Travel in July

It would help to know what activities you and your sister enjoy. Art? Museums? Hiking? Beaches? Other?

Any and all of the above. She doesn't mind the heat, but I do. We both want to try and avoid crowded places. Maybe it isn't possible to achieve this, but thought I would get some feedback. If it doesn't work out for us to go together, then I will go alone in September/October.

Thanks,
Lisa

Lisa, are you planning to stay out in 1 spot , rent a car or use public transportation?

Any place you do not want to see or revisit?

Have you considered Norway? Spectacular scenery, museums, hiking and other outdoor activities. All without the heat of the south, not too crowded and easy to explore without a car.

We would be using public transportation. We haven't considered Norway, but will check it out.

thanks so much,
Lisa

My daughter and I are traveling to Scandinavia in July. Normally I don't like to travel in the summer, but I don't mind this. For one thing, from what everyone has said, it will not be as crowded as the rest of Europe. Also, you have the advantage of long days with light, so you can see and do more during that time, and it's cooler there. In fact, it can even be cold depending on where you are.

We are traveling to Iceland for seven nights, then Sweden for three nights, and then Norway for 11 nights. The scenery looks incredible, and I can't wait to go. I would definitely suggest you take a look at any of those countries in Scandinavia, including Denmark and Finland.

How long do you have to travel?

Three weeks, plus. I would definitely not want to be cold though.. Will check it out.
Thanks so much,
Lisa

Our Norway trip was mid May/early June. Even above the Arctic Circle we were never cold. It was cool, damp, drizzly, warm and sunny during our trip. Some days were even t-shirt weather.

You could look at Northern Spain which is generally not too hot, but anywhere could have a heat wave these days. For example, Sweden had a lot of very hot weather last year.

Southern Italy gets very, very hot summers so I agree it’s probably best avoided.

Would you consider going to Poland? We went on the RS tour of Poland in June. There is so much to see and so much history and culture. We loved it way more than we expected to. It was a fantastic experience. Also there is good public transportation and typically the weather would be more moderate.

I would consider Ireland! We enjoyed the 14 day RS tour. We toured in August and the weather was mild.

Another vote for Ireland. We went several years ago when they were having a warm spell, which was very unusual. The bartender in a small town pub actually made us go sit at an outside table, saying they didn't get that much hot weather and we'd better enjoy it.

We are going to Poland on the RS tour in July. I have heard that Poland is not as crowded as other countries and I am excited to see this country since my husband's ancestors are from Poland.

These areas have worked for me in generally avoiding hot weather, though some can have days between 80F and 85F--one hopes not too frequently.

Iceland (obviously, though I've not been there and it could be cooler than you want)
United Kingdom (especially Scotland, whose west coast can be wet)
Ireland (another place I haven't been, where I'd allow for wet conditions)
Norway, Sweden, Finland (too expensive to be seriously overrun; western Norway can be wet)
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (capitals get considerable tourism, especially on weekends)
Netherlands and Belgium (heat waves more likely here, but not a frequent occurrence; can be wet)
Normandy and Brittany in France (can be wet)
Northern coast of Spain between Galicia (west) and Basque Country (north) (can be wet)
Places at considerable altitude anywhere
Maybe Denmark, far northern Germany and northern Poland (not enough personal experience to be sure)

There are places in the UK that are very touristy, starting with London, Edinburgh, York and Bath, and in the Low Countries Amsterdam, Brussels and Bruges get heavy touristy traffic. Attractive coastal cities nearly anywhere may have multiple cruise ships in port on some days, which can be obvious when the city is rather small, like Bergen. But other cities in the same countries won't be so heavily visited except, I guess, beaches in the summer. Keep in mind that Europe is a lot more densely populated than the US, so large cities will have lots of people out on the sidewalks--though most will probably be locals rather than tourists.

For vetting likely weather conditions at destinations you're considering, I highly recommend visiting a website like timeanddate.com, where you can find actual, historical, day-by-day weather statistics going back a number of years. That kind of data is much more useful than monthly averages in providing a good idea of the range of conditions you may experience.

Stockholm weather -- July 2025

That's just an example; always check multiple years (I like 5 years), because weather can vary a lot. Use the pull-down box at the right, just above the graph, to change the month and year displayed. Use the Search box at the upper right to see data for a different location.

Thank you all so much for the information on places to go in July.

I appreciate your taking the time to answer.

Lisa