looking for European travel guidance for this fall

August 31, 2022 9:20 PM

Hi! We (2 of us in our 50s) are beginning to plan a trip for early November for a week or 10 days. Our budget is greater than shoestring but certainly not high-end luxury. We're pretty open, generally, about where to go, which is making it difficult to make a decision. So we need some help narrowing down our options and some inspiration. That's where you come in!

I imagine staying in budget hotels, guest houses, or air bnbs. On previous trips I have typically tried to stay somewhere with easy access to the action of a city center but also an easy escape route.

Things we'd like to do / see:
*history - medieval towns / villages, Roman ruins, etc;
*outdoors / nature stuff, hiking;
*amazing food (with easy veg/vegan options);
*museums, music, culture
*cafe life

We're open to the idea of either a few destinations or else having sort of a base of operations - ie, staying in town A and doing quick trips around the area to see things, perhaps staying overnight as needed.

I've been to Amsterdam and Prague as an adult, Paris, Athens, and London as a kid. Return trips aren't completely off-limits, but they are maybe a bit of a harder sell.

So - what do you think? Where have you gone that checks all of these boxes? Does my description make you think of anywhere in particular? Thanks for your time!

posted by fingers_of_fire to Travel & Transportation (19 answers total)

Having watched My Donkey, My Lover, and I, I am now taken by the idea of walking the Robert-Louis Stevenson Trail. Eight days or so, beginner level, lovely French countryside. 20km a day, each night ending at an auberge with great French food and even better wine. That there’s a book and a movie to go with it makes it even better. Sounds pretty perfect.
posted by Capt. Renault at 10:06 PM on August 31, 2022 [2 favorites]

what are your requirements as to the weather? I was going to suggest Copenhagen, but then I read "november".
posted by alchemist at 10:19 PM on August 31, 2022 [1 favorite]

My first thought is Northern Italy + Slovenia + Croatia. I haven't been to Croatia yet, but Split is at the very top of my bucket list, and it looks like Croatia has gorgeous nature as well. Ljubljana is a very nice town, absolutely worth visiting. And there is so much to see in Northern Italy, it will be hard to cut it down to your time frame. But the distances are manageable and public transportation is good. In Slovenia and Croatia, you get a lot of value for your money. Food is excellent in the region (if you don't go too far up in the Italian alps).
November can bring some rain, but it shouldn't be too bad, whereas above the Alps, it can be a very sad time for travelers.

Thinking a bit over this, November is perhaps the best time to visit Venice and its lagoon. There are not too many tourists, the aqua alta (seasonal flooding)is just a charm, and might not even appear, and the city and lagoon are somehow most beautiful during the winter months.
So perhaps start in Venice for a few days, then proceed to Ljubljana for just one day, and then to Split and surroundings. Now I want to go!
posted by mumimor at 1:03 AM on September 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

Anywhere in Italy, the south of France or Croatia would probably be good picks for medieval & Roman history, outdoors, museums/culture and cafe life with acceptable early November weather. You could also think about Crete, Cyprus, Catalonia, Andalusia, or Valencia as well. Probably for food you want somewhere not too far off the beaten track for veg/vegan options. My instinct suggests Italy, but the Nomadic Vegan might be a useful website to consider.
posted by plonkee at 2:03 AM on September 1, 2022

Go south. In northern Europe in November, it’ll be dark around 4pm, as well as cold and wet and fairly miserable. Far from ideal sightseeing conditions and definitely very limiting for hiking, outdoor stuff and cafe life.
posted by penguin pie at 2:04 AM on September 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

November in Europe takes you beyond the end of warm conditions in most of Europe - unless you are lucky. For that reason, it is also beyond the end of the tourist season in many place. If you were going to take your chance with the weather a little - and wanted to head for a larger but still manageable island: then either Sicily (staying in Palermo, perhaps) or Crete (staying in Heraklion or Chania perhaps) might work.

But more generally: you are getting into the time of year when city breaks become more of a thing - somewhere that is still lively when the tourist towns are closed for the winter. If you are interested in history and like Roman ruins then...Rome! Maybe Barcelona? Or maybe - for somewhere smaller to use as a base: Nimes, Malaga.

