Europe in the WInter

I was in Italy during the Christmas holidays two years ago and it was great. Rome had the best weather - cold in morning and at night, but mild in the afternoon. Clear - no rain at all, sunny. We were outside much of the time and it was fine.

Florence was colder and rainy, but still great.

Xmas day, restaurants opened late. New years eve in Rome was lively - watch out for falling dishes. Fireworks at the Colesseum was great fun.

A few restaurants were closed for the xmas holidays. But we never went hungry.

Every attraction we wanted to see was open and available, but Rome was pretty crowded. We didn't even attempt the vatican museum - lines were crazy.

I've never been in the summer, so I can't compare. But I can't think of anything that we couldn't do or see because of the season.

Frist, look at your globe. London, Paris and a lot of Europe is as far north as the Canadian border so that should give you a clue. But the water surrounding northern Europe does moderate the weather. The days are short, sun light weak, and it can be cold and damp (rainy). Don't see a lot of snow and severe cold weather unless you get into Germany and further away from the oceans. Most of the tourist sites will be open. Could be on more limited hours. Better weather would be in southern France, Spain, Italy. Southern France, Italy could be more like northern Florida, and the Carolinas at that time of year. We are headed to southern Spain over New Years.

We have been to London and Paris twice in November and it was nice. We are going to Venice over the Christmas Holiday. We enjoy the fall/winter trips as there are not nearly as many crowds. Just layer your clothing and you will be fine. Yes, the tourist places are open in the winter. Go and enjoy yourself.

I have done both London and Paris during those time frames. It will be freezing cold with rain, sometimes snow, and the days are short. Don't let the weather detour you from going. The bright side is London hotels are cheaper the 2 week's before the Christmas Holidays because its a dead zone for tourism. Very few crowds (except at Buckingham Palace changing of the guards), with all the major sights open, except on a holiday. We found internet deals on daytrip tour to Bath/Windsor/Stonehenge and the hop on & off bus was a 48 hour ticket instead of 24 hour that included the river cruise that I used to get to Greenwich. I would do the trip in the order of London, France, and Italy.

I've been to Paris twice during Jan - Feb recently and it was wonderful both times. January is now my favorite month for Paris. Some days were very cold however, and you need a good coat and scarf for sure. Other days it was quite mild, and there were a few days of mild rain. During Dec & Jan the Xmas decorations will be up and skating rinks all over town, and of course all the sights and restaruants are going full tilt. I'm sure London and Italy will be magical as well.

Most of my trips to Europe have been in the colder months of the year. For the most part, in the places you mentioned (London, Paris and Italy), the temperatures are rather mild compared to, for example, the Northeast US and Canada. Actually, you may find the weather similar to the Seattle area at this time of year. Snowfall doesn't usually accumulate enough to cause transportation issues. Of course, if you go to the French or Italian Alps, different story altogether. In the places you proposed, I would expect to see more rain and fog than snow. The weather tends to get harsher farther to the east, however.

As for popular tourist attractions, most remain open all year. In winter, they often operate at reduced hours, but because crowds are usually much lighter, you can see much more in less time. With the exception of the holidays, expect few lines.

Also in the winter, the indoor cultural seasons (symphony and opera) are at their height, whereas most go on hiatus during the summer.

Finally, if you are interested, the Alps are a winter sports paradise.

The only real downside to winter travel to Europe, in my opinion, is that with the vastly shortened hours of daylight, exploring the countryside becomes more difficult. The cities, of course, are well lit, so this isn't a problem.

So overall, I say go for it.

Tom mentioned the vastly shortened hours of daylight in northern Europe in the winter, which can blindside some North Americans. For example, in London in late December the sun rises slightly after 8:00am and sets just before 4:00pm, just 7 hrs 50 mins of daylight in late December. In late June it would stay light until 9:20pm, an extra 5 and 1/2 hours of time to see and do things outdoors. But then there's the extra cost and crowds in the summer--it's a trade-off. Some travelers go in shoulder season, spring or fall, to try to get more daylight, fewer crowds, and somewhat reduced cost.

