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City suggestions for 8 day trip to Europe Oct 25-Nov 4th

Hello,

I am planning do a short trip to Europe at the end of October, because I've noticed air fares are really good as of now, and I have some time off. I am fully vaccinated i'm from the US, Live in CA, so no issues there. My main concern is the Weather. I know the weather chills down a lot in November, and then rain and snow start appearing in many parts of Europe. So I am wondering, where would be a good place to visit where it wont get below 40F for a day time low, not likely have a ton of snow (or any) during these dates and may still have a decent chance of NOT getting rained out?

So far based on prices, and lodging affordability and weather, I'm seriously considering these options

Florence/Rome - Spend a few days in Florence, the rest in Rome
Barcelona and surrounding area
Portugal - Algarve region. I have been to Portugal before but not the Algarve region

I'm not sure about any other places. France and Germany seem unlikely due to the weather and what seems to be a desire to lock down again in countries like France or Germany. I'm guessing Southern Europe is my best bet?

I don't mention Greece because I'm visiting Greece in the beginning of October.

If i am missing any other places that may be worthwhile, and that maybe i have missed as having decent weather, i would appreciate any suggestions.

Thank you for any info.

Posted by
6175 posts

I have no idea how much 40F is but in early November you'll struggle to find snow in Europe. To find snow you need to go to northern Scandinavia, or up a mountain range somewhere.

But you are planning a trip during a very wet time of the year. And don't rule out going north of the Alps. E.g. Rome sees on average more rain than Berlin during october and november.

Posted by
7595 posts

By far, I would recommend Florence and Rome.

We love Portugal, but never go to Europe to go to the beach (we live on coastal GA near beaches). My favorite part of Portugal is Porto and the Douro Valley in the North.

Posted by
4256 posts

To paraphrase, Florence and Rome are always a good idea.

Posted by
882 posts

Divide your time between Barcelona and Madrid with a day trip to Toledo.

Posted by
1335 posts

You picked the right countries to visit. I suggest Spain and Portugal over Italy, because it's more likely to rain in Italy in Oct/Nov.

Since you have eight days, less is more. I suggest you consider southern Spain as well due to the drier weather there.

Posted by
5506 posts

We traveled at exactly that time of year in 2019 to Italy. We encountered a fair amount of rain and decided that we wouldn't do a repeat of Italy in late fall. We were there over 3 weeks and we had torrential downpours in Sorrento, Florence and on Lake Como. In CT, the train passes were suspended and some of the paths closed due to threat of inclement weather.

We traveled to Spain one year in November. Sevilla, pueblo blancos, Granada, Cordoba, Toledo and Segovia. Fantastic weather! Pueblo Blancos were a bit quiet. It was a VERY economical trip--inns, food, very inexpensive. We flew in and out of Madrid, but spent little time there.

Posted by
1163 posts

We traveled through Florence and Tuscany/Umbria during that exact time frame and had picture perfect blue skies.

But we also had blue skies and no clouds for 3 weeks driving through the Andalucia region, Malaga, Granada, and Cordoba during this same time.

You just can't predict weather! But I always look at timeanddate.com to look at "climate" averages for each location for the months in question. It has truly helped steer me from rain or cooler weather regions.

Posted by
7010 posts

Florence was glorious in October when I went - all of Tuscany was. And Rome would probably even be a small bit warmer. So, I would definitely recommend Florence and Rome - 3-1/2 days in Florence, 4-1/2 days in Rome (if you've not been to either before).

Posted by
32 posts

Thank you all for your insights! Much appreciated.

To answer the first commenter, i excluded places like Geneva or Vienna, because i assume the weather will be freezing at those times.

It sounds like Barcelona seems more like the safe bet, and i'm leaning in that direction. I have been to Spain before but not Barcelona. Rome/Florence still seems quite interesting though, but maybe more unpredictable and more likely wet weather?