Single best country for an October trip

My last 3 trips to Germany were late Sept., early Oct. Weather was fine

Mines would be First 3 weeks of October. How late into October were you in Germany? And by cold I mean daytime highs below 60.

We were on the French Riviera one year in October and loved it. The scenery is spectacular with the Mediterranean and the mountains as a backdrop. Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer, St. Jean Cap Ferrat, Eze, and Monaco were fun to explore and easy to get to by train or bus. The food was incredible and the waterfront in Villefranche-sur Mer is charming. Walks on St. Jean Cap Ferrat are beautiful. The weather in October was lovely.

It does tend to turn rainy in some parts of Italy in October (including Cinque Terre), but I think it would be as good a choice as anywhere for outdoor pursuits. Rome and Venice won't offer much of that, but with three weeks you'd have time for culture and nature. I would not choose Cinque Terre because I like my outdoor activities to be uncrowded, and there are tons of national parks in Italy. I always look at the green parts of Google maps when planning any trip. With a car you can do anything, so let us know if that is an option. Otherwise, Cinque Terre is probably your best bet for hiking access.
You also might consider Sicily, which might be a better choice for nice weather. You could easily fill three weeks there.

ETA October would also be a great time to explore Andalucia without searing heat, with great outdoor options (see the Ronda area especially).

We did Europe in October of 2015 and started in Italy on 10/8 and we got some lite rain and some beautiful sun filled days, tanks tops, dresses, sandals and once we got to Paris by 10/20 we were in some very cold weather, jeans, coats, hats, sweaters, boots. I think next time I would choose end of September through mid-October. But with weather you never can tell. We also did London in October (2007) and had nothing but hot sunny days and I had packed cold weather clothes.

We went to Germany several years ago the first three weeks of October and weather was beautiful the whole time.

I agree with everything organizer8 wrote! We stayed in VF in October a few years ago and visited all the places that were mentioned. Weather was great! You can still be on the beach in October.

We've been to Spain, Italy and France each in mid October and weather was fabulous in both Spain and Italy, temps in the 70s and sunny. France not so much. Temps weren't bad, 60s and low 70s but very rainy. However it seems no matter when we are in France it rains!

I think it was RS himself who said in 2019 that Oct is the new Sept for European travel. Both Spain and the French Riv would be good choices and I would add the Almalfi coast, eg Sorennto and Capri to your list for consideration for spectacular scenery and great food. If you are a YouTuber there are plenty of 4K video walking tours on there to see what towns appeal to you.

Thanks for the input. I should have mentioned I will not be renting a car.

Sorrento as homebase for Naples, Amalfi Coast, Capri and Pompeii also interests me.

Without a car, I'd go with the Amalfi coast. You have so many options there--Naples, Salerno, the islands, plus the coast itself, and they are all easily explored with ferry or bus. The hiking is superb, and we found it much easier to find paths that were not crowded than what we experienced in Cinque Terre. I also think south might be better with weather (of course that's up to chance, but at least you have two cities right there if it rains).

You could spend two weeks or more there really, but it's also easy to pair with Rome. I would want to go south first for the best chance of good hiking weather, but if you can fly into Venice and out of Naples, that is a chance I would take.

Northern Italy will absolutely give you the German fix. Check out Sud Tyrol/ Dolomites. If you speak German it’s also spoken here. Also look at Trieste. October is hands down my favorite month to visit Italy. You’re going to be fine no matter where you go. I’m here in Montalcino in July and it’s raining and socked in. You just never know and have to be prepared to deal with it.

Was at a big chain bookstore doing research, rough itinerary is:
Venice
Cinque Terre
Rome
Naples/Sorrento/Amalfi Coast

Which direction should I fly in/out of? Really trying to avoid non-Italian stops in Europe.

Fly in to Venice and out of Rome or Naples.

We lived in Augsburg, Germany from 87-91 working for the US Army and loved Germany, but frankly didn't care for the long cold season. The joke in Germany is that Summer is great, both weeks of it. That is not entirely true, but October is not when I would visit Germany.

Of course, if you do the Octoberfest in late September and early October, not so bad.

Italy is my favorite European country with all its history, art and great food.

What you planned in your first paragraph was way too much for 2 weeks. Even 3 weeks would be a stretch.

Regarding Italy, if you haven't been to Venice and Florence, don't miss those places. Cinque Terre is good, but not on para with those special cities. I liked the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii a lot as well. Of course, Rome is special, so much to see there.

If you have three weeks, spend most of it in Italy there is a lot to see there.

If you choose Italy you should definitely start in Venice, a great place to get over jet lag. As for the Cinque Terre, you may find some places closed for the season. When we were there in mid-September 2010 we were told by our hosts that after September some places close down for the off season. That may have changed since cruise ships began docking nearby. I wouldn’t dream of going there now if a cruise ship is in port. There’s a website that shows a couple of years of the cruise ships schedules.

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/la-spezia-port-160

I'm really puzzled by your plans for Rome, Venice, Naples (big/crowded, expensive cities) when you say your focus is great food and the outdoors/Mother Nature, but aren't into art or museums... Maybe I'm missing something about your interests, but if I were just interested in having great food and seeing great scenery/being outside (and those ARE often my driving forces, too), those 3 spots would be the LAST places I'd want to visit. I've been to Italy several times and don't claim to be an expert on any one locale, but I think it's safe to say that you can get great food/wine and beautiful scenery just about anywhere in Italy -- and that's very easily done without renting a car or being in a big city. A few years ago, after doing a ton of research, I flew into Florence and spent 2 weeks in: Turin, Lake Como (Hotel Regina in Gravedona so I avoided the crowds and cost of the popular towns >> train from Milan, then bus to Gravedona), Montecatini (for a spa day) where I had the best meal of my life for less than $20, and Spello (7-mile walk to Assisi through olive groves).
There are a lot of Italy experts on this forum (I'd post in the Italy-specific forum if that's the country you choose) who I'm sure could give you excellent advice in putting together a food/scenery-focused trip without a car but that doesn't necessitate staying in mostly the big cities.

Venice, Rome or Naples :)