Summertime in Europe…
It sounds idyllic when you imagine the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean and the breezy seaside cafés… the refreshing spritzes and icy seafood platters…
In reality, summer in Europe comes with some big compromises that many North Americans aren’t prepared for.
We’re currently going through one of the earliest heat waves that’s been seen on record…
From Iberia to the U.K., and across into France, Germany, and Italy, we’ve all been baking under 95°+ temperatures since the end of May. Historically, we didn’t see this kind of brutal heat until August—mid-July at the earliest.
By then, we had time to adapt to the rising temperatures.
And it’s why Europe generally plans to be out of the cities and on the coast for August, when it usually gets too unbearable to be at home. (The August Exodus is its own summer challenge.)
The unpredictability of these temperatures that are hitting earlier and harder every year lately make it hard to live normal life…
Employees have been advised to work from home when they can, reducing the strain on public transport and office air conditioning.
Schools are forced to close early this week so that people aren’t out during the sun’s peak—in fact, school was mandated as completely optional this week if parents preferred to keep kids home. Since many families took the city up on this offer, classes have been suspended. My daughter’s class of 20 was reduced to 4 the last two days. End of school performances and parties have been banned. Air conditioners and fans were sent out from the mayor to every school in Paris. Water activities and nap times were imposed across all childcare facilities—it’s a great week to be a kid in Paris!
“Oases” have been set up on plazas and in parks all over, with fountains open to paddlers, sprinklers running, and tents up for shade.
Fans and air conditioning units are sold out from every outlet…
These 90°+ days might not sound so bad to the average American, but the difference is in the lifestyles. Throughout most of Europe, life is lived outside… people need to walk, bike, and use public transport.
In the States, life is lived almost entirely indoors, which is to say, climate controlled.
You go from your central air-conditioned house, to your air-conditioned car, to the air-conditioned store, to your air-conditioned office… etc. Here, you can’t count on that kind of seamless chilly air to be available wherever you go.
For days on end here, we’ve had the shutters closed and the fans on… Central air conditioning is extremely rare throughout most of Europe, and here in Paris it’s practically unheard of.
We have a portable air conditioning unit that we were forced to buy during the heat wave of 2019—which broke records at the time—a concession only made because I was pregnant. But it drives up the electricity bills so steeply that we hardly ever use it… maybe a few days each August in total, and only a few hours at a time and at night. This year, we’ve had it running for days at a time already (I dread the thought of our next bill).
During these extreme heat periods, we’re used to adapting. We don’t use the oven or stove. We keep all the lights off. We take a few cold showers a day, as needed. The kids play water games in the bath tub, filled with cold water.
You learn to cook in advance, and plan to eat foods that can be microwaved or enjoyed cold. We do a lot of salads, carpaccio, chicken salad, precooked taco fixins’, bruschetta… you get the idea. When we get desperate, it’s sushi and sandwiches on delivery.
We learn to live by the movement of the sun, opening and closing windows for cross breezes, making sure the sun never touches the interior.
Of course, in southern regions that are used to this kind of climate year-round, you can rely more on availability of air conditioning (though often it’s just split units, not central air).
Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, and Greece are all more likely to feel more accommodating, especially in new construction and in big cities that cater to big international crowds.
But this is the reality of living in the Old World… convenience versus charm.
If you can’t (or don’t want to) live with the worst of the year, you can always plan to bug out for certain seasons, which many choose to do, including locals (I refer again to the August Exodus).
And remember, you get used to making do with the heat here… you find a table in the shade, order an iced spritz, come to terms with sweating, and lean into it all—after all, everyone else is melting, too!
Bonne route,
Kat Kalashian
Editor, In Focus: Europe
