The Best Month for Europe

For those of us traveling with children and limited to summers; we have chosen to depart ASAP after school lets out in early June, and travel through mid-July. We have visited some of the more "touristy" places in Europe and so far have never felt smothered by other tourists. And the long daylight is a nice bonus, too. If we were freed from the summer restriction, I would probably give the advantage to May over September simply by virtue of the extra 60-90 minutes or so of daylight.

Well, Europe is a continent and quite different in different places, so its a bit hard to generalize( weather in August in Rome is completely different then weather in Amsterdam at same time) I have gone in May, June, July, August , September and October. Just based on mulitiple trips to Paris ,, its a crap shoot for weather, been hot at end of May one year, and another year was cold and wet almost entire 9 day stay in August.
You can assume that July and August will be VERY hot in southern regions, Rome, Barcelona etc. Thats about if for assuming,, everywhere else seems rather unpredictable. September seems to have a track record for nicest AVERAGE weather in most places. Crowds in Paris are same June as july , august and September, to avoid crowds there go in nov. jan, feb , march and april into may. I like going in summer. I like sun, I like long days of light, and I don't stress about crowds since I know I am not interested in visiting in winter anyways. One plus for Paris in August. hotels can be cheaper.. yes, seriously. Hotel rates are often higher in June and September then August. June is tourist month , and September is start of fashion season and trade shows etc.

Our preference is Sept/Oct which generally we find to be dryer. The lower mountains maybe free of snow but can still be very muddy with lots of run off from snow further up the mountain.

Frankly, I hate these " what is best and why" questions, but I will, respond. There is no best time to visit Europe, it is a whole continent and wha may be a good time to visit Norway may not be so good for Greece. You did mention the Berner Oberland in late May. Are you really planning on a whole month there? It is a great time in terms of prices, but what will you do? There is a reason prices are low. Best hiking trails are not open yet. If you are going to the BO do not worry about crowds; it is never really crowded and the main concern is the weather and condition of the trails. And if you want long daylight hours go to Alaska, Norway, Or Iceland.

Weather is different in different areas of Europe. What I can surely assure is that May is a bad time if someone wants to hike on Alipne areas. Many areas are closed because of danger of late avalanches and/or seasonal flooding that cuts off many trails. It's the peak of the snow melting.

Tom, I totally agree with you for the same reasons. And yes the BO is free of snow generally by June. We did go in early June once and won't do that again as not all of the lifts/funiculars were running yet. It looks like this year most of them will be up and running by June 2nd. This year we're doing like you imply - and going at the end of June. Should be perfect. Even though we have done almost all of our trips at this time of year we have had one problem with it - my husband suffers horribly from allergies and everything there is blooming:) In Switzerland they are cutting the grass and tons of allergens flying around in the air. We've just learned to come well prepared with LOTS of allergy medications!

Thanks to All for responding. Jill, thanks for the specifics on Switzerland in late June. My intention would be to do the Bernese Oberland at the end of June. In fact, that is the reason why I would would wait to start my trip until late May as I want to be sure that the timing for Switzerland would be good. I will not be going to Norway etc. Rather, more central Europe (London through northern Italy). Back in 2009 I was in Italy in early to mid -May and it was perfect. I thought May would be good except for the Switzerland part, hence my thought to start later but not too late so to avoid the crowds

I've traveled in Europe in various months, and it just depends. Summer fares are the highest you'll see. Early June can be pretty cool in the UK. Had a few flakes of snow and low 40s one mid-June morning in Vienna. July in Italy is hotter than hell and humid...add in the crowds in a place like Venice, and it's a lot less enjoyable. Early September can be perfect in northern Europe. The crowds are a lot thinner, and there's still plenty of daylight. July is perfect around Mürren. Late November has much better fares, and in southern Europe, it can be the best time for no crowds. But it can be rainy/foggy, and it gets dark at like 5 pm. If I can have the type of weather Munich usually has in mid to late June and the lack of crowds Madrid has in late November, that would be an ideal combo.

If you are going to be in the countryside, more daylight may be an advantage. I have found the opposite in most cities. I can't think of a city in Europe that isn't beautiful after dark but if sunset isn't until 9.30 or even later, I'm either too tired to go out again to enjoy the scenery, or I go and then suffer from lack of sleep the next day - or worse, sleep in and miss some other attraction. The same goes for getting up in the morning to watch a sunrise - fine if it's at 6 or 6.30, but when it's at 5 am - no way.

Sept may be a better month. Starting your alpine adventures first then the rest. Crowds are in europe in June alreadyand when festivals are in May ie. Vienna, Prague, Budapest lodging is difficult. My vote is for Sept or May in general and based on many european trips during those times.

I travel the month that I do because I am in the budget traveler realm. I like to leave on Thanksgiving or the day before as I have found the airfare to be much more affordable leaving that week. I return a week to 2 weeks later. But even if I were not a budget traveler, I do not think that I would break my cycle........I HATE CROWDS!!!!!And the time of year that I go, crowds are not as intense as the summer crowds. I just walked up to the Mona Lisa (well up to the barrier that is in front of it). I have seen videos where the crowd to see Mona Lisa was 20 rows of people deep. Accommodations are considerably cheaper. In Florence, I requested a classic room for 95 euros and got upgraded to a superior 2 story room with 2 bathrooms and wonderful view for 95 euros per night (would have been 250+ Euros or more in the summer). Yes, I know it gets darker earlier, things close earlier, and some things are not open at all (like castles in the Czech Republic, I think only 1 is open in winter months). But the less crowded, the more affordable, is for me. Plus many cities set up little Christmas markets. Christmas time in Europe is so charming. Gluewine makes a cold night lovely.
And mostly, the cool weather is a sign for me that I am on vacation. I live in Florida and the climate change reminds me that I am away from my normal state of being. I know for those that live up North, warmer weather makes for good vacation.

Weather is variable year to year and from place to place. I have heard people saying that they expect a warm summer this year because the winter was so harsh, but that seems weird because it was a mild winter with the exception of January, when it was horrifically cold. But in general at least for Germany, people I've spoken to (this came up recently) tended to agree that September is the nicest weather. In 2011 September was way warmer and sunnier than June and July, which had some hot days but in general was kind of cool and rainy. I traveled all over Germany, Austria, to Barcelona and Budapest in September this year and the weather was fantastic, it was in the 70s almost everywhere, all the time. But who knows, that could all change again this year.