My husband and I (70) spent a wonderful February and March in Spain last year. We want to plan another 2 months in Europe this winter. We're thinking two or three locations, not too cold as we like to walk, public transportation for side trips (no car please). Would love to hear some recommendations. We often use Airbnb and Home away with good results. Very open to hearing your experiences.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11635 posts
Hi. We are of a similar age (63 and 72) and also love to walk and always us public transportation.
We live in Rome and there is plenty to love about Rome in winter. Mild temps, often sunny, museums galore, side trips possible by train to many places. We also embrace the cold sometimes. We had a marvelous trip to Torino in January with mild temps, so much more fun than touring when it is HOT. Sicily will not be warm but very mild in Feb & Mar. I love Venice the most in winter.
We use VRBO most of the time for apartments, but you also might take a look at Sabbatical Homes as there are some nice properties and good prices for long term stays.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
- South of France
- Sicily
- Rome
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15768 posts
I have really enjoyed Italy in February. I've always had a mix of sunshine, overcast skies, drizzling rain, and even a little snow. I never had temps below freezing, but I have had days when I walked around in short sleeves and would have liked sandals, even in the north.
Carnevale in Venice. It lasts about 18 days, ending on Mardi Gras (Feb 28, 2017). If you want to spend more than a week there, I'd recommend including about a week of Carnevale in your stay. Venice before and after will be very quiet. There are several day trips - Verona and Padua come to mind immediately, but there are others.
Bologna would be my choice for another base since it has excellent train connections to many towns that you'll want to visit more than once.
Choose Florence only if you want to spend lots of time absorbing Renaissance art and architecture. Otherwise, you can day-trip from Bologna.
Rome is, well, Rome. Lots to see and do, but it's definitely a big city, lots of traffic, lots of people.
Sorrento would be my choice for 2-3 weeks. Visit all the Amalfi towns by bus, Capri by ferry. Take the local train to Pompeii, Herculaneum, Naples. The train is slow but it's cheap. I was in Sorrento once for a few days in mid-February, everything was open and there were a lot more locals than tourists. BTW February 14 is their patron saint's day. Nice to be there then if it fits into your schedule.
I know you said 2-3, but for Italy, I'd recommend 4. I loved Sicily, without a car and staying in one place, I wouldn't put it high on my list.
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
If you want better weather, you will need to stay south. Spain, Portugal and Italy are the obvious choices. Inland Europe can mean more snow. You also get longer daylight hours further south.
Portugal is popular with retirees from Europe in the winter, as it's much more affordable than Italy. Lisbon is a great base for exploring the historical inland towns such as Tomar, Coimbra, Evora and Obidos plus there is the coast. Then head to somewhere such Cabanas on the Algarve. We stayed there in March this year and found it to be a very friendly place, with an active coffee crowd, mostly Brits with a few transatlantic accents there too. It has a good rail service to nearby Tavira, an historical town and you can also walk or cycle there c 4 miles. We found everything was open, as some smaller resorts shut down in winter. We had a few beach days in March and saw little rain. Temps c 17/22 degrees daytime but cooler at night.
I was in Venice a few days before Carnivale started this year and didn't find it to be particularly quiet, although many restaurants were closed.