Europe in December

It is the same as traveling in the summer time except that the weather can be more of problem with rain, snow, and colder temperatures etc. Days are short and many sites will have shorter hours. In certain areas the crowds will be less but it is a holiday period for the Europeans who like their Christmas markets and other activities.

There are definite advantages to traveling in the winter, if you don't mind the weather. Prices are lower, there are fewer crowds, and the holiday season offers a lot of activities in the big cities.

To me, the worst time to travel is July and August. It's hot, tons of tourists, and cultural programs, such as music, opera, and theater, are more limited.

"Can anyone give any tips/tricks/input for traveling during this time (December)?"

Yes, you'll probably want to spend more time researching the typical weather in December in various locations, since you can't just assume the weather will be good. The countries you listed are north (in latitude) of most of the US, about even with parts of Canada. Ireland's weather is affected by the ocean and will be different from typical weather in the continental part of Europe, such as Austria. And December weather in the Alpine parts of Switzerland, Austria and Germany will also be affected by the elevation of where you're at, in addition to the time of year.

Be prepared for the worst. Read some of the old threads from last winter where the snow in Europe disrupted a lot of folks travel plans.

While most of the time things work out fine, be prepared if it doesn't. Also realize that you could be stuck in a city for days if the weather is truly awful like last December.

Austria, Switz, Germany, France, Ireland, etc

Am I reading this correctly that you're planning to travel to 5 or more countries in just a few weeks? That would be very ambitious at any time of year. In winter, it is also very risky as transportation can be disrupted at any time quite easily. You can easily miss connections, spend much more time in train stations and airports than expected. And it doesn't need a severe winter like the last one to screw up such a busy itinerary.

You can certainly have fun travelling Europe in December. Christmas markets are amazing, museums offer a warm place, crowds won't be too big (unless you decide to visit the Nuremberg Christmas market on a Saturday or Sunday). But bring along warm clothing, especially warm shoes/boots and limit the amount of travelling between destinations. Some people talk about layering even for winter months but I would never go without my winter coat. And the toe warmers I got at MEC (the Canadian equivialent to REI) were worth their weight in gold when we were walking through the snow for hours.

Have spent a week in Spain in December, a week in Italy, and a week in Ireland...happy to provide itineraries or any details for any or all of these places...just send me a PM. In general, you'll plan to spend more time indoors, perhaps work in live theater or concerts at night (sites keep shorter hours), and plan for some measure of rain. On the other hand, lines are much shorter, you feel like you 'own' many of the most popular sites (no crowds), lodging is a little cheaper, and the wonderful winter holiday lights and markets and shopping is much fun.

One other significant factor that others have not mentioned- daylight hours. The sun doesn't fully rise until almost 9 AM and it starts to get dark around 4 PM. And even during that period of shortened daylight, you can sometimes experience dense fog. For practical purposes, this puts a constraint on how much touring you can fit in outside of cities. My general recommendations for winter travel in Europe are either to take advantage of the amazing winter sports, or else concentrate on urban sites. Keep your plans less ambitious than you would in the summer.

EDIT: Oops, looks like Eli did mention the short days...

Thank you all! Weather isn't really an issue as I've lived in some pretty cold places in the US, so the thought of being cold doesn't seem too bad :). Is there any particular place I should TRY to visit because of the time of year I'm going? I've read most places will be slow, but I'm just hoping they wont close down completely. I'll take all the help and input I can get since this will be my first time over.

I visited Rome in January (been twice before at more typical times) and found it delightful... no crowds, lines, wonderful cultural life. The only thing I found is that small towns (even major tourist sites) were largely shut down. And while I usually prefer to travel alone, winter travel is the one time I prefer a companion (dark so early, so you're either out well after dark on your own or have to go in early). I've not been to Ireland in the winter, but the roads can be quite challenging in other seasons, so you may want to consider that if you'll be driving.

It's not just the cold (though I've found that not to be sooo bad)... it's the possibility of very heavy, disruptive snow. While last year was unusual, you should plan accordingly. I agree that you need to limit your plans a bit. We have been to the UK and Austria in late Nov/early Dec. The trips were great. Sometimes we had a small bit of snow (Inverness& Aviemore Scotland, London (very small) and Salzburg, Innnsbruck and Vienna), but never more than an inch or two. Last year some areas measured it in feet/meters. I'd suggest doing a good bit of research, limit destinations, stick to mostly larger cities or places with skiing facilities and have backup plans. When you have a tentatie intenerary, post that and people will be able to give you more specific feedback. PS- with 4-5 weeks, I'd limit destinations to 3-4 with 5 as an outside max. 2 would be better- with lots of day trips.

