September in Europe, maybe France?

I personally think September is one of the best months to visit Europe.

Your options are practically limitless, even within France itself. You could definitely do a loop in Champagne, Alsace/Lorraine, and Burgundy. That would be very interesting, not to mention delicious. On your previous trip to France, did you spend any time in Provence, or head straight from Paris to Nice? September is a beautiful and warm time to travel in Provence. You could also do a trip to Normandy, Brittany, and the Loire Valley. So many options.

Portugal is great in September too. We did our honeymoon in Lisbon and the Algarve a few years ago (in October). Great beaches, Roman ruins, food and wine, not to mention it is significantly cheaper than pretty much anywhere else in Western Europe.

A Prague/Vienna/Budapest trip would be spectacular too (and since it sounds like you have plenty of time, definitely hit some of the smaller towns in between). Would recommend trains for this trip as renting a car in the Czech Republic and dropping off in Hungary (or vice versa) would be very expensive.

Scandinavia (though expensive) is also really good in September. Tourist-wise, it is quiet to begin with, but you should have good weather and very few crowds in September.

No Germany yet? September is an ideal month for travel in Germany. The days are warm but not hot and the nights are cool but not cold. It's wine harvest time so there are lots of wine festivals, and beer fests, not just Oktoberfest.

You could start in Amsterdam, visit Koln, the Rhine (possibly even the Mosel down to Trier), some Romantic Road/Neuschwanstein/Berchtesgaden, and fly home from Munich (include a side trip to Salzburg).

How many nights in Europe will you have excluding travel days?

September is the best month to travel off oeak season, but in many places, unless you are travelling at the very end of the month, you will be too early for the grape harvest.

Your brief to us is a little too vague, so you are likely to get lots of different answers! You can easily spend 3 weeks in France with a hire car and not cover half the country.

I spent 3 weeks in Croatia last September and on Hvar, they were starting the grape harvest c 22 September. You could have a good holiday there, from Dubrovnik, to the islands, to Split and Trogir. Portugal is also good, but if you are travelling in early September, the best accommodation on the Algarve will be booked up, as this is a popular time to visit. It's a good time for Lisbon, Porto and the Douro areas.

Northern Spain with Barcelona and the stunning Picos de Europa are good in September.

Too many choices!

First of all, September is a very busy month for trade shows in Paris, so there's a lot more demand for hotel rooms. Rates won't be higher but you need to book early to get the "better rooms" - whatever your needs are (price, location, etc). It may be very warm so you may want a room with AC.

Second, September 18-19 are European Heritage Days in France (Les Journées du Patrimoine). It is a fantastic time to be in Paris - all the government buildings are open to the public, and some of the embassies also open their doors and have special exhibits. American govt buildings are nothing special, but in Paris they are palaces - real palaces that rival Versailles, and many embassies and govt offices are in 18th-19th century mansions. There are lines to get in, but worth the wait. These are the only 2 days of the year that these places are accessible to the public. There will be similar openings everywhere in France.

Now for the rest. The wine harvest varies from region to region and from week to week, depending on this summer's weather, so it's kinda hit or miss. Check the areas you are interested in seeing - there are fall harvest festivals (fixed dates). France is very tourist-friendly, so you'll be able to find lots of info online with basic searching. During the harvest expect driving delays due to those slow-moving vehicles. You can use the highways (mostly tollroads), but they bypass all those quaint villages and pretty vineyards. Use viamichelin.com to find driving routes with estimated times and costs.

Since you are interested in wine, do allow 2 days for Reims/Epernay. I took 3 cave tours, all were interesting and all were different. You can take the train to Reims after Paris. You don't need a car there - especially if you plan to taste. Each taste is about 1/2 flute and a lot of the tours have 3 or more tastings. From Reims, take the train to Strasbourg for a couple nights. Then rent a car and spend the rest of your time in Alsace and Burgundy. Choose one town/village near Colmar as your base for Alsace, another in Burgundy. Staying in small places will make it easier for day trips.

You didn't say how long, so I'm assuming 2.5 weeks, like your 2015 trip.

I could discuss other countries, but since you wrote Grape harvest and wine is more our interest. I think you have to choose France this time.

Did I mention that there are lots of places to see? Chateaux, abbeys, cathedrals, charming villages . . .

A few of my favorites from last year's trip in June - Fontenay Abbey, Château de Bazoches, Monkey Mountain (interact with a colony of friendly Barbary apes), Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune.

Wow, thanks for all the interesting suggestions and tips! I think we have lots more research to complete this weekend. That is part of the fun!

This trip is kind of out of the blue for us, we already had one trip this year then we started discussing fall vacations and here we are. If we travel in early September we have approximately 12 days ( including travel days), maybe we can stretch this if work schedules allow. Late September will allow us a few more days.

The French trip sounds good, as well as Portugal.

We just spent two weeks in Portugal with one week being a Douro River cruise from Porto. Loved the Douro valley.

The Algarve is my least favorite area of Portugal, since I am 68 and laying on the beach in the sun would just increase my chance of skin cancer.

