venice

My husband and I are trying to find a location to travel to in January. It seems like it may be too cool to travel in Europe. Any suggestions for a destination?

Kate_W

We do have shelter and wood fires and clothes made from mammoth skins over here, you know ... Not to mention ski season ...

What do you want out of a holiday? If you want to go to the beach, or sit outside at outdoor cafes in your shirtsleeves, then you're probably right. It is too cold in January. And there are probably a number of places and regions that are at their best in spring, summer or fall.

But city trips in January can be just as nice as spring, summer and fall trips. Here in Paris, the Mona Lisa will still be hanging out in the Louvre, and the line-ups will be a lot shorter. The January sales will be taking places (great bargains on French fashion). Hotel prices will be lower, so you can stay somewhere nicer than you might otherwise be able to afford.

You do want to think of picking either: (a) a city that has lots of indoor attractions (not hard to come up with a list - London, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Rome, Istanbul, etc); or (b) winter outdoor activities (skiiing in the Alps, Northern Lights in Scandinavia).

And in a lot of these cities, it's not that cold, really. London and Paris are usually at least a few degrees celsius above freezing (it was about 10C here in Paris the other day). Rome and Istanbul should also have good temperatures. Some of my colleagues have gone to meetings in Madrid in late January or February when the temperatures were in the teens (celsius).

Pack warm, waterproof shoes, a scarf and gloves, and long underwear if you're from the South - and then enjoy the Europe that residents (rather than tourists) see.

bobthenavigator

Buenos Aires or New Zealand.

missypie

I think Paris in the winter is terrific. But if you're looking for a great destination that doesn't have to be Europe, try Costa Rica. It's the prettiest place I've ever been (and a three hour direct flight from Dallas.)

venice

Thank you so much for the replies. The more I think about it, Paris would be wonderful. I was not sure if it would be too cool to walk around and take in the area. Thanks again. And I agree about Costa Rica. It was absolutely gorgeous.

GSteed

Try adventure vacations. Ski school for instance. Both Slovakia and Poland offer relatively inexpensive such venues.

Kate_W

I don't find Paris cold in winter - but I'm Canadian. I find it's similar to Vancouver or Seattle (as opposed to, e.g. Toronto, Chicago, New York, Montreal, etc). The temperatures range from a few degrees below freezing (unusual) to about 5-10 above). It's damp and it rains in short, sharp bursts with a certain amount of frequency. However, it is not too cold to walk around and a combination of indoor activities and outdoor walks is quite manageable. Plus, it's sale season starting from about mid-January onward. (French sales are highly regulated, so the bi-annual sales are a very big deal.)

rohani

We went to Paris in Dec 02 and didn't find it to cold and we're from California. If you plan on doing alot of walking you should be fine. Just have a warm coat, hat, scarf and gloves, and an umbrella. The only place we found it to be extremly cold was when we walked around the Seine by the Eiffel Tower as there was a cold breeze.

missypie

I actually find it much easiser to pack for winter vacations. You know going into it that you're going to look the same in every picture-winter coat-so there's no compulsion to take a different outfit for every day. There's no worrying about what if it's 50 degrees or what if it's 90 degrees (it can often be both on a summer vacation). You just bring warm clothes and that's it.