How to Stay Cool During Europe’s Heat Wave

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Temperatures are near or above 100 degrees in some places, and air-conditioning can be scarce. Here's how to find relief in nine popular destinations.

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Across much of Europe, temperatures were setting records this week. In Paris, even before the thermometer hit 108.7 degrees on Thursday, beating a high mark set in 1947, the air felt like a furnace, and along sidewalks, people ducked into even the tiniest slivers of shade seeking relief. Prague hauled in water trucks to douse overheated locals and visitors in the city center, while Rome opened air-conditioned sports centers to people at risk. Thursday was the hottest July day ever recorded in the United Kingdom, with temperatures reaching 100.6 Fahrenheit in Cambridge, England. It's only the second time in history that temperatures above 100 Fahrenheit have been recorded anywhere in the country. Things weren't much cooler in London: Kew Gardens in west London registered 99.9 Fahrenheit on Thursday, and Heathrow reached 98.9.

For travelers in the hot zone, here is what to expect in nine popular tourist destinations, with suggestions for how to cool off.

Most apartments, houses, cafes and boutiques in France don't have air-conditioning.

The most accessible havens for air-conditioning are stores, museums, movie theaters and some restaurants. Tourists and locals are ducking into places like the BHV department store on rue Rivoli, Bon Marche in the 6th arrondissement and Galeries Lafayette near Opera, all of which have air-conditioning and places to eat. Other spots include any store on the Champs-Élysées, the library at the Pompidou Center as well as supermarkets and mini-marts.

Large bistrots and restaurants will also be cool — and packed. Look for signs announcing "air frais" or air-conditioning on some windows. The new Eataly in the Marais, a welcoming 4,000 square-meter Italian gastro-deli with seven food areas, has been thronged with Aperol spritz sippers and diners looking to chill.

Public transportation is barely air-conditioned — only a third of metro trains and six percent of buses are cooled. The government has urged people to limit their use. Otherwise, a public service announcement in stations asks people to simply open the windows to catch a bit of the superheated breeze. Agents are handing out water bottles and small paper fans.

With France on "red alert" for heat, long-distance rail travel may be affected. The national train operator SNCF is urging people to postpone voyages (and offering refunds) on the TGV, or fast train, since overheated rails are causing some trains to literally stop in their tracks.

Paris has created an app to beat the heat and the first thing you need to do is download it. Extrema Paris is an interactive map that shows cool spots nearest you. For example, if you are near Notre Dame, it tells you how to get to water sprinklers that have been set up along the Seine, and points you to a nearby church as well as to several small gardens.

The city is urging people to go to public gardens and green spaces with lots of trees. Luxembourg Gardens, the Jardin des Plantes, or the large woods bookending Paris — the Bois de Vincennes and the Bois de Boulogne — can be 10 to 15 degrees cooler than being in the direct sun.

Paris Plage is an artificial sand-free beach set up every summer, this year from July 6 — Sept. 1, along the Seine. In front of the Hôtel de Ville, there is an area festooned with deck chairs, umbrellas and cafes where people can cool off under sprinklers and palm trees. The Bassin de la Villette has a similar setup plus a giant pool open until 9 p.m.

For a more chilling experience, head to the Catacombs, an underground labyrinth of former quarries that is now the largest ossuary in Europe. The 1.5 kilometer circuit takes an hour to complete. Buy tickets online ahead of time.

People have also spontaneously been cooling off in large numbers in the Trocadero Fountains.

— Liz Alderman

Air-conditioning in Prague restaurants and pubs has become more common over the years. Your best bet is to pop into pubs to check the indoor temperatures. Cellar pubs like U Sudu in the city's New Town remain cool without air-conditioning.

Air-conditioning on public transportation is spotty. Buses do not have it, but newer trams often do. The subway does not have air-conditioning, but it's so deep that platforms and trains often remain cool.

The city website, Praha.eu, and its corresponding Facebook page, is featuring articles with links to Prague swimming pools and lakes. The city has also hauled in water trucks to sprinkle water on overheated locals and visitors in the city center. The city recently installed a water mister on Old Town Square opposite St. Nicholas Church, so that passers-by can stand under it and get some cool relief.

One of the most popular places in Prague to go for a dip, Podoli, is on the banks of the Vltava River south of the city center. The swimming complex features three pools, and the cost is 190 koruna, or about $8.30, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and 140 koruna, or about $6, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

For a watery day trip, take the bus from Prague's Smichov train station to Slapy Water Reserve, about 25 miles south of Prague, a massive lake formed when a dam was built on the Vltava in the middle of the 20th century. Float in the tranquil lake and then graze on some traditional Czech fare at a restaurant or pub in one of the villages that dot banks of the reservoir.