It the beach is what you want, the Algarve is fine. However, I suggest that you could spend 3-4 days in Lisbon (day trip to Evora), then tour Sintra and Cascais. Move north to Obidos, with its ancient Roman wall surrounding the city, then Batila Cathedral up to Porto. Loved Porto. From there go into the Douro valley by train or boat. If you continue north you could go all the way to Santiago de Compostela in Galacia (Spain).

Back to France, find a way to visit Normandy, it is wonderful. Don't miss the Bayeux Tapestry and Omaha beach.

Another great area of France is the Loire Valley.

We are planning a two week trip next summer in France, in and near Paris, with follow general itinerary (using a rental car until we return to Paris):

Day 1: arrive in Paris airport and drive to Chartres
Days 2,3 & 4: Loire valley; visit various chateauxs
Days 5 & 6: Puy du Fou historical theme park (incredible reviews)
Day 7: Mont St. Michael
Days 8 & 9: Normandy, i.e. WWII sites, Rouen, Giverny.
Day 10: Versailles
Days 11-13: Paris
Day 14: depart from Paris

This itinerary has a lot of interesting places, but does not include the wine areas. Hope this helps.

Last year, we traveled over in late sept/first few weeks of oct (getting that extra Canada thanksgiving day in) and we did 3 nights in Paris then trained to the south, picked up a car and did carcassonne, Provence and Nice area over 9 nights. The weather (well, other than we were there when the rains and flooding hit Cannes) was glorious. It was so warm in Monaco the second week of October it felt like July does here. If you haven't visited Provence, it's lovely...the car was really handy to have to visit the little villages.

Break out of your shell and take a walk on the wild side. September is ideal for Central Europe

Prague
Vienna
Budapest

Amsterdam (3) >> Rhine (3) >> Strasbourg (2) >> Luzern (3) - fly out of Zurich
or
Berlin (4) >> Prague (3) >> Budapest (4)

I could see doing Paris-Burgundy-Provence-Riviera and fly out of Nice. You could also fly into Lyon and see something new instead of returning to Paris. That's what I am considering on our (my wife and my) next France trip (of course, I have been to Paris four times, so that's just my thought process). You definitely should look at some of the smaller cities and towns if you go to France. Paris is great but there is so much more to France. Our 2008 Portugal trip was out best ever, and it was in the month of September. The weather and the yellow light of the late summer/early fall at that latitude were sublime. One of the most underrated countries to visit in Europe that I have visited, and I have been to a lot.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Our schedules have changed again and it looks like a mid October trip now. Several people have suggested Portugal and that has us interested, plus flights from here are convenient and reasonably priced.

For Portugal we are considering Lisbon, Porto, and surrounding area. Plus a visit to the Douro area. I hope mid October is still a good time to visit.

Our second choice is starting in Paris and heading east - perhaps Reims, Strasbourg, Dijon, Lyon...

A trip into Vienna and out of Munich is also part of the discussion, however I think this will be in September 2017. We will plan it a little better and ensure our time off is booked.

It is hoped our travel dates will be confirmed in a day or so.

If you land in Paris, take the train to Strasbourg and rent a car there. We had several weeks and used a website similar to this one to combine the routes we wanted to visit. Just download the pdf files to see what you might have time to cover:
http://www.autoeurope.com/blog/tour-holiday-suggestions/5-exquisite-wine-routes-in-france

I would do
- In Italy:
1) Tuscan Archipellago ( Capraia, Elba, Giannella, etc)
2) Umbria (Gubbio, the nicest little town in Italy, very calm, its countryside surroundings, Assisi, Perugia).
3) Campania (in the countryside) Naples is a wonderful city but would leave it for another year. Take your time to walk, speak to the peasants, old people, look for the various plant species, vegetables, fruits, cascine ( farmhouses). Taste everything.
4) Abbruzzo (very nice villages both Mountains and Sea)
5 -6 days for each region.

Other interesting areas in Europe at this time might be
Northern and Central Portugal.
Spain, Andulasia is always very nice in September. Go and visit it's wonderful white villages.
Enjoy your vacation.

October is also very fine, cooler than September but not cold. The main drawback is that there's less daylight, but things are a lot less crowded and more relaxed.

I'm not going to say you should go to France (so many other great choices), but if you do there are some epic holes in your travel diary that you could fill. I'm thinking mostly of the Rhone Valley area (how did you skip Provence on the way to Nice?) and the Dordogne Valley are and further south.

The Paris-Provence run is easy (maybe with a stop in Lyon, a fabulous place). You can investigate flights home from Marseilles or Lyon. Paris-Dordogne is a little more of a stretch that will consume an entire day however you go, but if you flew into Marseilles and out of Toulouse you could spend the whole time in the South, and to heck with Paris. I mean, you would not be bored.

A car would really be necessary for the Dordogne and really worthwhile for Provence.

Thanks for all the replies. We have vacation schedules figured out and will be travelling to Portugal from October 1 - 15. Our general plan is to spend the time in Lisbon and Porto, maybe add another stop. I will ask more specific questions in the Portugal forum.

Thanks again,