Best of europe in early november
August 31, 2010 12:29 PM   Subscribe

We have an opportunity to be in London for a couple of days in early November. We are hoping to extend our trip by a week and do some travel/sightseeing while we are there. In our young 30s, like a bit of adventure, charm and vibrant lifestyle during our vacations. Where should we go?

Given that it is November and probably not the most ideal of months weather-wise to be visiting, what cities/places can we still enjoy. We will likely visit again in the summer, but for this trip, we would like to go to places where the weather will not take away from what the place has to offer. Not too worried about the cold, but more so about the shortened (wet?) days. Paris, Barcelona seem interesting, Amsterdam less so. Are there other lesser known cities that we should rather go to? Bonus points for places that have romance, beauty, good food and has a pulse after 10pm. Thanks in advance to all you smart people for helping us with your ideas.
posted by cusecase to Travel & Transportation around London, England (5 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Antwerp is the leftfield choice. It's an easy flight from London and a fantastic, underrated city. It's got bars, restaurants, history, good shopping.

You've missed Berlin off your list. It's also a cracking visit. You can taste fresh history like nowhere else in Western Europe around the site of the Berlin Wall. When I first went I was amazed at how vibrant the place felt.

In November Bordeaux won't be exactly warm, but it will be a site warmer than London or Paris. Great city for a short break. Food, wine, you can do a trip out to St Emilion or head down to Biarritz.

I'd also give serious consideration to St Sebastian and Bilbao. I've been to the former, but would love to go to the latter and see the Guggenheim. Other leftfield choices would be Porto (a bit of a stretch for more than a couple of days IMHO) or Lisbon.

Also: Amsterdam's a great city. Cracking museums, interesting architecture. Easy to get around.
posted by MuffinMan at 1:16 PM on August 31, 2010


Prague, Budapest would seem obvious candidates. Well, hardly "lesser known", but fitting the rest of your criteria I think.
posted by Slyfen at 1:17 PM on August 31, 2010


Response by poster: was hasty to leave it off, putting Amsterdam back on the 'possibilities' list.
posted by cusecase at 1:31 PM on August 31, 2010


Barcelona will be warmer than most, and would be a great option. Berlin is amazing too.

If you've got a week, you can probably visit 2 cities.

So maybe think about two cities where you can fly into one, get the train to the second, then fly back from the other. Prague / Budapest / Vienna fit that model. Berlin - Prague could also work well. Or even Paris - south of France. Some combination of Amsterdam - Paris - Brussels also works.

Finally, don't discount the rest of the UK. You could spend a week in Ireland (flying in and out of Dublin), or visit Glasgow / Edinburgh (45 minutes by train between the two) - Edinburgh is prettier, but Glasgow has more going on in terms of art / music / nightlife.

Check for cheap flights on Easyjet or Ryanair, or Wizzair for eastern Europe - you can get single flights as easily as returns for no extra cost. (But beware of extra costs for hold luggage and food - they're cheap for a reason!)

Enjoy!
posted by finding.perdita at 2:14 PM on August 31, 2010


Moracco
posted by nestor_makhno at 3:04 PM on August 31, 2010


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