Winter In Europe

Exploring Europe during the winter is one of the best-kept secrets in travel!

Winter is such an enchanting time to visit Europe; in fact it should be mandatory that at least once in your lifetime you experience the magic of a White Christmas in this part of the world.

If you are worried about going to Europe during winter – don’t be! You will find the weather is often surprisingly mild, the city streets and attractions less crowded than during the summer, and the local shops filled with incredible winter bargains. Not to mention the great deals you can get on airfares and tours before you leave.

How about a visit to the Christmas Markets in Rothenburg, where you are plunged back into the 16th century as you enter through medieval walls and follow the narrow cobblestones streets to the market square with its town clock, or what about the sparkling festival lights of Prague and Budapest? Or a Mozart and Strauss concert in Vienna. 

Winter offers you a chance to see Europe in a whole different-albeit dimmer-light. The season presents you with a chance to put on your woollies and hike snow covered peaks, or squeeze into a tux and go to an opera gala.

Winter has charms of its own. Instead of a seat at an outdoor cafe, think of wandering through Venice's wintry fog, peering into the city's steamed-up windows in search of a cosy café or, better yet, think of eating rich, winter foods beside a roaring fire beneath the intricately carved timber-beams of an historic guild hall restaurant in Basel, Switzerland. 

In winter, European cuisine changes dramatically. Southern Mediterranean dwellers wouldn't think of eating heavy cream sauces in summer. But once the leaves fall off the trees, European kitchens burst into winter mode. Creamy, long-cooking sauces, preserved duck and goose, root vegetables, and the roasting of wild game all contributing to aromas that will leave you wishing you could stay in Europe forever. 

Of course some places are indeed quite chilly. But the south of Italy, Spain, Portugal and most of Greece are pretty balmy in winter. Winter is a great time to visit Spain's Andalucian trio of Seville, Cordoba and Granada. Or perhaps you'd rather take a winter visit to almost deserted Pompeii with a stopover in Naples in order to eat some of the best food in Italy. So Why not travel in winter? Hotels and airfares are cheap, and sweaty summer crowds are a dim memory!

For more information on any of the areas featured in this blog, contact World Travel Professionals to speak with one of our consultants. We encourage and welcome all user comments and aim to use our blog to interact with our interested readers!