Best Places to Travel in Europe on February 2012

What do you like, museums, castles, cities, towns? Driving, train? What countries are you thinking about? Need to give more information and narrow it down a lot so people can help.

We wanted to see of course the beautiful cities, architectures, museums, castles and other possible sceneries. Among the places we wanted to see are Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice, Switzerland, Some parts of Germany maybe. We might opt to travel by train from one city to another.Would these be feasible at all?

In my opinion, this is too many places in 15 days especially as traveling by train. I think you need to narrow it down and also fly into one city and home from another so don't have to backtrack. I am sure you will get lots of advice on this as this travel section is great.

Since you have 2 weeks, I would narrow down your list of cities by region - visit either Italy; Amsterdam and Paris; or Switzerland and Germany. You could tweak it a little - for example, Paris, Venice, Florence, and Rome. But I wouldn't advise visiting more than 2 countries.

The one bit of advice I'll give- at that time of year, unless you want to go skiing, keep your itinerary city-heavy. Those postcard views of the countryside you often see don't exist in the winter, as much of the landscape is obscured in a gray haze. Daylight hours are also rather short.

Thanks guys for your thoughts...what about the weather conditions of these places? Will it be very cold between Feb and March?

Pauline, As I just mentioned in another post, I was in Prague a few years ago in Feb, and thought it was wonderful. The weather was not bad to me (though I am living about 2 hours S of Chicago, so take that as you will!), and there were no crowds at all. Since Prague (and most of the cultural capitals of Europe) are packed in the summer, I'll put in my vote for Prague. Also-I must addI think it could be a wonderfully romantic city for a wedding anniversary. I stayed at the Hotel Certkova (http://www.certovka.cz/) while there and had an absolutely wonderful view of the Charles Bridge and the castle on the other side of the river. From the door of the hotel it was about 100 feet to the bridge.

From personal experience, I say stay south, Florence to Rome for decent weather. Otherwise stay in Swiss mtns for snow. Frankly, everywhere else is rather dreary. You could get lucky with a few nice days here and there, but compared to Dubai, it's dreary.

Cold is relative. Use wunderground.com (trip planner link) to see actual weather conditions by day for any city you are considering.

Venice~Carnavale Feb. 14-21....If you want a truly unique experience that most American tourists never experience try to catch a few days of Carnavale. It is amazing. I spent a week there a few years ago and it was like a mystical, magical dream. The weather was definitely hazy, sometimes foggy, a bit damp and chilly but it all added to the mystique of the experience. If you go be sure to bring some sort of costume....I wore a long black skirt and a beautiful cloak that I also wore most days with my jeans and purchased a mask there. We went to the 'hot chocolate ball' which was about $100. Not knowing if we were going to get a cup of hot chocolate for our 100 we were pleasantly surprised with a concert, lots of wonderful cookies, wine, and a 'hot chocolate fountain'. It was an incredible experience and I cannot suggest it enough. Every day we would get up before sunrise and go down by the canal and the streets would slowly begin to fill with amazing costumed Venetians ready to pose for pictures.
I am a photographer so I could not pass up one morning, but it was so much fun! One of those 'take your breath away' experiences.

I completely agree with Kathy. If you are at all concerned about cold weather stay south: Spain, Portugal, Italy. If you are looking for a snow experience, it's got to be Switzerland and Austria.

No one has mentioned Spain but certainly southern Spain and Portugal or anywhere along the Med would be better weather. However, some of the "best places" in Europe are quite far north and it will still be winter in those areas. Paris, London, Amsterdam. A couple of years ago our son and DIL were in Brussels, Paris, Antwerp, in mid March and it was very cold and rainy with a couple days very heavy rains and strong winds that made being outside miserable. On the other hand you could have great spring weather but it is very unpredictable at that time of year. A good time to see southern Spain since it is so hot in the summer.

Gee, I would go to Rome and South. Think Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento and Amalfi coast. Maybe even Siciliy. Very romantic for first anniversary for sure. check it out.
If that is not your taste then southern Spain and S. Portugal (Algarve).

February is one of my favorite months to visit Paris. It's no colder than here in the south where I live, and it's not as crowded as it is in the late spring and summer.

I went to Rome in Feb 2011. I would highly recommend it. Nice weather, small crowds, cheaper prices for hotels, cheaper airfares. It was cool enough for a jacket but it was never cold.

