When do the leaves change in Austria?
 

OK - I know this is hard to predict.....

I have friends who will spend a year in Austria and am trying to pick a great time to visit them this fall. Due to work restrictions, I can not travel in September but anytime in October and November would work.

Fall colors aside, is there one particular time over another time that would be best to visit Austria in the fall.... I want to avoid crowds but also avoid rain if possible.

Thanks!
Theresa

We ran into lovely weather and beautiful colors this pass Autumn in the Alps in October. Look to our blog archives and you can see pictures ( and trip report);

www.soultravelers3.com

Stunning!

September would be too early for autumn colours anyway. The first half of October should be your best bet. Usually there is a wonderful sunny period of 10-14 days known as Golden October, but you never know when, so you'll need a bit of good luck to catch it. There is no way to plan the weather, rain may occur any time.

It also depends on the elevation of where you will be staying.

Hi Theresa,
Maybe it never rains in Southern California, but it certainly does in Austria during October. Especially in and around Salzburg. And November is the lousiest month to visit Middle Europe.
As basingstoke mentioned, from 5000 feet above sea level or so it will start snowing sometimes in October and almost all times in November.

Avoiding rain in autumn in europe is a complete lost cost. Take waterproof walking shoes and a sturdy folding umbrealla - and be happy if 1/2 of your days are dry.

Nothing changes in Austria.

I might have heard an untruth, but I heard from a professional botanist, some time ago, that the ONLY two countries where leaves change colors in autumn are China and the US. I still believe that, he had no reson to lie.

Not true. Google Austria Autumn and/or Neuschwanstein Autumn and you will see photos of Autumn color.

Waldo,

I live in Switzerland. The fall colours are beautiful. The leaves turn golden and red colours.

Don't believe your friend.

Not true Waldo. We flew into Frankfort on October 29 and just a few miles outside of airport we drove through a beautiful forest. All the trees had various shades of gold and yellow foliage. Leaves were past peak as we drove south and leaf season was pretty much over by first week in November in Salzburg and Vienna.

Hi, Waldo

<<I might have heard an untruth, but I heard from a professional botanist, some time ago, that the ONLY two countries where leaves change colors in autumn are China and the US. I still believe that, he had no reson to lie.>>

leaves certainly do change colour elsewhere - when we lived in south-east england, the autumn was one of my favourite times of year for that very reason.

here in warmer and wetter cornwall, there's far less change of colour - they just drop off.

it may have something to do with the range of temperatures to which the trees are exposed - they is a far smaller range here in Cornwall than there was in the south east, and particularly, very little frost.

regards, ann

You will get a lot of yellow, gold and brown tones in the foliage but hardly any red (except in the parks where imported teees grow). This might be what your botanist friend meant.

Hi Theresa,
I can only relate our past experiences travelling in Austria, Bavaria and the Dolomite region 4 times in Oct. and once in Apr/May in the last 7 years. We saw plenty of color in mid Oct. in all these areas. Not nearly as beautiful as in New England, but there is color. As far as rain, perhaps we've been lucky, but we've experienced just a day or two of rain on each of our 11 or 12 day trips spent in the Alps. Our photos can be seen at:

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html

After our one April/May "rainy" trip, we will only travel to the Alps in October. In our opinion, it's the best time of year for weather and lack of crowds.

Paul

Wow - thanks for all the messages.

I will be staying in Vienna but will take side trips to Salzburg, etc....

Rain - I actually looked at this on Weather.com and October has the least amount of rain, next to January.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/trave...25?from=search

I, of course, will pack for rain but prefer to not travel during the rainy season. I love the 50 degree (F) weather that October brings. I tried to do a search for fall colors in Austria and saw some incredible pictures but no real dates.

Paul and Soultraveler - I look forward to looking at your pics this weekend when I have more time to savor the beauty!

For the locals who responded - thank you very much. I wish I could add Switzerland on to this trip but that doesn't look possible. That is going to be a seperate trip on it's own!

We began our trip to Germany & Austria on 12 September and returned home on 4 October 2007. The prettiest colors were in the higher elevations but we did see some color everywhere. Here are our photos:

http://travel.webshots.com/album/561038806XxDcvw

Hi Bettyk,
Loved your photos!

WTnow, you have a great site!

paul

Paul, I remember that your trip was right after ours and that you traveled to many of the places we have been over the last several years.

I can't take credit for the photos (unfortunately); DH is a great photographer. But I also loved your photos! I'm ready to go back NOW -- well maybe when it's a little warmer! LOL!

Hey bettyk,
I'm always ready to go back. Unfortunately, funds and work aren't always ready to let me go!

paul

Thanks Theresa and Paul!

Here is a picture to disprove the theory about no color in the Alps:

http://www.soultravelers3.com/blog/5...5B87727F9.html

We did not expect to be there so late and really loved all the color. We also lucked out with mostly sun ( although did get some rain, especially in Salzburg) and it was chilly at night.

We were in an RV, so my husband was worried about snow at the higher elevations ( we do not have chains or snow tires) but the only snow we ran into was very late in the month as we came into Florence!

If I were you, I would get in and out in October.