Early May Vacation
 

Hi there,

I am traveling to Europe from May 4th to May 18th and wanted some suggestions as to some cities to visit. This is my first time traveling to Europe in spring and am excited to see what it looks like. I am flying into Amsterdam and will spend about 4 days there.

Some places I was thinking of includes: Berlin, Barcelona, Copenhagen. I do want to try to go somewhere warm. Which would be the warmest city to visit (extra points if I can access a beach or coast for a dip).

Thank you for your suggestions!

Sounds like you want Barcelona....the other two don't come anywhere near what you are hoping for weather wise. Try to visit Kuekenhoff while in Amsterdam if you want to see a marvelous display of tulips!

Oh I notice you included Portugal in your country list - yes, maybe Lisbon, or going out to the nearby Cascais.

So, you have 14 days on the ground, right? Or does May 4th to 18th include day of landing and day of leaving, in which case you have 12? Not a huge amount of time in either case. Minus 4 days in Amsterdam you have either 8 or 10.

Warm will probably not include Copenhagen or Berlin at that time of year. Swimming anywhere could be possible if you are a member of the Polar Bear Club. You might try southern Spain, the Canary Islands, or Morocco.

I would pick 2, or 3 at most, places to visit in that timeframe.

Do you have to fly OUT of Amsterdam too? No sense buying RT tickets, as opposed to open-jaw, if you are planning to go far afield from A'dam.

May 4th is Remembrance day in the Netherlands.
There is a ceremony at the monument on the Dam every year, attended by the Royal family. 2 minutes silence is observed throughout the country at 8 pm.
May 5th is Liberation Day. There will be some festivities for that, but most people have to work as normal.

Berlin, Barcelona, Copenhagen. I do want to try to go somewhere warm. Which would be the warmest city to visit (extra points if I can access a beach or coast for a dip).>

Not sure warm enough to swim even in Barcelona but by far the warmest.

You could go by train:

10 days after Amsterdam:

Take train to Paris- 4 days

Take train to Avignon - great city with lots of nice day trips
2 days

Take train to Barcelona. 4 days.

Fly out of Barcelona.

For lots on trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. buy tickets early enough on line and get nifty discounts-like Amsterdam to Paris for as low as 39-49 euros vs about 200 euro walk up- www.thalys.com and www.voyages-sncf.com for France and to Spain.

May is not considered beach weather in Barcelona, but it's not bad.

This is my first time traveling to Europe in spring and am excited to see what it looks like>

A great time without many tourists but can be quite chilly -not cold -but chillier than you perhaps think in northern Europe -perfect time for southern Europe.

Amsterdam can be especially rainy and windy (or nice and sunny) - prepare for wet cool weather in northern Europe in early spring).

And yes do a day trip from Amsterdam to the Keukenhof - Holland's flower extravaganza in the heart of the tulip/flower fields. Take train to Leiden then shuttle bus to the gardens - Leiden is a sweet old canal-laced university town- well worth a look too.

https://keukenhof.nl//en/discover-th...hat-keukenhof/

https://keukenhof.nl//en/

There are lots of cheap flights from Copenhagen , Amsterdam and Berlin to other parts of Europe. Southern Spain is your best best for beach weather. A trip that includes Copenhagen or Amsterdam or Berlin + Barcelona would be quite a taste of the variety of Europe. You might leave wonder what on earth makes Europeans think can have a European Union, given how very very differently each country approaches life.

I think I might pick Amsterdam, Berlin + Barcelona. Each was the heart of a cultural + physical empire, and had and still has tremendous creativity, wealth + multiculturalism at varous stages of their respective long histories. Even though you don't want to go to museums, you will still get a feel for these places. If you go to Barcelona, don't miss the music palace. It's essential. There are many sites of history you can see in Berlin without going to museums. But there is a small museum associated with the Berlin Wall that is really so important to see if you want to understand today's Berlin and today's European Union. In Amsterdam, take a canal ride!

In May, Amsterdam weather will be spring-like, which can mean anything, from warm and lengthening sunny days, to rainstorms and 13ºC.

<i> Early May Vacation
Posted by: damasco88 on Dec 14, 16 at 1:48pm
I am traveling to Europe from May 4th to May 18th and wanted some suggestions as to some cities to visit. </i>

Your schedule is probably perfect to include a visit to Keukenhof. See http://www.enjoy-europe.com/travelog/Keukenhof2008.htm. Be flexible because the weather can turn quickly. The tulips close up for the night so choose a warm sunny afternoon for maximum enjoyment.

Forget warm and swimming. You are a couple months early. And your itinerary is too much, way too spread out, for two weeks. To get a sampling of a few cultures within a tight radius do a train excursion with 2 to 4 days each in Amsterdam/Haarlem, D&uuml;sseldorf/K&ouml;ln, Paris, and Antwerp/Brugge. Flying around Europe negates what you are going there for.

<Which would be the warmest city to visit (extra points if I can access a beach or coast for a dip).>

Wonderful Málaga city by the Med coast will most likely be warm and beach weather in May. Average highs in May are 75-80F and average 10 hours sun/day. http://www.wetteronline.de/klima-temperatur/malaga

3000 year old Málaga is one of three Spanish cities recommended by NYT for 2016, and the city has in recent years "emerged as the province's city of culture with its so-called 'mile of art' being compared to Madrid, and its dynamism and fine dining to Barcelona". https://www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/andalucia/malaga

Málaga city beaches: https://www.spain-holiday.com/Malaga...ty-beach-guide

If you want to splurge in one of the finest hotels in all of Spain, Gran Hotel Miramar from 1926 will have reopened in May, and there are 25% opening discounts. http://www.granhotelmiramarmalaga.co...-hotel-malaga/

En avril ne te découvre pas d'un fil
en mai fait ce qu'il te plait.

That is how our grandmothers said we had to behave in northern Europe regarding clothes.

Clothes are influenced by weather...So in may do as you please. But heck, sometimes it is near freezing cold, our grandmothers were tough.