johng

Okay I know this is the sort of overly general question that's impossible to answer, but what the heck. Our kids have reached the ages where we're unwilling to face the stink eye we get from teachers and administrators if they miss school for a vacation, plus both are dedicated little league players, so for now the only time of the year we can get a couple weeks off is late July to early August - just when everybody else is traveling. This summer we would like to go to Europe but we're worried about the crowds and the weather, especially in the places we'd most like to go. Rome and somewhere along the southern coast of Italy is my first choice, followed by Barcelona. My wife and elder son want to go to Paris and either the Loire Valley or northeast France.

Are all of those choices going to be just insanely hot and crowded, or, in the case of Paris, shut down for vacation? Should we go to England or Ireland or maybe somewhere else further north instead?

RufusTFirefly

Nothing is really shut down in the major tourist destinations, such as Paris. Certainly all the sights are open. Some stores and restaurants will close in August for vacations, but most stay open. It's unlikely you would even notice it.

Heat and humidity, however, can be a problem--but not insurmountable. Just dress appropriately for hot weather, visit outdoor sights during the morning and evening. Get accommodations with air conditioning--while some places do cool off at night, it might be very late before a hotel room without A/C cools off as most do not have good cross ventilation. Some people point out that you will "survive" without A/C, and you most likely will, but I like to do more than survive while on vacation.

Spain and southern Italy would not be ideal in July and August from the heat standpoint--and the coastal areas of Italy will be mobbed and at their most expensive. Have you considered the Italian, Austrian, or Swiss Alps? Again, you can do the hotter areas and have a good vacation, but it will require more planning and coordination and some compromises if you decide to do so.

Christina

Where are you from that you would regard Northern Europe as "insanely hot" in the summer? If you would regard most of the US insanely hot in summer, then I guess so, but to many people, it's just summer (like me). It's certainly not hotter in France than where I live in the mid-Atlantic coast area of the US, nor is it hotter than the Midwest where I grew up. If you are from Canada, I can see you might think anything lower than Ireland/Scotland as insanely hot. Europe as a different climate than North American in terms of the same latitude though (Paris is really north of Montreal, I believe), but it's not the tropics. Paris is northern Europe, I wouldn't lump it in with Rome, and if those are your choices, of course you can go to northern France in summer.

NOthing much in Paris is shut down except some small shops and some restaurants in August.

nytraveler

All of the places will be very crowded. Italy and SPain will be very hot and humid and many places will have no AC (restaurants, stores and even some hotels).

If it were me that time of year I would hed for Scandinavia - or England/Ireland for usually cooler temps.

ira

Hi JG,

Paris is a world-class city. It doesn't shut down, especially at the height of the tourist season.

The farther South you go (Rome, Barcelona) the hotter it will be.

>My wife and elder son want to go to Paris and either the Loire Valley or northeast France. <

You have a very wise wife and a smart son.

Enjoy France.

Dukey

It will be HUMID in all those places and you will appreciate having an a/c'd place to unwind and sleep in.

Yes, it isn't any hotter or more humid than here in Washington, DC., and that's why we have A/C here and you will want it over there.

If A/C "isn't necessary" then why do so many hotels in those places have it?????

suze

4 out of 5 of my trips to Europe happened to be in July/August. No I did not find it too hot, too crowded, or everything shut down. I was in Amsterdam, Venice twice, Paris, and the Lac Leman area of Switzerland outside Geneva.

StCirq

My kids and I probably spent 15 out of the past 20 summers in France and Italy and Spain in July and August. Yes, the June trips (and all other times of year) trips were more comfortable, but we certainly wouldn't have forsaken the opportunity to go just because of heat and crowds. Sure, you have to plan ahead: you need to get up and out early in the day and honor the siesta mid-day for a couple of hours while everything is shut down, then resume activities mid-afternoon; drink plenty of water; slow down the pace a bit; book hotels with A/C, maybe a pool, etc. It's not exactly a hardship. Beach areas will be crowded (so what? They're jammed in July and August on the MD and VA shores where I go, too), traffic can be a pain, but it's Europe and you're lucky to be there!

Things won't be shut down to an extent you'll even notice.

johng

Good comments and advice folks, thanks.... I am reassured about Paris; only issue is that it's one of the few places in Europe where I've spent a lot of time, but the kids and wife would love it. Wife would like to spend some time on the water though. Maybe a canoe trip down the Loire...? As for Italy, that's where I do really wish to go and the point about beaches being crowded everywhere that time of year does make sense. I grew up in MD so I can handle a fair amount of humidity and heat. Perhaps we'll look for some places that are a little less discovered. IE Geeta instead of Positano.

Michael

Northeast France, with the possible exception of Alsace, will tend to be less crowded than the Provence, the Côte d'Azur, the Dordogne and the Atlantic coast from Brittany south.