Best way to spend 4 days over New Years 2024 if we don't party? Germany, Belgium, Netherlands or ???

The weather at the end of the year is something to consider for such an active trip.

Paris' average daily temperature lows are 38 degrees F and the average highs are 46 degrees F. The city averages 2 hours of sunshine in both December and January--gloomy. Have you considered skipping Normandy as the weather up there could actually be a little worse?

I'd be looking to head south that time of the year. You could fly on one of the budget airlines to Rome and work your way north thru Florence and Venice toward Munich. They're all great and important cities to see. You can get to Frankfurt for your flight out from there.

Thank you both.

Regarding weather, we live in Chicago which is similarly always-cloudy in winter due to the effects of Lake Michigan (I think we have had two days of sunshine since Christmas) and it’s usually colder than Europe. So we figure it will be the same, possibly better, than home. But a lot more interesting. We don’t mind the cold if we are dressed for it, so we will be OK in Northern Europe. And I really want to visit some Christmas Markets, and my husband and son are huge WWII history buffs and really want to visit Normandy (as do I; my grandfather was in the Navy and part of the D-Day invasion.) But I like the idea of southern Europe too. :)

And History Traveler - I like the way you reframed my question, and put the party aspect into perspective. You’re right that a big city would be more chaotic, for many reasons. Perhaps a small or medium city in Germany would suit us best, and a small quiet city wouldn’t be an all day fireworks party. Staying in Germany may reduce train travel too. We will give this some thought.

We live in Chicago so Big Cities are commonplace to us, and we appreciate the quaint towns of Europe, even if (and perhaps especially if) we are just walking around and doing nothing. But this time we have the kids (their first Europe trip) who may indeed be bored by that and may prefer the bigger cities and their museums. I think perhaps finding a medium sized city, with some museums and “things to do” (even if small and obscure topics) may work out best. And hopefully those things would be open on New Years.

And I agree - it seems silly to do Amsterdam when we have no interest in partying. But the kids suggested that, to see canals and visit Anne Frank’s house, and I want to get them involved in the planning also. And there are things open on New Years Day. But it’s not the only place they suggested. I will look into the places you mentioned and share some of those ideas with them. I think we have a lot of good options.

Thanks so much.

BlockquoteDec 31 with fireworks set off randomly in the streets all day, making German towns somewhat chaotic, dirty, and possibly dangerous on New Years Eve (due to so many amateurs with fireworks and alcohol)

Yes I would stop that fireworks thing completely but following some rules it is not as bad as one might think now. And I'm actually more concerned about animals and the climate.

It is not true that all over town it is chaotic and dangerous. I would avoid crowdes if I do not want to party. No crowdes means no drunken fools. In many cities there are even areas where private fireworks are forbidden - the old city of Munich for example.

During the day you can hear sometimes a firecracker but not all the time. And fireworks during the day does not make sense because you hardly can see it.

And dirty well for some hours but the next day the cities cleaning up and thats it.

And important to know in the smallest German village there could be fireworks with drunken people. So simply impossible to say what is the place to go if one wants to avoid fireworks at all.

I would suggest go where you want to go and for sure you will be fine. And maybe it is at the end a great experience to watch the fireworks in a larger city :-)

I lived in Germany and Sylvester (New Years Eve) was great fun. Sipped champagne with neighbors, lit a few bottle rockets, ate well and could see fireworks going off up and down the valley We lived in. It’s fun, not dirty, dangerous or any of the other euphemisms you used. New Years is New Years and if revelry bothers you, perhaps move your dates back and depart for home on 12/31.

Otherwise you have an overly aggressive schedule with lots of driving, likely in bad weather and possibly some attractions closed. The usual D-Day attractions (even American cemeteries) close on Christmas and Museums start taking winter breaks. The big plus is you have picked lots of neat places to visit and to the degree that weather and hours for attractions are good you can have a memorable trip.

Spend less time traveling and more time enjoying and it may be more satisfying.

I've traveled in Europe in the winter quite a bit, and enjoyed it. I think Rick is basically correct when he advises focusing on bigger cities, where there is a lot more good stuff to do indoors, rather than countryside in the winter -- with the possible exception of New Year's Eve, I agree. I was in Paris for that once, years ago, and didn't enjoy it -- restaurants all packed with only special (expensive) menus available, chaotic and dangerous street fireworks, etc. I see comments a lot like yours saying, we're from Chicago (or some other northern place) that's even colder, so it won't bother us. No doubt, but don't underestimate it. Think about what you will be doing in that cold weather. When it's a cold, raw winter day in Chicago, do you normally take a train or bus down to the Loop, walk around all day seeing several attractions, find restaurants to have lunch and dinner, wait at a bus stop, try to navigate a neighborhood you don't know on foot, etc? Most likely not -- rather, a cold day in the home city is likely mostly spent in a heated home and/or office, maybe a visit to the store, going between them in a heated car, on streets you know well. But that's what you will be doing in Europe. Quite a different experience of cold. And the days are very short there -- Europe is farther north than most U.S. places. European winter weather has a particularly cutting kind of miserably raw, windy and wet cold. Again, though, traveling in winter can be great, and there are crisp sunny days mixed with the wet ones (and northern Europe can be pretty gray and wet in summer too).

Thanks everyone, this is really helpful.

Mignon, perhaps we will stay in the old part of Munich if there are no fireworks there! I really enjoyed Munich when I went there (in 1997!) and I'd love to go back. It's a big city but felt small to me. That could be a good option for us, and easy to get from there to Frankfurt at the end.

Calvados, I did check everything on the list (so far) and every museum that I've listed is open on the dates that I assigned it to. For example, on Dec 25 in Paris we are only planning Eiffel Tower, church, and walking around. The Lourve is open on Dec 24 so that won't be an issue. And the D-Day museums are open on the day we will be there. I appreciate the warning about closures, though, as it would be terrible to show up on the wrong day and miss it! And I agree some of the distances are long, but I think if we cut out Amsterdam and stay in Germany at the end, it will be very do-able. We travel a lot (but haven't done Europe in decades) and it's very normal for us to move around a lot and be somewhat aggressive with our itinerary, but we aren't bothered by it. We are currently planning to take the train which makes it even easier because we can relax en route, although we do need to compare prices and look at schedules, and make some decisions about train vs car. (We may rent a car in Normandy to make the WWII stuff easier, or perhaps get a tour guide.)

Slate, I am really glad to hear that you've enjoyed winter travel in Europe. And as for the weather, I hear what you are saying and I appreciate your thoughts about "do we really spend time outside in Chicago in winter." We are probably the exception to the norm, but we are a family that bundles up when it is 3 degrees Fahrenheit (-16 C) to go hiking, or play in the snow. My husband just returned from a weekend camping in his tent in the wilderness in northern Wisconsin. So truly, we are not afraid of cold, and do spend extended time in it. If we plan a weekend sight-seeing in Chicago then we do it regardless of temperature. But I do agree most people do tend to stay inside where it's warm, so you are right about that.

I am actually more concerned about 35*F and rain, as that is miserable. Below freezing is easy, because any precipitation is snow and can be brushed off, and you stay dry. 35 and rain = wet misery. So we are already thinking about how to stay dry, and visiting places that have museums that are open in winter will be important, so we can escape the elements if its a nasty day.

Lots to think about. I appreciate everyone's replies.

@Smallsea

Fireworks are forbidden but of course always someone out there who does not care about the rules. Just to let you know :-)