authorization requirements.