Or come here to Edinburgh: the days will be getting short and it may be cold or wet - but otherwise your criteria. are still all met. Likewise with other more northern places: Copenhagen as listed above for example.
posted by rongorongo at 2:28 AM on September 1, 2022

I also recommend Croatia; I've been there a couple times, and it has the medieval towns, natural scenery, food, culture, etc. Dunno exactly what your budget is, but a month-long stay cost me about $5000 total (that included the plane ticket, Covid test, AirBnBs, car rental, meals & alcohol for two, the occasional fee for parks & tours, etc, and I wasn't trying to be frugal). The downside is that in November the weather will be turning cool and rainy, and many places will be closed with the end of the tourist season.
posted by ambulatorybird at 2:36 AM on September 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

Yes, November can be pretty miserable in Northern Europe but is often still very nice in Southern Europe.

I'm n-thing Crotia with Split, Zadar, Dubrovnik.
Also: Venice (November is my favorite time there, even if it rains) and Rome
Sicily (Mount Etna has an endemic type of birch that turns yellow for two weeks end of October/beginning of November; that against the black lava is stunning)
Andalucia in Southern Spain + Portugal all the way from the Algarve up to Porto and Lisbon are wonderful.

My tip: don't try to cram in too much. I'd either do Croatia OR Venice + Rome OR Sicily OR Portugal.
posted by Fallbala at 3:19 AM on September 1, 2022 [2 favorites]

Can’t comment on these places specifically for November but imagine it’d be a nice time to go to be a bit cooler but still not cold and less crowded. All should
have budget-friendly accommodations though some options may close during off season

Portugal - Lisbon with day trip to Sintra and Cascais. Lots of history with castles, great food especially seafood, culture including fado music, museums, cafes. Maybe the Algarve and Porto too, but haven’t been yet. Could also take short flight from Madrid

France - Provence - Avignon for medieval, Uzès for Roman aqueduct, Arles for art and Roman ruins, bike from St Remy to Les Baux for history and culture, other nearby small towns, Marseille for museums with day trip to Cassis to hike the Calanques and eat. Plenty of markets for food experience including veg. Also maybe Lyon a bit farther in different region for gastronomy, history, and culture

Spain - Madrid for food, cafes, and museums to Seville for history, culture including flamenco, and tapas; Basque Coast for day hiking or walking part of the Camino, including San Sebastian for art museum and excellent food such as pintxos; Barcelona?

Italy - Cinque Terre to hike through the 5 towns (but check ferry availability), Lucca to Siena for medieval towns by walking the Via Francigena
posted by eyeball at 6:05 AM on September 1, 2022 [2 favorites]

My partner and I were in Europe in May/June, in France, Germany, Belgium & The Netherlands.

My first observation is that compared to my previous trip in 2015 there was a heck of a lot more veg & vegan food availability than on previous trips, especially in Germany. For instance, right at the railway station in Hamburg there was a chain with trashy burgers & stuff -- but all plant based!

Second, if you're looking to control costs, and will commit to doing some cooking, get an AirBnB apartment with a full kitchen in the urban center. My experience is that groceries are very reasonably priced, while restaurants are increasingly expensive. You also get a lot more control over what food you're going to have, portion size, etc. We liked to make breakfast and dinner "at home" and have lunch out, but your mileage may vary.

If you would like a chance to meet locals over a meal, you could try out the website eatwith.com. We had a lovely lunch with a French host and two other tourists (Canadian) in Paris; she clearly hosts a lot. Later in Haarlem we had a nice dinner with two young professionals; we were their first eatwith guests! Prices are not necessarily cheap but it was a fun splurge. Different cities/countries seem to have widely varying ranges of presence on the platform.
posted by the antecedent of that pronoun at 6:06 AM on September 1, 2022 [3 favorites]

Nthing all the people who suggest that November ist the best time to visit Rome and Venice.

It won't be warm but won't be freezing either.

Both places are horribly overrun with visitors much of the year but November is well past any late summer/autumn travel season but still well outside the window for Xmas travel.

