European Travel in January and February

We lived in Augsburg, Germany for four years and would never pay to fly to Europe to sightsee in the Winter. That is just us.

Yes, you can, but be prepared for the cold. Take a WARM overcoat, thick socks, wool slacks, gloves and a warm hat.
Also, you want to go to the Alps, where it will be even colder due to the altitude.

I don't recommend renting a car, since ice and snow can make driving difficult and can slow your travel considerably.

There are some wonderful cities in the Alpine regions, Geneva, Interlakken and Lucerne Switzerland for example. But that country is more expensive than Italy, Austria or Germany.

Innsbruck, Austria is nice, but Salzburg is my favorite as well as Vienna in Austria. Still Vienna is away from the mountains.

Garmish and Berchtesgaden Germany are nice. Fussen, near Garmisch is nice. Munich is not real far from the Alps, if you choose to tour that city.

We have travelled to Europe in November, December (most frequently), February, March, April, May, June. Late fall and winter work best with my work schedule, and I would never go in summer.
We were in Chamonix in December 2021 and there happened to be a big snowfall the day before our arrival - unusual for mid-December - but it resulted in a magical winter wonderland. Within 2 days, it was melty and messy. Obviously, what you may get is luck of the draw. Most of our winter travel means contending with rain and chill, but we put on waterproof shoes and a raincoat with layers and keep on keeping on. You may find things to be closed in smaller villages or off the beaten track locations, but it is a fantastic time to do cities - museums are less crowded, hard-to-get reservations open up. December is my favorite time because of the Christmas decorations and such, but I'd definitely take a trip in January or February, as well. If you want a better chance of missing rain and cold, do Rome and southern Italy (Sicily!) or Spain. If you want to embrace the season, definitely do the Alps and maybe add on Paris (never a bad time for Paris).

Twenty + years ago, we took trips to Ireland in February twice. We went days without hearing American accents. :D Yes, it rained but there was always a pub with a pint and a peat fire to end the day!

There are no bad times to travel, only inappropriate clothing.

The Swiss rail system offers some very attractive multi-day excursions in winter.

https://switzerlandtravelcentre.com/en/che/round-trips/themed-holidays/winter-rail-journeys

Or you can do day excursions on one or more of the so-called scenic trains.

https://switzerlandtravelcentre.com/en/che/round-trips/scenic-rail-journeys?

After a few days of enjoying the Alps, you could head south to Italy. We had a wonderful time in Puglia (including nice weather) in February last year.

January and February are not off season in the Alps, on the contrary. You might not be thinking of skiiing, but many others will.

There are many great options for wintertime destinations. All the cities that are there in the summer will be there in the winter as well, and the museums will be just as great but with smaller crowds. If you go a bit further north there are good opportunities to see the northern lights, as well as different winter adventures.

For winter weather without being in the skier-filled Alps, Vienna and Munich. For warmer weather, Andalucia, Spain or Sicily or Portugal. Happy travels!

Thank you all for your thoughts so far

The Alps are very pretty all the time, winter is just a bit different. And JAN/FEB is prime time for skiing, so they will be in season. Just like Garmisch-Partenkirchen (which is where the winter Olympics have been held), and most of the towns near the mountains.

Places I like in the winter? Prague, Northern Bavaria, Lake Constance, Vienna, Salzburg, Copenhagen. I don't care if it snows; these are all great places to walk around and they have attractions that are open year round (and usually less crowded in winter). I haven't done Paris or Luxembourg when there's snow but those are also a great destinations.

Usually come FEB I'm thinking Canary Islands since I don't ski anymore.

If you are contemplating the dates to avoid crowds and save money, since it seems like you are pretty open minded about where to go, I would suggest that you dont have to avoid the warmer months to avoid crowds and cust costs. You just have t choose wisely. Any time of the year much of Eastern Europe is half the cost of Switzerland and close to half the cost of Austria. Crowds are less as well.