One of the biggest water attractions in the region, the indoor AquaPalace, features a 1,500-foot-long rapid river, a wave pool and water slides. Afternoon passes for adults cost 619 koruna (about $27); children pay 419 koruna (about $18.25).

One doesn't really associate beating the heat with sewage, but the Old Wastewater Treatment Plant, an early-20th-century facility is seriously cool. In more ways than one. Take a guided tour of the underground tunnels and rooms, which are always on the chilly side. And if all that historic sewage builds up a thirst, plant yourself at the on-site cafe, Tovarna, for a cold Pilsner Urquell or homemade lemonade.

— David Farley

The air-conditioning situation is hit or miss. (It's mostly miss.) Most cafes have al fresco tables and the older tiny spots prefer a rotating desk fan and premade iced coffee with about as much sugar as a wedding cake to cool things off. That said, plenty of places have air-conditioning, and they are proud enough of it to advertise it on their doors. Any decent restaurant will be fine.

If you have to get around, take a taxi. Rome's public transportation generally lacks air-conditioning, and the buses have a tendency of blowing up from overheating. The rattling orange buses remained parked at the train station the other day, one driver explained, to prevent unnecessary implosions.

City officials said that as part of Rome's "Heat Plan," they were opening air-conditioned sports centers to older people and others at risk, and had made more than 9,000 bottles of water available in front of metros and tourist sites, including the Coliseum and Vatican. The Rome water flowing from the public drinking fountains is famously good and should be sipped early and often. But don't even think about going in the fountains! After a rash of skinny dipping and other unacceptable behavior, Rome started cracking down on fountain-hopping a couple of years ago. You will be fined, and humiliated!

This is the time when many Romans abandon the city for the beaches or the mountains. If you can swing an overnight trip, join the Roman Hamptons set in the Argentario, just an hour or so north, or ditch the city and fly down to Sicily, which has somehow been spared the heat wave.

There aren't a lot of swimming options within Rome unless you belong to a country club on the Tiber. But for a daily rate of around 30 euros (about $33), you can cool off at the outdoor pool at the Grand Hotel Gianicolo in the Monteverde neighborhood overlooking the city.

The best bet for keeping cool may be the city's vast network of catacombs. The Catacombs of Priscilla, the so-called Queen of Catacombs, in the northern section of the city, are really impressive, especially if buried Christian martyrs is your thing. And instead of roasting inside the Coliseum, the arena of which now feels like its sits under a solar magnifying glass, take a five-minute walk down the road to the Basilica of San Clemente, a gorgeous church built on another church and then another and then ancient Roman rooms and streets where you can actually see the city's spring water running. (But don't jump in!)

And an escape from the heat could be an opportunity to visit some of the airy (and appropriately chilled) museums off the beaten path. The National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art opposite villa Borghese park is refreshing, also for its wonderfully curated collection.

— Jason Horowitz

Madrid can be quite hot half of the year so most modern hotels, restaurants, and bars have decent — if not American-style — air-conditioning. Indeed, Spanish women often carry a scarf or sweater in summer to combat the temperature contrast between indoors and out. Smaller cafes or pizzerias in the city's historic center may not have air-conditioning, but their building's walls are typically so thick, they don't need it. Even the city's many terraces and outdoor dining areas provide relief with electric fans propelling a fine mist of water. To keep cool between meals, go native with a traditional folding fan from Casa de Diego.

Air-conditioning is the norm on all city buses and the metro as well as the national rail system (renfe.com).

Afternoon temperatures hovering around 100 degrees are the norm for Madrid in July and August, so the city is generally well prepared. By day some 20 outdoor municipal pools and 31 indoor pools (many with outdoor sunbathing areas) are open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and cost less than 5 euros, or about $5.50, for adults.

Madrid Rio, the city's relatively recent riverside park, has an urban "beach" with three interactive water features that range from misting to soaking and are the only city fountains where bathing is allowed. Many hotels now have rooftop pools — most with adjacent cocktail bars that come in handy as the mercury rises ever higher in late afternoon. Madrileños do their best summer living during the cooler evenings — "Veranos de la Villa" is a program of outdoor concerts, films, dance and opera performances held after dark in some of the city's most emblematic parks and patios. For summer day trips, go north, not south. North of the city, temperatures drop as the altitude climbs, making spots like the Royal Palaces of El Escorial de San Lorenzo and La Granja de San Ildefonso, less than an hour north of Madrid, pleasant alternatives. Children might enjoy nearby water parks like Aquópolis or Parque Warner Beach.

