Europe in January?

[wildrice]

My SIL, who lives just outside of London, just got engaged. She said it's looking good that they might do a wedding next January. Nothing is decided yet, but it's been too long since I've actually planned a trip and I have wanderlust so I want to dream here

If we were to go, I'd like to make a larger trip out of it. But January is not my ideal month to travel due to weather. If she does the wedding like the first week of January, we could potentially go early and hit some Christmas markets. I'd previously researched Vienna and Budapest but had to put that trip on the backburner, so perhaps we could do those.

If the wedding is more like mid or late January, where else would you think would be fun to do in January? We are fine with cold weather but I'd rather avoid a lot of rain if it's cold, and I'd also rather not do a TON of outdoor stuff if we have to bundled up the whole time. We love history, museums, good but inexpensive food (no fine dining for us generally), beer and wine, neat architecture. We've done Berlin and Prague together already so we'd probably skip those this time. I've also been to London (and H is from there) so while we'd likely spend a day or two in the city, it wouldn't need to be a focus of the trip. I have never skiied so while I'm not completely opposed, I'm not sure I want to plan a trip around that either. Let's say we could do up to 2 weeks, and assume at least 3-4 days of that would be eaten up with wedding/family visiting.

I'm not concerned about it being close to London, we could hop on flights or a train to somewhere else.  Any suggestions?

[pittpurple]

I would personally get out of the UK as quickly as possible - it's awful here that time of year, super dark and just unpleasant without the fun of being in the snow.

It really depends on if you want to go colder and do a place with proper winter - Munich? Stockholm? Or go as South as possible - in Europe it won't be warm, but Italy will be warmer and at least dryer. I loved Rome which defintiely hits the museum / inexpensive food / history / wine / architecture list.

I'd probably fly open Jaw into / out of London and then return from somewhere else and book a budget flight in the middle.

[scout8]

I haven't been to Europe in January, but I have been in December. Croatia and Greece were both pretty nice that time of year. Cool, but not cold. We couldn't do the islands in Greece since it was off season, but we spent time in Athens and the Peloponnese and it was very nice. I would think parts of Italy, Spain, or Portugal might be nice that time of year too. One plus to going in the off season is that everything is cheaper and less crowded.

[neonpink]

I've spent a few holidays in December, Amsterdam, Prague, Berlin. My BIL and SIL spent time in Rome and it was much warmer and nice.

I personally like traveling in the off season and I like traveling around Christmas time. I love the Christmas markets. London looks like Christmas exploded. It's so pretty. So if they get married in early January I might try to go early to enjoy those things.

If it's later in January go to the wedding and head to warmer climates. Spain is warmer in the winter and very pretty. Granada was warm enough that I didn't need at coat sometimes.

[dutchgirl678]

I have been to Paris in January. And while it was pretty cold, it was dry. We had a great time visiting museums and wandering through Montmartre and Versailles.

Southern Spain sounds nice, or one of the Canary islands such as Gran Canaria or Tenerife. Or Madeira which is Portuguese. My parents have been to Madeira and to me it looks like Hawaii, so beautiful. I don't know what it is like in January though.

[goldengirlz]

They don’t call it a Mediterranean climate for nothing: Barcelona would be awesome, or Southern Italy, or Greece.

It won’t be hot, but it’ll be moderate like California.

[alleinesein]

Turkey. Istanbul is about a 4-hour flight from London. It hits most of the things on your list- great food, interesting architecture, history, etc. The weather will be nicer than London but it won't be warm (more like brisk Iowa fall weather- mid 50s in the day and low to mid 40s at night).

[rupertpenny]

I'd probably do Italy or Spain/Portugal. Both will probably be mild and as long as you don't go to beach towns they probably won't be shut down off season. We did London, Rome, and Florence over Christmas once and it was nice. Iberia will definitely be a much better value than Italy.

[ribollita]

Venice for NYE is one of my favorite travel memories!

[wildrice]

Jan 28, 2019 20:29:38 GMT -5 turbo said:

Portugal, or I'd echo PP who said Turkey because I love Istanbul.

Or if you're up for it, what about Morocco? There are direct flights from London. I know it can get cold / rainy there in January, and it's not as nice as spring / fall, but checking the temperatures in Marrakesh this month they've consistently been in the 60s-70s. I imagine the Atlas Mountains might be a little chilly but 60-70 in January sounds not so bad to me.

Hmm good idea...hadn't thought of outside of Europe, but Morocco is high on my list.

Is Istanbul safe right now? I definitely want to go someday, but I am fine waiting until things are calmer. Otherwise that interests me a lot too.

