Due to work scheduling I can't vacation until November this year. I've got 10 days, and my wife and I are thinking of doing Vienna, Salzburg, & Hallstatt. Are we crazy to go in mid-November? We don't mind cold that much but don't want it to be a miserable trip. Anyone have thoughts on this? Thanks!
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Click here to get an idea of what the weather is likely to be there at that time of year. The strategy used by many veteran Europe travelers is to go to places that offer a variety of indoor things to do that don't force you to spend long periods of time outdoors, such as hiking, at times and places when the weather isn't suitable for spending long periods of time outdoors. Vienna and Salzburg give you that. Hallstatt, on the other hand, will not be at its best in mid-November.
Posted by
St Petersburg Florida
951 posts
We were in Vienna from Nov 22-25 2009. It was the best fall/almost winter weather I have ever experienced in the 5 consecutive years that I have traveled to Europe. I really have never experienced blue skies in fall/almost winter and boy, did we have it. 2/3 days, we walked around in just our sweaters and scarfs. I can not speak for Salzburg or Hallstatt.
I was not miserable one bit in Vienna.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
That chunk of the world doesn't have the stinking, rotten, overcast, high humidity, bitter winter of the Potamac Valley. If it's cold, it will probably be cold and dry with plenty of sunshine.
Maybe weight your trip to four days in Vienna and six in Salzburg. If the weather's cooperative, cut Salsburg short and head for Hallstatt for a couple of days. If the weather stinks, Salzburg could keep you occupied the whole time with an excursion or two.
Odds are that, even if Hallstatt where on the not so great end of the weather stick, a few days of it would not be unbearable. When in doubt, refer to paragraph one above.
Posted by
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
430 posts
I'll second all the other posts -- the weather in that part of the world at that time of year is surprisingly pleasant.
I agree with Ed -- weight your trip toward Salzburg -- splitting it 4/6.
If weather permits, Halstatt is in. If you do get a snap of nastier weather, few towns can compete with those for great indoor activities -- like music and musuems.
My experience matches the others -- when it is cold in Vienna, it is cold/dry blue sky. That time of year it only tends to rain when it is a little warmer.
Posted by
Branford, CT, USA
20 posts
I was in Vienna and Salzburg Nov.22-27,2009. Weather was cool and sunny- one day of cloudy. A plus that time of year is no crowds (I had the Hofberg crown jewels to myself for 10 minutes!)and the Christmas Markets were open. Vienna has several markets and they are just wonderful. Melk Abbey which is nearby was a delight. Enjoy! JKR
Posted by
Long Beach, CA, USA
118 posts
I was in Vienna back in 2002 in November and found it to be much more mild than I expected. My leather jacket and a sweater was more than sufficient for site seeing. In fact, my biggest issue was that every place seemed to have the heat turned up ridiculously high! In fact, I had to leave the opera because my wool sweater was much too warm and I wasn't wearing anything underneath.
It was beautiful!