— Andrew Ferren

Many pubs, restaurants and museums have minimal or no air-conditioning, although you can generally find it in larger shopping malls and supermarkets.

Most of London's buses and underground trains don't have air-conditioning — which can make for very uncomfortable travel in the heat — although there are some exceptions. Londonist has compiled a map of the air-conditioned lines. The Gatwick Express is running a reduced service, while Heathrow Express trains have had to slow down because of the heat; other rail companies have advised people to avoid all but essential travel.

The Mayor of London's office has teamed up with Thames Water to keep Londoners hydrated through the Refill London scheme, a network of 2,500 cafes, shops and businesses that offer free tap water to anyone with a water bottle to fill. Participating businesses can be identified by the "Refill" stickers posted in their windows. The mayor's office has also installed 28 water fountains throughout the city as part of a broader campaign to cut plastic waste.

Cool off with a swim in one of the three bathing ponds in Hampstead Heath, a large, leafy park in North London. Arrive early in the day if you can, as the ponds — one for women, one for men, and one mixed — can get crowded later in the day. Entry is £2, or about $2.50; open from 7 a.m.

In Central London, you can go for a dip in the Serpentine, the river that wends through the middle of Hyde Park. A "lido" — a British term for a public swimming area — is open along the river's banks every day in summer from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m, and there's a cafe on site. Entry is £4.80, or about $6.

For a child-friendly place to splash and play, head to Somerset House on the Strand. Visitors are welcome to cool off in the large Fountain Court, which is open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Grab a drink at a rooftop bar like Pergola in Paddington or 12th Knot, which offers panoramic views of the Thames from the South Bank. Dine al fresco at a pop-up street-food market like Dinerama in hipster-friendly Shoreditch, where you can find boozy slushies as well as nitro-frozen ice cream. Catch a play at The National Theatre or The Old Vic, both of which are nicely air-conditioned.

— Paige McClanahan

Most modern restaurants, shops and cafes (but not their more traditional siblings) have air-conditioning, but don't expect full-on American deep-freeze temperatures, as many Italians are instilled with a mortal fear of drafts and drastic temperature changes.

Public transportation is mostly air-conditioned, but spotty, so for a guaranteed cool ride, you’ll need to stick to the subway's red line, or a taxi. For other train lines and ground transport, expect 50-50 odds of hitting a chilled car.

Asking its citizens to keep their eyes peeled for older people and the needy, Milan has set up an emergency number (+39 800 777 888) for those requiring help. The city is also collaborating with care centers to provide showers, food and a cool place to take shelter for the homeless.

Milan's waterways consist of just a few decidedly unswimmable canals, but plenty of pools make up for the lack. The most beautiful pools open to the public include Bagni Misteriosi and the Piscina Romano — both marvels of 20th-century architecture — and the high-ticket options of Ceresio 7, a sleek rooftop restaurant, and the QC Termemilano, a vast spa in a former tram depot, with two outdoor pools and a cold plunge. For crisp air-conditioned temperatures, spend your time in art houses: You can enjoy the excellent shows (and permanent collections) on view at the Prada Foundation and the Gallerie d’Italia, or catch the final days of Alberto Burri's fascinating graphic works at the Vistamarestudio gallery.

— Laura Rysman

The short answer is: double check. Outside high-end eateries and the most touristy areas, it's not a given to find air-conditioning in Amsterdam's many bars, cafes and restaurants — nor will you find it in most private homes. But museums are typically, fortuitously, air-conditioned.

The majority of buses, trains and, in theory, many trams have air-conditioning, but don't expect the latter to provide much respite: With doors opening constantly, even those trams with air-conditioning don't feel all that cool. As the heat wave began, some of the newer electric buses briefly found their air conditioning not functioning. In the heat, nonalcoholic drinks have been (temporarily) given a pass on buses and trams, despite a long standing drinks ban on board. Hearty residents still tool around on their bikes, even as the temperatures climb.

There is a countrywide heat plan in place, which includes reminders on hydration and checking on at-risk populations (the very young and very old), and watching for signs of overheating. Locals are advised to keep their pets off the burning sidewalks between noon and 6 p.m. The newspaper De Volkskrant is keeping a "hitte" (heat) blog logging the highest temperatures, and news of the heat wave. National train service on high-speed trains has been reduced between cities.

