I turn 40 in November and have a week of vacation time. Assuming travel will be more open by November, and considering November weather in Europe... Where would you go???
Or , another version of the same question... If you have been to Europe in November, which places were goood to visit that time of the year?
TIA!
Hard to answer without knowing your interests.
Then again I’ll always recommend London as I’ve been traveling there for decades. Always changing, always the same. Never boring.
Claudia... I love everything Europe, really. Have been many times, and have been to the major cities more than once. If push comes to shove, I'll go back to Paris for the 9th time :D It's my fave city anyways and it's great in any kind of weather...
We went to Spain in November. We loved it! We did Sevilla, pueblos blancos, Granada, Cordoba, Toledo, Segovia and a bit of Madrid. Maybe a bit chilly at night, but we'd wear a sweater. I think you also could do Barcelona/Catalunya in Novermber. I was there in January and enjoyed it.
We went to Italy mid October-1st week of November. We decided we wouldn't do Italy that late in the fall again. Very wet. When it wasn't raining the air temp was very comfortable. Florence was 70 degrees or so. We did have fabulous weather in Rome. 70s every day, no rain. We also went to Amalfi and had one rainy day/one beautiful day. Our day in Pompeii was 70 degrees and sunny. We went to Lake Como where we made do with mostly rainy weather. CT weather was nice, but it was forecast to not be, so they closed all the trails. We might consider Sicily that time of year, but I don't think we'd do the rest of Italy.
When you get to late fall/winter weather, I think the trick is to go where you know it will be warm enough with limited precip, or a place with bigger cities with both indoor and outdoor activities.
I've not been there, but I would guess mid and southern Portugal would be nice.
No such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing!
If you go in late November you can do the Christmas markets. We often travel to Europe that time of year. Have a good coat and you will be fine.
Either somewhere south, like Andalucia or southern Italy, or a big city like Paris or London or you name it.
Agree the big cities are where we have traveled then. If weather is an issue you can plan museum days. Late November Christmas activities get going.
We were in rome then and weather was perfect. Cool mornings but 60s F during the day.
Then I’ll stick with London.
Check to see dates for the Classical Spectacular at Royal Albert Hall. Believe the Lord Mayors Show is early November as well.
Check Theatre Monkey for shows that will be occurring in November. Theatre in London is always fun. Also check Timeout London on line. Will provide intel about museum offerings, music, theatre, cinema and special events.
Weather could be rain, crisp blue skies with sun or both on the same day.
It’s my favorite month to visit London.
Early Christmas shopping.
Enjoy.
I vote for xmas markets- so Germany!
Like others have mentioned, Paris at the end of November will encompass the Christmas market season. Theoretically you could take a train to Strasbourg for the day and stay till the Cathedral and Christmas lights are turned on - or just go for the day. It’s about 2 hours by TGV. Strasbourg in my opinion has some of the most beautiful decorations. I’ve been to a lot of markets and it’s my favorite in France.
7 days in Paris with possible side trips is a good start. Happy Birthday! Treat yourself to something special.
November lets you go some places that are way less crowded than they would be in summer. And places that are really hot in summer are much more tolerable in November. Three years ago I went to Sicily, Italy’s hot, southernmost part, and November was cooler and just warm then!
Two and three years ago, Florence, Italy, too, although I got some rainy, soggy days. Good to be in museums and churches, but getting to them is wet. That counts for more northerly parts of Europe, too. England and London were damp 2 years ago in November, raining some days and most nights.
Nice and southern France, in November each of the 3 years prior to the Pandemic. That’s the ideal place in November, and I even took a weekend trip up to Strasbourg with a friend in Nice to see the Christmas market 2 years ago.
Go to where you want to go and if you need to layer up so be it. We've visited Italy and Spain in November and Paris as well as the Alsace region in December and were not affected by weather. Plus the crowds and prices are typically down in November!
We’d go anywhere we want. Weather is seldom a factor in our planning. We frequently go to London in November, taking day trips from it, and always have a good time. Southern Spain is also nice.
My birthday is in early November and my husband’s is 5 days after mine. We spent a week in Paris incorporating both birthdays to celebrate a milestone birthday for me. Why Paris? Besides being my favorite city, there are many choices of things to do, no matter how the weather is. Raining? There are many museums, shops and other indoor places. Dry? You won’t run out of places to explore. Another perk was that places weren’t crowded. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back in November.
Any place you want, or at least most places. Some might have some boring weather but that is not a problem as long as you dress for it.
If Paris is your favourite city, going back to Paris is not a bad idea. But basically any major city with a lot of indoor activities like museum will be a good choice. Berlin, Vienna, Lisbon, Copenhagen, the list is endless (almost). Going in November is also a great opportunity to visit popular places in low season. Tourist hot spots like Prague, Cracow or Barcelona doesn't really have an off season, but if you go in November they will look very different compared to July.
You don't mention where you live or what kind of weather you prefer, but if you don't like hot weather then November is a good time to see southern Europe when it's not blistering hot outside. Cities like Seville, Palermo or Thessaloniki are much nicer in November if you ask me (but I'm Scandinavian and can't stand hot weather…).
I often go to the Christmas Markets in late November. Lots of fun!
One year I went to Lyon, France and happened upon the celebration of the New Wine release. Quite a fun celebration in the Old Town. We then went south to Provence and Cote de Rhône area. Almost everything was closed as it was the off, off season, before the holidays. So be aware small town attractions will be greatly reduced.
Well if its towards the end of November, then maybe visit some of the Christmas Markets. Germany offers many to choose from.
Frankly, I would go earlier.
I would highly recommend Bavaria Germany. We went over the Thanksgiving holiday in 2018 and loved it. We based in Munich then took trains all over. There was so much to explore but make sure you leave time to really see Munich, lots of history there. We happened upon a Christmas market in Salzburg, Austria that was fantastic. The Christmas markets in Munich were opening the day we left. In 2019 we traveled to Barcelona over the same time period. Warmer weather than Germany obviously but still late fall weather. We did a day trip to Andorra, such a beautiful drive. Happened to catch an FC Barcelona game, that was the highlight of the trip for the teenagers! Thoroughly enjoyed this trip as well. I don't think you can make a bad decision. Just go where you want to go and do the research so you know what to expect. Enjoy and happy birthday!
One small factor is the amount of daylight you can enjoy. The further north in Europe, the earlier the sun sets. In the middle of November the sun will go down in London about 4 p.m. Before the pandemic, that mostly meant that all the after-dark activities such as theatre and dining will truly be after dark and indoors. If your major enjoyment is seeing the city on foot, your comfort zone will be reduced. Post pandemic, nothing is certain (other than the sun still sets.)
Southam makes a great point. Pick a place that has a lot to see and do after dark, which is just about any large city. You can check sunset times here for most any city. The farther north you are, the shorter the days.
Spain is an oddity . . . even though nearly the entire country is west of the prime meridian (London/Greenwich) they are on central European time. so in Madrid, for instance, sunset's around 6 pm in November. Also, southern Spain (Andalucia) is the warmest driest part of Europe
After the kids moved out, we would try to go somewhere during Thanksgiving time (if there were no family reasons to stick around for the 4 day weekend) so when combined with a week of vc, it would make for a nice mid-length trip ... especially since 7-8 days is never long enough (you ALWAYS wished you had just 1-2 more days) and at the 2 week mark you start getting a little homesick ... and I would second/third/fourth/+1 the Christmas Markets (Germany with Salzburg tossed in) ... and the chocolate festival in Tübingen (haven't been yet but hey, it's chocolate so it has to be good ... maybe this year)
