Europe in January

As someone once said, there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing.
Depends what your interests are.
If you go to a city, you have options for wandering around outside if it is fine, or visiting museums etc if not.
In January, you just take pot luck with the weather - but it will be chiliy.

Well, with climate change, you have to pick your poison. It's in the 40's and 50's
in central Europe right now. High 50's in Madrid. Compare that to the heat of
summer when everyone wants to go. I guess it depends on whether you tolerate
heat or cold better.

Every hotel has heaters in the rooms. Some hotels and B&B's do not have A/C for
the hot summer months.

It's usually a lot cheaper for lodging and flights to Europe in the off-season months.

If your main concern is weather, consider a more southerly destination; Spain, Greece, etc.

We went to Italy last month for two weeks during our daughter’s college winter break and it was great! High temps 55-60 F, lows around 40, only a little rain. We had to skip the beach and the boat tour around Capri, but the lack of crowds everywhere else made up for it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

As others have said, it depends where you are going- if you're going to a ski destination like Switzerland or Austria, this will be high season. In northern Europe it will be cold, and southern Europe will be colder than usual but not freezing- sometimes even warm enough to sit outside. One thing to consider is that January is the rainiest month for many European destinations- so really the best time for museums and other indoor activities. It tends to be a little quieter/less busy in non ski destinations.

Yes, definitely go for it. Especially if this is when you can travel with your son, because those are precious memories that you will have forever.

We always thought it was important to go in the spring, summer, or fall. But last year, we had an opportunity to travel with our daughter and son-in-law to Europe but it couldn't be during those seasons. So we got creative and had a great time. I have included the link to my Trip Report below. I hope this helps. Enjoy!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-february-march-in-italy

best time for museums and other indoor activities

Agree 100%. I often travel in January or February. Cities are very different than during the summer hight season.

I would say it depends on where you want to go and for what you are going. Its a big continent and there are countless interests that one might have. Museums, maybe yes. Nature, maybe not. Greece maybe better. Finland maybe not as good. First day of snow, fun 12th day of snow, not so much fun. Skiing, fun. Body Surfing, not as much fun.

Do it. Rome is absolutely wonderful in January!

It isn’t Europe exactly but I’m in Tunisia right now and it’s a perfect time to tour this fascinating country. Sunny with highs in 60s or 70s, night lows 45-55, very lush and green in the north and comfortable temps in the desert south. Just one day with some light rain (although our group has been fortunate since it can be cold and wet around the Mediterranean in winter).

We were in Paris from January 1-8 a couple of years ago. It was great. Our activity focused on museums and other indoor sites, but some days were sunny enough that it was quite pleasant walking around Luxembourg Gardens, etc. We had a great time at the Eiffel Tower, even (and really enjoyed warming up with lunch afterwards). As long as you are practical about what can be accomplished in the cold/damp with shortened hours of daylight, winter visits to Europe can be very rewarding.

Most of my trips to Europe have been in January or February. Weather has always been pleasant for the most part. Maybe an occasional rain shower, but that is to be expected.

Tunisia: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/tunisia-travel-advisory.html

A trip I made to Paris in January 2012 was among my favorites of 16 visits to Europe.

I landed on New Year's Day for an entire week in the City of Lights. January was a good time for a long visit, because all the sites were open with half (or even less) the number of tourists compared with summer and shoulder seasons. There was seating in every eatery. The usual feeling of frenzy on the Paris Metro was non-existent.

If you and your son want to spend time in a big city, January is a great time to do it. However, if you are planning a multi-stop trip and would like to see smaller towns, you might find closures. When I travel in the warmer months, I like to sprinkle in mid-size cities and small towns, too. And there's no reason not to do the same in January, but things might be closed.

On weather, I might not be the best judge because I'm from Chicago. There are few places in Europe that are colder. Paris in January was almost balmy compared with Chicago.

Just be sure you're OK with short days. You could be very lucky with the weather, but the hours for sunrise and sunset guarantee short days. I spent a month in Rome/Naples/Salerno between mid-February and mid-March in 2023. I'm someone who needs sunlight, and I was a lot happier at the end of the trip than at the beginning (and January would have been worse for me). Although I was very lucky with the weather, I don't think I'll ever go back to Europe between mid-October and early April.

This is all so helpful! We live in San Diego so we're no too concerned with a warm beach vacation because we have year round nice weather. This is a lot to think about. the shorter days are something to consider. We're thinking Portugal, Italy or France.

the shorter days are something to consider

And really should give it a lot of consideration. Many of the cities mentioned are never more wonderful then when all lit up in the winter. Its a sort of beauty the summer travelers never get to enjoy I tell people I look forward to the winter months because the store fronts turn from reflective glass of summer to winter prosceniums of the stage that is lit inside the shops and restaurants. Cities have a whole new dimension that just doesnt exist in the daylight.

Winter is also when music and theater tends to be the most abundant and at its best. If you go to a city with a longer winter you will find they make better use of the winter than the places that only need to survice a cold month or two.

Thank you for that perspective, it sounds lovely!

