7 days in Europe (X'mas and New Year)
 

Hi everyone,

I have plan to travel in Europe for a week in X'mas and New year event.

Can you suggest for any place should I go, I afraid Europe winter season is very cold for me.

Thanks a lot.

If you go to Rome or south of Rome you probably won't get snow or freezing cold. You might get rain and cold temperatures at night, and you will need to have a good jacket or coat during the day.

The warmest places in europe at Christmas will be southern Spain - and possibly Sicily/Malta. They usually have moderate temps during the day (50s) but can get colder at night.

The other countries you have picked all have real winters - generally not severe ones - but cold temps and snow are possible in all (including Rome - but very unlikely).

If it were me I would do either London or Paris for the festivities - but coming from NYC, which does have a real winter, often with lots of snow and temps around zero (F, not C) they are pleasant to me. And that time of year most of what you would want to do is indoor anyway.

I am wondering why you are choosing Europe in the winter. I love Paris at Christmas and you can easily find ways to stay warm. Is there a reason or draw for going over Christmas/New Years? We love the store windows and Christmas markets in Paris. While the city is pretty quiet on Christmas Eve, things pick up quickly on Christmas day, so the city is not too "dead".

One great thing about Paris is the wide variety of museums and churches you can visit to escape the cold. A chocolat chard, a cafe creme or vin chard will also help you warm up. Sitting in a cafe people watching is a treat in Paris. A good hat and scarf, a travel umbrella and some of those pocket warmers you can get an outdoor/sporting good store is really all you need to stay warm (with a coat). I wouldn't avoid any where for fear of cold weather. I live in the Southeasterm US, so we don't get much cold weather here and Christmas in Paris is wonderful to me!

We spent a week in Nice last December and thoroughly enjoyed it. We were there from December 10-18, I think, and the weather was mild, maybe 50s and 60s. At that time it was not crowded, but I get the impression that many more people come closer to Christmas.

I wrote a trip report, if you click on my name. We rented a beautiful apartment through Nice Pebbles, used public transportation, and had a wonderful time.

There is cold and cold.

5 or 10 degrees below zero (centigrade) in a dry environment (for example Como or up in the mountains) is preferable to + 2 or more in a humid location.

Not necessarily further south is preferable. Parts of southern Italy can have quite cold winters.

As nytraveller said Sicily might be an attractive location - Palermo area rather than Catania.

However, there are no certainties as to what weather you might find. Currently the temperatures in north Italy are crazy - up to 40 degrees during the day and not below 28 degrees at night (104F and 82F)

I have really enjoyed my winter trips to Rome, Naples and Palermo (3 different trips), and the generally mild weather which made sightseeing in Pompei and strolling in Palermo and Rome so pleasant. I didn't need to go indoors to get warm and I didn't miss Christmas festivities or snow. These cities have them, but they scarcely need them to be interesting or exciting. Many people could care too hoots about "the holidays."

Thanks all for your help.

Years ago, my friend and I went to Paris right after Christmas until New Year's. It was a package deal and our first time to Paris. It was cold but not bitterly or bone chilling cold but still a bit cold. I brought a wool knee length coat and many women were wearing down coats to the knee. I am a very cold person but don't remember it stopping me too much as we did go to museums. I've been to London in Februray and Lithuania in November and those places were a lot more cold to me. I wouldn't go back there at those times of year again for this reason. I also go to Germany and Austria for Christmas markets in late November/early December. They can be cold too but not so bad where I won't go back but this would be a few weeks earlier than when you are planning for.

I think for anyone who lives in a country or area with similar winter weather, it's no surprise and they would have appropriate clothing. But I suspect the OP doesn't live in that kind of country now and doesn't know what that kind of weather is like, and won't own cold weather clothing. I might be wrong, but just a hunch. In which case, I wouldn't do it if it would involve buying a lot of expensive clothing. It's a very expensive time to visit, anyway, Paris hotel rates are very high during that period, for example, because a lot of people do go there for the holidays. Maybe it's different elsewhere. And some things may even be closed.