Why I Love Visiting These 3 Popular European Cities In The Winter

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There’s quite a bit to be stated for touring to Europe through the summer time.

Long days, plenty of sunshine, and a vibrant ambiance make summer time the preferred time of 12 months to journey to Europe’s hotspots.

But there are three extraordinarily common locations that I’ve visited in each summer time and winter — and I discovered winter to be the very best time to go to by far.

(*3*)

Those three cities are:

Venice, Italy
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Barcelona, Spain

These locations have a number of issues in frequent: the height season for visiting is in the summertime, they’re all extremely common locations that draw tens of millions of holiday makers every year, they’re all notoriously costly, they’re all common with cruise ships, and so they’re all affected by overtourism.

Here’s why winter is definitely the very best time to journey to those trending European locations.

Venice, Italy

Venice is one in every of my favourite cities in all of Europe. It’s actually magical and enchanting, with its breathtaking structure and a whole lot of bridges and canals.

During the summer time months, although, visiting Venice can really feel like visiting an overcrowded theme park moderately than a historic metropolis. The crowds have gotten so dangerous that Venice will soon implement a visitor fee of 5 euros to enter the town on peak days.

But Venice within the winter is a totally totally different story. The crowds are practically nonexistent, and though the climate might be chilly and overcast, it provides to the moody, mysterious ambiance of the town.

Winter can also be the very best time to go to for decrease costs, with common resort costs dropping greater than 50% in comparison with the summer time months.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik is a surprising historic metropolis on the Adriatic Sea, well-known for its walled Old Town. This is a vacation spot that has been exploding in reputation in recent times, with the summer time of 2023 ushering in a new tourism record for Dubrovnik.

Like Venice, this can be a metropolis that has been struggling immensely from excessive crowds and overtourism. Dubrovnik has additionally seen skyrocketing costs up to now few years, particularly after formally becoming a member of the Schengen Zone and adopting the euro as foreign money originally of 2023.

Winter is my favourite time to go to Dubrovnik as a result of there are only a few vacationers, and you’ll take pleasure in actions like strolling the City Walls with out shoulder-to-shoulder crowds.

It could also be too chilly to go to the seaside or go swimming within the Adriatic Sea, nevertheless it’s nonetheless sunny and delicate, with common temperatures within the excessive fifties through the winter.

Barcelona, Spain

Finally, Barcelona is one other European hotspot I choose visiting within the winter in comparison with the summer time.

While there are actually execs to visiting Barcelona in the summertime — you possibly can go to the seaside, there are many concert events and festivals occurring — there are additionally loads of cons. Summer in Barcelona might be unbearably sizzling, and every part is extraordinarily crowded.

This is as a result of Barcelona is a significant cruise port, so cruise vacationers flood the town in the summertime months (very similar to Venice and Dubrovnik.) It’s additionally peak season for tourism on the whole.

woman taking a picture of Barcelona skyline, Spain

But Barcelona may be very a lot a year-round metropolis, so there’s no scarcity of issues to do through the winter. You can take pleasure in all that the town has to supply with far fewer crowds and decrease costs. Plus Barcelona has a Mediterranean local weather, so even through the winter, temperatures are sometimes within the low sixties.

Surprisingly, Barcelona can also be an incredible vacation vacation spot. I love the town through the Christmas season, particularly on Three Kings Day on January sixth, when there’s an enormous parade.

European Hotspots Best Visited In Winter

Overall, Venice, Dubrovnik, and Barcelona are three European cities I positively choose visiting through the winter in comparison with the summer time.

In the winter, you don’t need to cope with big crowds, costly costs, or extraordinarily sizzling climate. You can take pleasure in these locations with out the hordes of cruise ship vacationers and make the most of decrease low season costs.

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