It's cold, and grey. Sometimes rain, sometimes snow, sometimes freezing fog. You see blue skies maybe once a week, but don't bet on it. It's been over 40 two days in the past 5 weeks. This year is better than last year. People are coughing and sneezing. The vast majority of the tourist stuff is closed for the season. There's nobody in the small towns along the Rhine and Mosel. The museums are comparatively empty. At least, this is what it's like right now in the area between Paris, Frankfurt, and Basel, all of which I've visited since Christmas. My neighbor from Dresden says it's worse up there, and one of the guys I work with just came back from a week in Poland and was complaining about the snow. Maybe it's nicer south of the Alps.

But if you ski, it's great. If you're inside wandering through a museum you can have rooms to yourself. If you're okay driving in cruddy weather the roads are free of caravans.

Things get better around Rose Monday, or maybe it's just that's a good reason to party.

This is quite a different perspective! We live in a sunny climate so I’m not overly concerned with gray skies for a couple weeks on vacation. When we were in Scotland last summer it was cold and raining and we still did everything and we were far from miserable. Everyone has a cold where we live right now too so not much of a concern there.
I was just reading how hot and crowded Italy was in the summer and it really turned me off about going that time of year. We would prefer to not be in massive crowds of tourists is probably most important to us.
Thank you for responding, I do like to get different perspectives and is why I posted here

Also I’m glad you pointed out that sites may be closed and is something we considered as well

When you want to go to highly popular areas, you nearly always have to accept crowded conditions or significant weather risk, if not both. It sounds as if you will be happier with a winter trip and less crowding. However, you probably will not have the most popular destinations to yourselves; there are plenty of other people (as you can see from this thread) who are willing to put up with potentially less-than-ideal weather for a chance to avoid sardine-can conditions. If you haven't traveled to Europe's hotspots between late spring and early fall, you may well not recognize how much less crowded they are in January.

It's cold, and grey. Sometimes rain, sometimes snow, sometimes
freezing fog. You see blue skies maybe once a week, but don't bet on
it. It's been over 40 two days in the past 5 weeks.

I am assuming KGC is talking about being home in Germany. This is why the location is so important and why this is a hard question to answer.

As miserable as Germany sounds to be in the winter, where I iive, further south January is almost the driest month of the year and this is true in a lof of Europe. Sure, some snow, this year twice in January but less than a few inches each time (still very pretty for a few days), and the temperatures ..... well ..... very cold many mornings before one wakes up. Above freezing most of the hours people are awake and we had three days where it got to 50F and above .... so you never know. Overcast? I noticed this year that the mornings are clear as often than not. I noticed because I wanted to get out and take some picitures and found if i went out at 9am i had better skies. With the ealry sunset, overcast really doesnt matter as its the lights that are so beautiful. https://youtu.be/4C28cebLkAg?si=lq5kw6rPXUp6Gq-3

there are plenty of other people (as you can see from this thread) who
are willing to put up with potentially less-than-ideal weather for a
chance to avoid sardine-can conditions.

Plan B is to go in warmer weather and to do a some of the sardine destinations but spend time in places that havent hit the tourism radar yet. Everyone has to go to Croatia now and its become an expensive mess at times. A tad further south is Montenegro which is Croatia ten years ago. Be among the first. Get out of Rome or consider destinations that are popular but large enough where the crowds are spread out a bit and have secondary neighborhoods. Two that come to mind are Paris (always easy to go a few blocks to a wonderful place and leave the crowds behind) or Budapest.

I love winter travel as I much prefer colder temps. Plus there are far fewer people.

Have you looked at Iceland? Yes, it gets cold in January, but there is so much to do and you might get to see the northern lights. Ice caves, glacier hikes, snowmobiling, hot springs, and whale watching are all great in the winter there.

You absolutely should plan on places (museums, historical sites, large parts of tourist-dependent small towns, shops, and restaurants) being closed in January. After the Autumn and Christmas season rush, this is when small businesses take a break so they can be rested and ready for the onslaught of tourists the following Spring and Summer.

One should be especially aware of local winter school holidays, because folks who have kids in schools frequently choose those weeks to close up shop and head out of town. Of course, closures for school vacation are mostly in February, but that doesn't negate the first part of my comment. Business owners and site managers know from years of experience when business is down, and they take advantage of those times (read: January and similar months) to shut down, take a break, catch up on maintenance or updating, and get ready for the high season to come.

That's not to say you shouldn't come. Just come with realistic expectations.

I love doing European city breaks in January/the winter generally. The big cities are so much less crowded than during tourist season and hotel prices are better. Bad weather doesn’t matter as much if you’re hopping between cafes, museums, and restaurants. For instance I had a gorgeous trip to Rome in January a few years ago with lovely weather (60s Fahrenheit) and I had the city nearly to myself. I’ve had similar experiences in Granada, Paris, Vienna, Budapest, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Venice…while I take the point about closures, the only place I’ve experienced seasonal closures in winter was Venice where a number of restaurants were closed. I suspect in bigger cities that aren’t so majorly tethered to tourism as the primary industry, closures wouldn’t be as much of an issue. I sometimes see places closed in London in the first week or two of January but not many and they usually reopen by midway through the month.