Here are my tentative plans: Dublin- 5 days Paris- 1 day Munich- 3 days Milan/ Rome- 5 days Lisbon- 3 days Madrid- 1.5 day and fly home

It looks like you'll be flying a lot or doing lots of long stretches of train travel. That will increase the cost of your trip and your risk of your plans being disrupted by poor weather conditions. One-day-stands are not a good idea in those situations either. If you go from Dublin to Paris your one day might be reduced to one hour. One day for Paris? as your one day for an entire country? Either add some extra time or skip it for this time and come back with more time to spend. I'm a bit confused what your interests are. Why are you choosing these countries? In your original posting the destinations listed were completely different then these ones. Was this a move to go further south or other interests?

Quite simply, that itinerary won't work, especially in December. You're traveling too far between destinations too frequently. You'll see a lot of airports, train stations, railroad tracks and taxis, but not much else. Add a weather or labour-related transit disruption, and you're whole plan is screwed.

You'd best listen to Tom. I see major movement on nine of about eighteen days ... that's half the time. On those days, with the short hours, you'll only have a couple of hours of daylight to do or see anything ... and that's assuming you tote your luggage the whole time.

Erin, you are a brave woman to take on so many places in such a short space of time, and in winter no less! It is entirely up to you if you feel like you must go to so many places. It will be tiring, time wasted waiting/travelling to and fro, and again, the days are short!

I'll be flying from Dub to Paris (2hour flight- gets me into Paris at 9am), and the long trips be be overnight (ie Lisbon to Madrid.) Im wondering why 3-4 days in a city wont work? BTW- Paris I'm cutting short becuase I am more interested in seeing Munich and Italy (Milan and Rome.) ohhh... and was planning on taking flight from Rome-Lisbon.

And one more thing... my flight leaves from Madrid, so thats why I have that in there. Lisbon is something I can skip for this trip if needed... honestly its just so hard to see everything I want to see. I was trying to plan on transportation time before/after dark to maximize the daylight hours.

it will be great. i traveled from amsterdam to poland, with stops in brugge, zell, rothenburg, munich, fussen, vienna, budapest, prague and krakow. i did this in february. the snow met me in amsterdam and followed me the entire trip. it was awesome. bring a good coat or two, scarves, hats, gloves, two or three pairs of good shoes and all the regular stuff. i am so jealous. have fun, be safe.

The parts that won´t work are going from Paris to Munich and only staying a day, then hopping all the way to Lisbon from Italy. In theory, night trains are great time savers. But in practice, many people have trouble getting a satisfactory night sleep and end up losing a day somewhere to a much needed nap.

Italy (rome) to lisbon is flight, not rail- agree that would take to long. And paris is my only "planned" one day stop, taking night train from there to munich and staying in munich a couple of days.

We love traveling in December. No crowds, no long waits. Buy a set of Patagonia long thin underwear and go for it. Take hat, gloves, maybe buy a warm scarf there. Warm sox, a coata travel umbrella and you're good to go. Pack light so you can bring Christmas gifts home!

Shay, where did you go to? And how long did you stay if I may ask... Thanks!

I would really try to cut yourself back to a couple of countries for that length of a trip (or at least cut Paris, entirely.) Germany is great at Christmas- love the markets!! What part of your trip is non-refundable? What can't you change? My last two Europe trips were in December and froze our butts off (no major weather systems- actually I missed a freak storm here by being over there!), but survived. Best tips: silk underwear and Smartwool socks. Christmas markets and hot spiced wine.

I think that, particularly in Northern Europe (UK, Benelux, Scandinavia), shorter days (think like northern Quebec daylight in winter) bother me a lot more than cold weather. As for now, I live in The Netherlands. In early January, 7:30 AM = dark, 5 PM = dark. If you are looking for more indoor attractions, it can be delightful (less crowds). However, don't expect a "street life" of any sort in winter. In mountain destinations, snow season patterns are slightly different (season is shorter) than in US. Southernmost Italy, South Spain and most of Portugal escape the worst of winter weather.

Ok, so I've cut out Portugal and Spain and am flying out of Paris instead. Now I'll have a couple more days in each city, and some time in case there are delays. Thanks everyone for your input, its definitely helped. (If there's anything else you'd want to pass onto a 1st timer in europe- give it to me ;)...)