I suspect the mountains of Austria and Switzerland are beautiful in the winter. Also suspect that interestng places are not off season and being Austria and Switzerland are way expesive. Romania has some beautiful mountains and skiing as does Bulgaria and Slovakia. Ive been here: https://www.banskoski.com/en and here https://www.poianabrasov.com/video and https://www.slovakia.com/skiing/strbske-pleso/ none are "the alps" but the snow was wonderful as are the things to see and do in the rest of each country. Great escapes in my book.

Another thing you could do is scower the internet for events going on. That can add a little interest or purpose. Here is one that starts 27 February next year (2026 starts on 17 February --- always the week prior to Fat Tuesday). https://youtu.be/xHcfJLTYgN8?si=Wl0rGaeSFiazzrI1

As far as weather. The averages for central Europe can look pretty low, but in the past few years the temps have exceeded the averages by quite a bit (yesterday in Budapest it hit 70F and the outside cafes were open and full .... just crazy for the end of October). If you get lucky in places like Budapest and Vienna you might see a bit of snow, but rarely heavy. The theater season will still be in full swing in places like Budapest and Vienna. It really is high culture time, especially in Eastern Europe.

Yes Jan and Feb is actually peak season in the Alps! The main tourism there is from skiers.

I love off season travel. I have traveled to Italy, Spain & Portugal in late January/early February. I might have just been lucky with the weather every time, but on each trip I had chilly (not cold) but sunny days, and no rain.

I suffer in the heat, so I'm not likely to visit those countries in the summer. I'm a big fan of winter travel. Accommodations and flights are cheaper and crowds are smaller. Rick's guidebooks used to say (or may still say) that one of the drawbacks to off-season travel is that sights might be closed. Maybe that's the case in coastal destinations, but I think those days are over in cities. Everything is open.
There may be fewer tourists in the off season but there are still plenty of them these days.

I went on a tour of Sicily in February of this year, and it could not have been nicer.
Sunny and mid 60s every day, which to me is ideal.
Not crowded except for the end in Catania, because of st agatha holiday. But that was amazing to be a part of.

Booked a tour of Portugal (Lisbon/Porto) for early March next year…fingers crossed I’ll be so lucky again.

I got off the plane in Madrid to temps in the 20s F in mid-March 2024. It was warmer in Chicago where I’d arrived from. A week later, snow storm causing icy roads between Granada and Madrid. Many spin-offs and accidents on the ice. My only advice, be prepared with an extra layer!

I like off season. London was good in January pre-covid, but I have been told London can now have January tourist hordes.

As someone who moved to southern California specifically to escape Midwest winters, I find these discussions fascinating. From a theoretical perspective only, that is. Skiing would be great, but otherwise the attraction is not evident to me, personally. Diversity is a wonderful thing, and this desire is just another example.

I did go to Spain for a month last February, but it was not for winter sightseeing. It was on the Costa del Sol, which was cool but not uncomfortable with a sweater. It was a good time to see tourist sites, as they weren't crowded at all. But tickets for the Alhambra still sold out weeks in advance. Glad I encountered nothing remotely like what ORDtraveler mentioned; even Madrid was sweater weather when I visited.

By traveling "off season", are you hoping to avoid crowds and get lower lodging and airfare costs? You might be surprised to learn, depending on where you go, that the costs are not really a bargain. For example, airfares are a function of supply and demand, and at least for flights from the US, many airlines reduce the number of flights during the winter to maintain a better balance with demand.

And you might be shocked how crowded some destinations are in the dead of winter, like big cities (London, Paris). And hotels will not necessarily be bargain basement priced...

Go when it suits your schedule. If you have a big sightseeing agenda, with lots of outdoor activities, it can be miserably cold during the winter. But if you are going to say, Paris, to eat/drink/shop (which is our style) and maybe hit a few museums, you may be able to bear the cold and wet days better...