Hello all. We are planning a trip to visit my parents who are currently living in Wales. They suggested that while we’re there we plan a quick trip somewhere else since going to Europe is a rare thing at this stage of our lives. I’m struggling to decide where to go though. I have been to London before, and although I know there is still so much I haven’t seen there, I want to do somewhere new. Our dates for this mini trip are March 5-8. Based on the cost of travel and trying to stick to a budget, we are considering Brugge, Madrid, Dublin, or Edinburgh. We’re also open to other suggestions. Does anyone have insight on what will be best to visit that time of year for the short amount of time we will have?
Posted by
Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico
1901 posts
The good news is you will be well outside peak tourism season, so you won't need to worry about crowds. The bad news is the weather has the potential to be miserable in a lot of Europe. I'd think staying close, while it makes for easy travel (some combination of bus/train/ferry for Dublin and Edinburgh) is more likely to be cold and rainy.
So if you're open to heading more south, that would be my choice. Of the options you list, I vote Madrid.
But there's no way to be sure what the weather will be in March. So I'd probably recommend going to the place you're most interested in spending 3 nights at and that fits your budget, and hope for nice weather!
Posted by
Portsmouth
5532 posts
Visiting Edinburgh in March is no bad thing. My favourite time to visit was over New Year, it was cold and grey but I felt that it suited the city. Many of the sights are indoors and you can explore the myriad galleries, museums, castle etc irrespective of the weather and because it's relatively compact most places are within an easy walk from one another plus there's always the option to nip into the many pubs and cafes along the route if the weather gets particularly bad.
I wasn't particularly enamoured with Dublin but others hold a different view, for me Edinburgh scores well above Dublin.
I haven't been to Bruges or Madrid but Madrid would be the warmer of your choices.
I'm curious as to why visiting Europe is a rare thing at this stage in your lives. What stage are you at?
Posted by
The Heartland USA
8920 posts
If it were me, I'd hop over to Ireland (not necessarily Dublin). You don't have that much time to waste in transit.
Posted by
Washington DC
27929 posts
The average-temperature data on Wikipedia doesn't show much difference between Brussels (would Bruges be much different?) and Madrid for the months of February and March--just one or 2 degrees Fahrenheit. Madrid has it all over Brussels in the precipitation category, though, and cool/cold weather is more unpleasant when it's also raining.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
We are in our late twenties and have two young children (who will be staying home with family while we go on this
adventure). So we likely won’t make it back over until our kids are old enough to come with us and enjoy it, or old enough to stay home without having to arrange babysitters. Thank you all for your suggestions.
Posted by
Washington DC
27929 posts
In that case, I might give some thought to places that might be more interesting to you than to your children once they reach travel age--perhaps focusing on places that are heavy on museums and scenery? Wine-tasting? Based on my reading here (I have no children), folks traveling with youngish children usually have to adjust their itineraries to keep the kids engaged. This is a trip on which you don't need to think about that.
Posted by
Los Angeles
1825 posts
Easy....Paris.
Posted by
Charleston & Birmingham
4592 posts
Amsterdam or Paris or Bath/Cotswolds/Salisbury if your parents live in South Wales.