Spring or Fall in Europe

Hi Jim,

Europe is a big place with a lot of different climates. Northern Germany will be quite different than southern Italy.Where are you thinking of?

We love October in the Alps... Austria, Bavaria and the Italian Dolomites.

Paul

I agree, it really depends on what you want to do. For example, if you like hiking in the Alps then fall is probably the better choice as snow might still impede your plans earlier in the year. If southern Europe is your destination than spring is perfect. If you're interested in Octoberfest, well you won't find it in spring .... and so on. And if you exploring the big cities and their museums is your main goal I think it doesn't really matter ;-)

In general, I'm partial to May. It is before the summer crowds and there is more daylight than in the Fall.

However, this is really an "it depends" question. For example, I'd choose June over May for Scandinavia. I'd avoid June for southern Europe because I prefer travelling before it gets really warm. If I were going to the Greek Islands, I might pick September. The sea would be warmer than in the spring.

We were going to take the RS tour Best of Europe in 21 days since this would be our first trip. Are there any special holidays or festivals in the spring or fall? I know about Oktoberfest but any others?

"Are there any special holidays or festivals in the spring or fall" In some region of some country, there's always a special festival going on somewhere. Need more information to answer your question.

There are hundreds of festivals going on all over the continent. You need to be a bit more specific about where you are going before anyone can tell you about the fests going on. Otherwise, we would be typing for days!

I prefer spring, as the days are longer and it is truly beautiful with all the trees and flowers blooming.

If you take RS's best of europe tour, you'll be in the following countries: Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and France. This tour starts north in Amsterdam, works its way south (to Rome), then back west and north to Paris.

Personally, I would go on the Sept. 19 - Oct 9 tour. I enjoy traveling off-season as prices and crowds are much less. This would be shoulder season which means you might have more crowds than the true off-season, but I would expect it to still be less than what you would find in June. September is early enough to have nice weather in the northern countries, while the weather in October in Italy should be pleasant and not too hot/humid.

For those destinations I would second the recommendation to go in September/October.

Late October and early May are my favorite times to be in Europe -- and depending on what I want to see/do I pick.

If I want gardens and outdoor to be at their peak for looks / pictures, I go in spring.

This is a very small sample of fests held in May in just the Rhine Main region!

1-2 May - Medieval Market, Castle Ronneburg

2 May - Apple Blossom Festival, Wehrheim

6-16 May - Dreieich Art Festival, Dreieich

7-9 May - International Arts & Crafts Market, Hanau

7-10 May - Springtime Fest, Limburg Market Square

8 May - German Sparkling Wine Festival, Ruedesheim am Rhine

13-16 May - 22nd Idstein Wine Festival, Idstein

13-16 May - European Night Watchmen Meeting, Bad Nauheim

14-16 May - Bad Homburg Wine Festival, Bad Homburg v.d. Hohe

14-16 May - Jousting Tournament, Koenigstein im Taunus

22-25 May - Waeldches Tag, Frankfurt City Forest

22-23 May - Jugendstil Festival & Illiminationsfest, Darmstadt

22-24 May - Jousting Tournament, Ronneburg Castle

22-24 May - Medieval Market at the Castle Ruins, Muensznberg

27-30 May - Offenbach Fest with Sunday Shopping

28-30 May - Castle Moat Festival, Darmstadt Castle Grounds

28-30 May - Historical Gelnhausen City Fest, Gelnhausen Old Town

29-30 May - Arts & Crafts Market, Fortress Ruesselsheim

29-30 May - Old Town Fest, Buedingen

29-31 May - Spring & Street Festival, Bad Vilbel with Sunday Shopping

If you want a good fest in the fall, one of the biggest festivals in Germany is the Museumsufer Fest in Frankfurt, drawing over 3 million people for a weekend! This is held the last weekend in August.

There are numerous wine festivals, jousting tournaments, medieval fairs, Castle fests, Spring festivals, and parades in many cities that are not on the Fest list listed from Steve. Going to a country website to look for fests would be daunting. Better is to go to a city website or from each Land, such as Bavaria or Hessen for example?

Every city and town has myriad fests through out the year, so the best thing is to go to that towns website for up to date information.

I love May in general. September is wine harvest and festival season in Germany, so I prefer that area in fall.