Lots of good ideas here! I'd rather avoid real winter weather if there are warmer options. We have plenty of winter at home so I'd prefer to get out of it, but I am also not expecting true warmth anywhere in Europe that time of year so I am ok with needing a coat.

[jwright]

We spent New Years 17/18 in the Azores and had a blast! I don't know how hard it would be to get to and from London but it was gorgeous, mild weather, and felt undiscovered. Delicious food and cheap prices!

[dreamcrisp1]

I too was going to suggest Morocco. We were originally going to go in January before I had to go to China and it seemed perfect.

Other places would be Spain, Portugal, or Italy.

If you’re there for Christmas markets, I would do those but if later in January, go south. Amsterdam and the like are terrible right now.

[wise_rita]

I've gone to Salzburg and Munich (an easy train ride apart) in January.

Wintery, yes, but not horrible.

[pittpurple]

Jan 28, 2019 21:42:42 GMT -5 wildrice said:

Jan 28, 2019 20:29:38 GMT -5 turbo said:

Portugal, or I'd echo PP who said Turkey because I love Istanbul.

Or if you're up for it, what about Morocco? There are direct flights from London. I know it can get cold / rainy there in January, and it's not as nice as spring / fall, but checking the temperatures in Marrakesh this month they've consistently been in the 60s-70s. I imagine the Atlas Mountains might be a little chilly but 60-70 in January sounds not so bad to me.

Hmm good idea...hadn't thought of outside of Europe, but Morocco is high on my list.

Is Istanbul safe right now? I definitely want to go someday, but I am fine waiting until things are calmer. Otherwise that interests me a lot too.

Lots of good ideas here! I'd rather avoid real winter weather if there are warmer options. We have plenty of winter at home so I'd prefer to get out of it, but I am also not expecting true warmth anywhere in Europe that time of year so I am ok with needing a coat.

If you want warm weather it's totally possible in the Canary Islands. It's where British people go to escape. Tenerife and Grand Canaria are apparently the nicest weather-wise. I think you could do better on the architecture / food / museums thing though but if you wanted to go with 'best weather' that's a great option. 

[mrsukyankee]

I just went to Barcelona in late December and it was fabulous. Not super cold and even comfy on one or two days (40s to upper 50s) - we were there for 5. We walked everywhere and it was sunny. It's such an easy city with great food and drink as well as plenty of sights to see.

I'd also look at Greece or southern Italy. They would most likely be comfortable, though not warm, and sunny.

[pittpurple]

mrsukyankee, Barcelona, why didn't I think of that!

Barcelona is lovely. Super walkable and tons to do. Depending on how much time you have you could rent a car for a couple days and explore the area. Montserrat Monestery is one of the most memorable things I've seen (as is Sagrada Familia actually) - I'm with UKYankee now and vote for Barcelona.

[badgergrl]

We did Rome in January. The temperatures were moderate and there were so few tourists. We saw the Sistine chapel with only 15 other people.

[majesty318]

Agreeing with the Spain recs.

I was just in Madrid in December and was sitting outside/ not wearing a coat during the day. It was sunny and about 50 degrees.
And Madrid is not even known to be one of the warmer spots in Spain!

[wildrice]

Jan 29, 2019 9:15:02 GMT -5 badgergrl said:

We did Rome in January. The temperatures were moderate and there were so few tourists. We saw the Sistine chapel with only 15 other people.

That's crazy! When I was there it was jam packed with people, but it was in September. Going in the off-season is smart!

I've been to Rome/Florence/Venice but my H has not (I think he's been to Venice, actually, but as a child). My first visit was super quick and I had a terrible cold for most of it, though, so going back and spending more time and being more able to enjoy it is appealing. Hmm.

Barcelona also is a great suggestion! I *think* my H has been there but he may be willing to go back. Most of his European travel without me was when he was young, so traveling now would be very different I imagine!

[audry80]

We did Amsterdam, Paris and the Champagne region in January. It was cold but dry. There were zero crowds and it was glorious to not stand in lines or have to plan ahead to beat the crowds.

[KKD]

H and I were just in Barcelona last week. There was light rain the day we arrived and the day we left, but in between there was sun and highs in the 50s and lows in the 40s which is warmer than home. We were actually supposed to go the previous week when the high would have been 60. I wore a midweight coat and had my hat and gloves off and on. We walked everywhere and even hiked Montserrat.

We have also been to Paris and Rome in February. Paris was unusually cold when we visited, but I remember Rome was similar to the weather we had in Barcelona. And fewer crowds is a plus!

[amberlyrose]

Weirdly, we went to the Scottish highlands in late January/Early Feb and it was wonderful weather! The sun was out every day, very little precipitation.