City fountains are a welcome respite, especially for local children. The splash pad in front of the Rijksmuseum is open for a sprinkler run-through, and on Haarlemmerplein Square 42, more than 40 underground jets propel water into the air. The rooftop of the NEMO Science Museum (open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) has a free, public splash park where thousands of gallons of water cascade down through 30 ankle-deep pools. Neighborhoods throughout the city have public pools (some geared primarily to wading children), though they can get very crowded. Outside the city are three ocean beaches 30 to 45 minutes away by public transport: Zandvoort, Bloemendaal, and Noordwijk. There are freshwater lakes nearby as well, including Loosdrechte Plassen, about 30 minutes south of town. and Park Oeverlanden, which is within the city limits.

— Sarah Wildman

Few restaurants, cafes and bars in Brussels have air-conditioning — unless open windows count. Cultural venues are a better bet if you’re looking for a climate-controlled retreat.

To slake the public thirst, the municipality has published a map of city fountains with potable water. It has also set up a free local phone number (0800-35-550) for older people and those with special needs.

Duck for cover in the darkness of one of the Belgian capital's climate-controlled movie theaters. Cinema Galeries, a restored 1930s Art Deco theater, hosts exhibitions (including a current show honoring the 100th birthday of Korean film) and movies ranging from first-run features to indie films to cult classics. Though not air-conditioned, the Cinematek at the Palais des Beaux-Arts is three levels underground, offering natural cooling — along with current retrospectives on Robert Redford, Stanley Kubrick and Romy Schneider.

Reading also offers a refuge, including the air-conditioned expanses of the Filigranes bookstore on Avenue des Arts and the air-conditioned underground level of Tropismes, a soaring and stunning bookshop dating to the 1840s.

And as one of the beer capitals of Europe, Brussels offers liquid relief on nearly every corner. Traditionalists will find myriad brews, from fruit-infused lambics to dark monk-brewed ales, in the 1920s wood and brass confines of A La Morte Subite, while contemporary concoctions are brewed and poured on-site in the industrial-minimalist confines of Brussels Beer Project. Just be sure to drink water simultaneously.

— Seth Sherwood

Most cafes, bars, restaurants and apartments go without air conditioning, to find a satisfactorily cooled establishment you need to go out of your way. Berlin's Museum Island, however, affords a cluster of five air-conditioned sanctums. One 18 euro ticket (about $20) gets you into all five, so you could spend a cool day museum-hopping. The Alte Nationalgalerie is especially strong on painting, while the Bode Museum offers sculpture. The star of the island's Pergamon Museum is its reconstruction of Ishtar's Gate, the rich, blue entryway that once stood before Babylon's inner city; that of its neighbor, the Neues Museum: the bust of Queen Nefertiti in a room all her own. And behind the columns of the Altes Museum, there is central air for classicists.

Most buses and trams are air-conditioned, but the city's metro, the U-Bahn, and its rail system, the S-Bahn, are not. Instead, they often operate with the windows down, adding the unsettling roar of the tracks to the cars’ pervading stickiness.

On hot, summer days, in several public parks across the city, seasonal "water playgrounds" emerge. Jets of water are pumped from under concrete platforms, into fountains and, as in the case of Volkspark Friedrichshain, the city's oldest public park bordering the Friedrichshain and Prenzlauer Berg neighborhoods, out from concrete elephants’ trunks. These are primarily utilized by Berlin's bare-bottomed babies and children, but are open to all.

As landlocked as it is, Berlin is flush with bodies of water. Wherever you may be, there is always a public pool or lake within reach of foot, bike or transit. Of the lakes, Plötzensee, Krumme Lanke, Wannsee, Schlachtensee and Weisser See are favorites and no matter how crowded, always offer up a free patch of grass or sand. Swimming in them comes with much dodging of algae and excellent people watching. Weisser See, situated alongside a busy tram line, is an energetic mix of families, city teenagers and expat friend groups. The regulars of Plötzensee, on the other hand — often, Berlin naturists of an advancing age — give that lake a certain cultural clout. For a dip after work, pools offer a discounted ticket of 3.50 euros (about $3.90) during the weekdays to swimmers after 5:30 p.m.

— Sami Emory

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An earlier version of this article misstated the name of a Dutch newspaper. It is De Volkskrant, not Die Volkskrant.

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