There is sooooooo much history, countless museums and good food that you could easily stay much longer.

Don't waste time travelling from location to location if you're only looking at 7-10 day trip. Pick one or two places and enjoy.
posted by koahiatamadl at 6:20 AM on September 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

Like several others, I'd say the south of France, but more broadly start in Paris and wander south to the coast, stopping in Dijon, Lyon, Avignon, and anywhere else that piques your interest.

But a more general suggestion: Get a copy of Lonely Planet's Europe, the physical book. If your library doesn't have it, copies from a few years ago are just a few bucks, and slightly outdated is fine for choosing an itinerary. Advice here is great, but a few hours flipping through will give you much more information on a wider variety of options.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:29 AM on September 1, 2022

In November 2016 my partner and I spent two weeks in Spain, split between Madrid and four days of hiking between Gaucin and Ronda in Andalucia (White Villages). The weather was great for hiking and train travel to and from Madrid was pretty easy.
posted by TORunner at 7:11 AM on September 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Many many thanks for the great advice and info!

I accidentally neglected to include Rome in my list of places that I've visited as an adult. What's more, I was there in early November, and I can confirm that it was nigh-on the perfect time to be there (given that I'm not really a beach person).

So - it appears we are on the same wavelength!

Keep 'em coming, if you can.
posted by fingers_of_fire at 7:30 AM on September 1, 2022

Malta would be warm enough, but possibly pretty rainy in November. Chock full of history, too.
posted by soelo at 8:00 AM on September 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

We were in Marseille in late March, and I was delighted to find so much to do even at that time of year! We stayed in an AirBnB in the oldest part of the city, where most of the streets are too small for cars. The city--the 2nd largest in France--has a big cafe culture. Pretty views from the hills in and around town, out over the Mediterranean. Plenty of museums, grocery stores walkable to hotels and urban vacation rentals, nightlife, hikes in the Calanques, walks along the seawall in the eastern parts of town. AMAZING food. Good train connections from the city center to other places along the coast such as Nice, Antibes, Monaco, and far western Italy, and to towns and cities throughout Provence such as Aix-en-Provence.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 8:26 AM on September 1, 2022

Some good suggestions here, but let me put in a word for Vienna. Clearly going to be chillier than the southern Mediterranean suggestions, but still above freezing in early November. Stronger on the museums, music, culture end than the outdoorsy end, especially at that time of year, but boy is it strong on the former end. I was there in late December a few years ago and loved it. Pretty easy to spend a week there and not run out of things to do. (My understanding is that eating vegetarian has gotten easier there in recent years, but I don't have personal experience.)
posted by praemunire at 8:50 AM on September 1, 2022

Thinking a bit outside the box, I'd recommend Albania: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2022/aug/06/albania-beaches-cities-mountains-tourism-history-guide. I went about 20 years ago and enjoyed, and it's still off the beaten path a bit but becoming more popular. Only thing I'm not sure of is veg food, or frankly the November time period.

Otherwise, Croatia is a great option.
posted by slide at 10:56 AM on September 1, 2022 [2 favorites]

I've been on a little study trip today, and heard a lot of radio while driving. It seems that nobody really knows what the coming winter will bring in terms of inflation and energy prices, but the countries that seem to be worst off going into this are the UK and Germany, for different reasons. So to put it clearly: those countries will be cold and expensive. So will a lot of other countries, those two will just be the worst, and in some of the countries where the population struggles, you won't feel it because their prices (and wages) were very low to begin with. Regardless of where you go, bring your flannel pajamas. Southern countries can be a bit flamboyant about winter, since it is relatively short, and in the North, I think there may be energy rationing in many countries. Germany just announced it today. (Yes, I know it isn't technically rationing, I'm just trying to make this relatively simple).
Even though I am Danish and I love my country, I agree the days are too short in Scandinavia and the Baltic nations in November, unless you really love spending your holidays inside with a book and a nice cup of tea/coffee. Later in the winter, when the snow is more reliable and you can get beautiful moonlit nights, it's a different thing, though you need to go further North to be sure of the snow.
posted by mumimor at 2:59 PM on September 1, 2022