Agree with those suggesting winter travel should be city-heavy. And for a first visit to Europe, I would recommend London, Paris, and Rome. Those are the three superstars IMHO. Since this itinerary would place you in Italy and if you have enough time, you could also hit Florence and Venice. The weather will be a mixed bag for sure, but the upside is cheaper airfare and very low tourist volume...huge pluses. Personally, I wouldn't find anywhere in Europe too cold, but our tundra winters here can be freakin' nasty.

Maybe 4-5 days in Paris, then fly to Venice if you are timing it for Carnevale (but you need to make hotel reservations soon - rooms are snapped up quickly for those 2 weeks), or to Florence, then to Rome by train.

I DEFINITELY suggest you re-schedule your trip for another month. May and September are great months for Europe, not February.

My husband and I spent a week in Italy in February of this year and LOVED IT! I will never never again travel during peak seasons due to crowds, pricing, etc. We rented a room in Venice for 60euros a night in February but it was going to 250 euros or more in the summer and it is not worth it - same with Rome! When we were in Venice - we practically had the city to ourselves! After 6pm - you could walk around and hardly see another tourist and all the attractions were open. We just wore a jacket, sweater and scarf and were fine. The same in Rome - it was obviously a little more crowded but still very pleasant. By the afternoon, we had shed our coats and scarves and just had sweaters and it was beautiful. We walked around Palantine Hill by ourselves for an hour and the Forum was pretty uncrowded as well. Enjoy your trip!
Tracey

I have been to Europe several times in the winter and loved it. A few off days, but be prepared for cold and dreary and anything you get will be a bonus. I was in Rome when it was mid 90s, humid and full of tourists and I have been there when it was cold, rainy and very windy... and I was miserable both days. There are no guarantees, but I would never look at any of my trips to Europe with regret... I would rather spend Feb. in Europe than Cancun. And the added bonus of off season travel is that I can go twice instead of just once. Its a whole different trip, but wonderful nonetheless.... after all its Europe.

I second Terry Kathryn on this one. I have done the winter scene in the Caribbean and any place in Europe is better. Surprisingly, one of the many better trips I have had in the EU in February was Ireland and the UK. It gets dark right after lunch but the temps aren't unbearable either (usually mild to the US, not so much Dubai). If you plan your daylight hours around your museums/sites then you are good as far as restaurants/ pubs go. I've been to other areas in Feb too but the Isles are my favorite.

I went to Rome in February several years ago and loved it. I also visited northern Italy and ended that trip in London in March and enjoyed it all. The weather was nice if a bit chilly. I packed my winter coat but didn't use it once - a polarfleece jacket and a hat worked fine. Of course I'm coming from Detroit, so it has to be pretty bad weather (ice/snow) for me to consider it "bad". If you're coming from Dubai, you may have a very different opinion of what good and bad weather are.

Hi guys. First of all, i wish to thank all of you for all your informative comments and suggestions. We have decided to change a bit of our itinerary upon careful considerations. Since we really want to celebrate our 1st year anniversary in Europe, we chose to go on February despite of the weather. However, we will of course consider Italy, France and might be a short visit to London. Since Italiy is very big, I would like to know the ideal cities we can visit in a span of like 8 days ( Italy alone). Rest of the days will be for Paris and London. And since its our anniversary, pls suggest the best and could be the most romatic place to celebrate this special occassion for both of us.
Please let me know your suggestions.

I have been to Ireland twice in February, and I loved it at that time of year. I only had one day of real cold on each trip. The rest of the time, it was milder than you might expect due to the Gulf Stream that sends warmer waters to the area. (There are palm trees on both the east and west coasts.) Both times it was unexpectedly green and lush already in certain areas (they were mowing the grass at Newgrange when I was there the last week of February one year). It did not get dark "right after lunch" at any time - usually around 5:00 p.m. or so. No crowds, plenty of B&B availability without booking ahead, little baby lambs in the fields - I loved it!

I would suggest either sticking entirely to Italy, or covering other ground. My first trip to Italy was in January, and it was fantastic. You will be so excited to be there you will not pay too much attention to the weather. Saying that, do your research and be prepared for the weather. You could have a few days each in Florence, Rome, Venice, with stops in Pisa, Siena and so much more. If you want to cover other ground, perhaps a week in Paris, then a train to Brussels for two days, then about four days in Bruges. Enjoy!