We are planning a trip in mid-December to London and want to go somewhere else afterwards. What's the weather like in December? Should we hop on a plane and go to a warmer Euro climate? Or would somewhere in the countryside be nice?

Wet, cold, windy, and maybe snow too!

Why are you doing Europe in winter when springtime or autumn and even summer is the best time to visit?

I was in Athens this winter and the weather was much better than London, but not what one might call hot or even rather warm. You don't do Europe in winter for weather, you do it for history, culture, food, etc...

As long as you don't mind cold weather, the countryside would be pretty. Also remember that it will start getting dark by about 3:30 pm in December, and will be worse the further north you go (like Scotland). Plan your sightseeing time accordingly.

If you are looking for warm weather, you won't find it in December anywhere in Europe. Even Greece and Spain will only be in the 50s F, and snow is not at all unusual in Madrid. Places in north Africa like Morocco are much the same. Take a look at weatherbase.com and worldclimate.com for historical average temps and rainfall. You can even use the Vacation Finder function on weatherbase.com; you put in the minimum acceptable temp for a month, and it tells you where in the world you can go to get those temps. For sunset times, take a look at sunrisesunset.com

Most places will be gorgeously decorated for Christmas. I live in Zurich and it really is magical at that time. I would also recommend Rome for no crowds, romantic ambience and Christmas decorations.

The weather will be intermittently wet. It's very, very unlikely to be snowy, and, in most of England, won't be at all cold by the standards of the US North East or Midwest.

Personally, I love the English countryside in winter - but don't expect Christmas card scenes (they're all the product of a climatic warp in the early 19th century), or the greenery of films like Babe. OTOH, the classic medieval towns - Salisbury, Canterbury, Wells etc - do look especially nice in the darker days, and are usually full of low-key stuff to do: choir concerts, lectures, charity sales and all the other things that go on when the population aren't on the beaches of Europe, and before they all disappear to go skiing. And all those log fires and jolly mine hosts in the old inns make a lot more sense in Dec than in midsummer.

If you want warm weather, you really need to go as far south as Egypt: even Jordan can be pretty cold in January

However, England doesn't dress up for Advent as well as the Germanic parts of Europe. No market here compares with Nuremburg for example - and exposure to British shops in December can be an unpleasant experience. Not nearly as unpleasant, though, as exposure to the mass office party that pretty much takes over the centre of most small English towns these days most nights from about Dec 10 to Christmas Eve.

'Sleepy' is just not the bword.

The weather in the UK is always unpredictable but is likely to be cold at that time of year. Nice old pubs are at their best then but I think you would probably find it easier to visit ones in cities and market towns rather than the countryside. The city of Bath is a world heritage site within easy reach of London, especially on the train. It is surrounded by wonderful countryside too. However, if you are hoping to visit country houses most of them are closed between the end of October and Easter.

Rome is a wonderful place during the Christmas season. There is always lots to do in Rome, and the time before Christmas is not as crowded as much of the year, plus people are in a good mood, the decorations are nice, and there are magical events such as acappella boys choirs singing in places like the Pantheon. But you do need to dress for chilly weather.

One year after we were in London, we went up to Stratford upon Avon for Christmas, and it was a really nice time. Definitely rainy and cold though. The plays we saw were excellent, good walking, and we found a hotel that served a decent Christmas dinner.

As others have pointed out, Europe in December is not warm. Crete in Greece and Sicily in Italy will likely have better weather than other places, but neither are what I would call warm. They do have fabulous food though...

I was in Dublin Jan 03 for one week and there was just one afternoon of rain during my stay. Two weeks before I arrived they had flooding in the streets. Sometimes you get lucky with the weather. I made 3 visits to London before I saw rain there.

As other posters have said - be prepared for cold, windy, sometimes rainy weather. Pubs and musuems are great places to take a break from the elements.