Western Europe Travel in Winter 09/10

Be prepared for cold, miserable weather and for the short daylight hours - and if the weather turns out fine, be thankful. I'm guessing Spain should be fine esp along the coast.

We were in Italy after Xmas 3 years ago and it was bitterly cold in Venice and Florence - it was not enjoyable. I am now one person who will not travel to cold places in the dead of winter - it is not worth spending my money that way.

However, I do wish you luck and I hope it works out.

Experienced travelers know how to have good trips to Europe in late December and January--but they have realistic expectations about the weather, and choose destinations and plan activities that take into account the most likely weather.

January is probably not going to be the time to expect to spend long hours out hiking and exposed to the elements at times and places when this will be unpleasant.

To help you develop realistic expectations about the weather,

go here & input locations & time spans up to 14 days

We have been in Europe twice in that time period. Most recently over New Years in southern Spain. It is a dice roll as Arnold describes. On average we had decent weather, more rain than what we have seen in summer travel, it is much cooler, damp makes the cold seem colder, but all in all a pleasant time. You just need to prepare for cool, rainy weather.

We are travelling to Germany in December this year. One way to cope with the weather for us is choosing destinations with lots of great sights indoors, i.e. museums. In Berlin we'll be staying warm inside the Reichstag, on Museumsinsel and inside the chateaus.

An advantage of the winter over the summer is that it's the season for concerts, operas etc. That's a good way to spend the evenings when it's dark outside. So you could check out the programs of some of the famous houses. For us it might the restored Dresden Oper or a concert at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig.

I was in Berlin in November 2007, and it was very cold! But I loved Berlin so much that I didn't care! There was something cozy about stopping in someplace for some soup. On the same trip Prague was even colder!
That was a bit much. Even the train from Prague to Berlin was cold! But hazl didn't have those places on the list. Good thing if you really don't like the cold!
Switzerland will be cold, but very beautiful that time of year! Bring long underwear!
Beatrix, I went to hear the Berlin Philharmonic, and they are world class, I'm sure you know. I've been a fan for years, and hearing them live was wonderful! And kept warm!

Be aware that the major tourist areas in Europe are neither cheaper nor much less crowded over the holiday season.

For France, with the exception of the Alps, the weather will almost certainly be more mild than Cleveland at that time of year. However, the days will be extremely short and in the northwest, often quite foggy. This will limit sight-seeing in the countryside, but not necessarily in urban areas, which are usually well illuminated.

If you want to see the Alps in Switzerland, be prepared to pay. In winter, the Swiss Alps are usually more crowded and more expensive than in the summer. The mountain regions switch from a hiker's paradise to a skier's paradise.

I don't know too much about Spain and Italy in the winter, other than to say that the weather is fairly mild.