Tigro

My family and I decided to go for a family vacation this year and wanted to visit one of the warm places in Europe which we've never done on our own. Problem is, the only date we managed to pick to suit us all is around mid-July, for something like a week - and we all reaally don't take heat too kindly. It's cool when it's warm and pretty but when the heat is so sweltering you feel like you're gonna fry if you stand in the sun for 30 seconds and you spend your whole day running from one AC'd venue to the other just to catch your breath cause even the shade doesn't help, it isn't really our type of jazz.

Having said all that, we would really like to visit one of the places listed in the title - ie. Lisbon+Porto, Rome, Barcelona, or Malta. Would you say that the weather in one would be more manageable than the other? Or maybe the contrary - some of these are notoriously worse and you would suggest us to stay away considering our heat-reluctancy? Checking the weather online doesn't help too much cause what it actually feels like when you're there may very wildly depending on humidity, wind and so on. Any tips and input would be greatly welcome!

thursdaysd

Traveler_Nick

What do you consider hot? Or even warm? Barcelona tends to be a bit cooler than Rome but weather can be all over the place. Neither is hot the way southern Spain or Greece can be but it's unlikely either will be cool. Plus side of Barcelona is you can easily walk to the beach -)

StCirq

If you really want to avoid heat, the places you have chosen are hardly ideal. Europe is huge. You have loads of choices. Head north if avoiding heat is important to you. I agree that checking the weather online isn't ideal, but it's every bit as unreliable as asking people on a travel board what their experiences have been with regard to "manageable" temperatures.

jpie

I will just add that cities nearer the Atlantic side of the world like Porto might likely be a more humid heat and cities nearer the Med like Barcelona are more likely to be a dryer heat. And you might be more likely to have the "warm but still nice" type weather in places like Porto all the way up to Brittany on the Altantic versus some of the other places you mentioned.

janisj

>>you spend your whole day running from one AC'd venue to the other just to catch your breath cause even the shade doesn't help, it isn't really our type of jazz.<<

For one thing -- there aren't all that many a/c's venues in Southern Europe. And any place you listed could be sweltering HOT or just hot during your visit - and you wouldn't know which it is until you are there, or at least en route. If you must avoid heat you'll want to head north. But the problem then is that there is even less a/c up north and if there IS a heat wave which can happen, while it would be cooler than a heat wave in southern Europe - the discomfort would be about the same.

If I had to travel to travel in July and I needed to avoid heat, I'd pick someplace like Scotland, or Ireland, or parts of Scandinavia

isabel

I've been to all the places you've mentioned in July and didn't think it was "too hot" but everyone is different. Yeah it will be hot in the sun, but often just 'very warm' or even just 'a little warm' in the shade. There are lots of streets in all those places that are shaded. I just make sure the hotels have AC and of course most transportation (buses, trains, rental car) is air conditioned. But I don't run from one air conditioned place to another - as stated above, lots of places don't even have AC. Most cafes and restaurants with outside seating are shaded. I don't think there is any difference in the amount of heat in any of the places you listed. On average they will all be mid to high 80s by afternoon. Evenings and early mornings are delightful. That's the other technique people use - do your sightseeing in the cooler parts of the day and go back to the hotel for a siesta mid afternoon. Stores and many sights are closed then anyway.

But if even that amount of heat bothers you and you still want those countries consider for Spain the northern coast - San Sebastian to Santiago de Compostela or for Italy the mountains - either the Dolomites or Val d'Aosta.Those areas are usually much cooler.

Tigro

Thank you all very much for all the help!