Tom & Kent are right to bring up the daylight issue. This is certainly a consideration if planning to visit the countryside, to hike or do other activities dependent on daylight. But if going to cities this should not be much of an issue -- they should be just as lovely and going strong in the evenings.

Nikki, I have frozen my rear-end off in Bellingham before. My ex-mother-in-law's toilets froze over one winter there after they lost power. It's not going to be any colder in London, France, and Italy. I was in Germany in 92, and it was a cold winter, and it was about 20 degrees the whole time we were there.

OK, Nikki.

We have decided that you are going . . . in 6 weeks! Let's start planning.

Thanks for all the help guys! We decided we will go! Now we are trying to plan everything and make sure we have enough time. We were looking at Eurail tickets last night and for a 10 time pass for youth it was around $400. Is there anyway to get it any cheaper. I would think that during the winter it would be less.

Thanks again!!

Hi Nikki, I too am doing Europe (Italy, France, Germany and Netherlands)during this time. We plan on bundling up. I did the math on the Europass and found point to point to be cheaper for us, much cheaper. I booked early and got many bargain tickets&deals - rather than train from Italy to Netherlands I got a RyanAir flight that saved me 18 hours of travel time to add on to my site seeing time. Train specials on Thalys, SBB and DB for additional savings may still be available to you. Also consider travelng by train at night-saves on room costs and gets you there in precious day light & rested-an overnight from Paris to I think Milan or Rome sounds fabulous!is offered. Have a great time.

We looked at buying individual tickets, but it only saved us about $20 a piece. I will look at those websites!! Thanks

Hi Nikki, A while back, my wife and I spent one winter in Europe traveling in a VW camper van (with no RV-style night-time heater). We had snow in Paris and northern France, Switzerland, Salzburg (with 5 degree F nights), Vienna, and parts of Germany. We lived in Fairbanks at the time, so we were not bothered by the cold. We also had very pleasant weather in Italy, Greece, Turkey, and southern Yugoslavia (it was still Yugoslsavia then). I think you should be prepared for cool, rainy weather and buy an extra layer or two as needed. The museums, etc. will have no crowds, and the outdoor Christmas markets are enjoyable. Have fun, Charlie Robinson, Lodi, California

Hi Nikki, I was in France in December/January two years ago and being a southerner, it was very cold to me but did not deter us from doing anything while in Paris. If you go to more rural areas be advised that many places close down in the winter so check carefully.

France and London are colder than Southern Italy. You can find the remperatures around the world on the internet.I went to Italy starting in MIlan going South to Rome just now at the end of October and it rained every day in Rome, but it wasn't cold.
I don't believe tha the railpass is a good deal, unless you use it very often. You also might be able to find cheap flights inside Europe on skyscanner.com
I like this site because it has many search options, such as departure from any city in one country to a specific city in a different country.It will give you the name of the airline company, so you can go on their site and book your flights.
The farther in time you book your flights, the cheater they will be.

Thanks everyone for your help! We just booked the tickets today and are very excited to go!! We are going to Rick Steves Free travel class this weekend and are excited to learn more about the trip!!

Thanks everyone for your help! We just booked the tickets today and are very excited to go!! We are going to Rick Steves Free travel class this weekend and are excited to learn more about the trip!!

We are going to Paris, Munich, and Rome 12/17-12/30 and I am so excited. Maybe you should include Germany so you can see the Christmas Markets which are supposed to be amazing. I did not want to go to Europe in the summer because of the heat and tourist. I would rather bundle up and save my sanity.

A lot depends on what you enjoy doing. We are big museum buffs and one year spent the Christmas holiday season in London. We spent many hours each day inside museums or other monuments or cultural events, so the cold (which I Hate with a capital H) did not bother us that much. The shortened daylight hours for toodling around impacted us more than the weather. Bundle up and have a good time.