I need help on trip ideas. I just got back from a wonderful 3-week whirlwind adventure in Europe that took me from Copenhagen to Cinque Terre to London and many places in between. I am now ready to start planning another trip, and I will only be able to take time off around major holidays, and I've targeted Thanksgiving. Where is a great place (or places) to check out in Europe during late November? I will most likely be able to plan a 7-8 day trip. Is Scotland too cold by then? What are Belgium and the Netherlands like? What about Istanbul? Any suggestions? Thanks!

Any ideas??

Belgium and the Netherlands will be cool, maybe cold, and probably wet/foggy. But then again the could be cool/cold and sunny. November is a tricky month here. It tends to be damp, and is probably my least favourite month. Nights are long and days are short.
But it is quiet and tourists numbers are down. Most things are open as normal and it can be what the Dutch call gezellig in the evenings.

Scotland will be similar but a bit darker, and maybe a bit colder and wetter.

I enjoy Germany and Austria at that season. We have gone several times leaving the US on Thanksgiving Day and mixing it up between cities in those two countries. It is very festive with the Christmas markets and there is lots going on.

We are headed back again on 11/15 to Berlin then onto Cologne, Bamberg, Garmisch and a few more spots in 16 nights total.

In Austria, Salzburg is a great choice both for itself and for day trips into the countryside, which is gorgeous!

Thanks! I was just in Salzburg, Berchtesgaden, and Munich this summer, so I might want to look elsewhere, but I really appreciate the suggestions. I love Austria, and I really want to go back to Innsbruck and I didn't get to explore Garmisch or the Castles.

Good to know that Belgium is soggy and dark then. I figured Edinburgh would be tough this time of year.

I notice you included Switzerland in your tag, but didn't mention it in your post, so I'm not sure if you're considering it or not, but...

We visited Switzerland over Thanksgiving twice - it's the lowest of the low season in the mountains - lots of closures in the alpine villages and many cable car/gondolas down for maintenance. Good deals on the hotels that remain open though, especially in Zermatt and other ski areas. It's also easy to rent an apartment for less than a week during this time. In the cities, it's business as usual.

One Thanksgiving we got heaps, I mean heaps of snow (Engelberg) - another year they'd had a very hot summer and the landscape was incredibly bleak, very dry and desolate looking.

You never know what the weather might do.

Did you make it as far east as Prague in the summer? How about Budapest? It will be cold, but I really like these Central/Eastern European cities in the winter. There are far fewer tourists and they are still very beautiful cities. They also have good public transportation and great cafes to warm up and have a coffee or two.

I visited Brugge and Brussels last year over Thanksgiving. It did rain a lot, and my day out visiting Flanders Field (guided tour) was quite cloudy/foggy with spots of rain, but it wasn't particularly cold. Perhaps 50 (10C). The rain in Brugge came and went - the sun would peep out and you'd rejoice, and then 45 minutes later the rains would be back.

I especially enjoyed Portugal the year I visited over the Thanksgiving hols. Almost entirely sunshine (one day near Coimbra was pure rain, but that was the only day) and in Lisbon it was warm enough to wander with/without a light jacket in the day time.