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

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There’s lots to be stated for touring to Europe in the course of the summer time.

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

But there are three extraordinarily standard locations that I’ve visited in each summer time and winter — and I discovered winter to be the perfect 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 widespread: the height season for visiting is in the summertime, they’re all extremely standard locations that draw thousands and thousands of tourists annually, they’re all notoriously costly, they’re all standard with cruise ships, they usually’re all affected by overtourism.

Here’s why winter is definitely the perfect 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 really 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 quite than a historic metropolis. The crowds have gotten so unhealthy 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 very totally different story. The crowds are practically nonexistent, and though the climate may be chilly and overcast, it provides to the moody, mysterious environment of the town.

Winter can be the perfect time to go to for decrease costs, with common lodge costs dropping greater than 50% in comparison with the summer time months.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

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

Like Venice, it is a metropolis that has been struggling immensely from excessive crowds and overtourism. Dubrovnik has additionally seen skyrocketing costs prior to now few years, particularly after formally becoming a member of the Schengen Zone and adopting the euro as forex firstly of 2023.

Winter is my favourite time to go to Dubrovnik as a result of there are only a few vacationers, and you may 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 seashore or go swimming within the Adriatic Sea, however it’s nonetheless sunny and delicate, with common temperatures within the excessive fifties in the course of the winter.

Barcelona, Spain

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

While there are definitely execs to visiting Barcelona in the summertime — you’ll be able to go to the seashore, there are many live shows and festivals occurring — there are additionally loads of cons. Summer in Barcelona may be unbearably scorching, and all the pieces is extraordinarily crowded.

This is as a result of Barcelona is a serious 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 generally.

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 in the course of 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 in the course of the winter, temperatures are sometimes within the low sixties.

Surprisingly, Barcelona can be a fantastic vacation vacation spot. I love the town in the course of 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 desire visiting in the course of the winter in comparison with the summer time.

In the winter, you don’t should cope with big crowds, costly costs, or extraordinarily scorching climate. You can take pleasure in these locations with out the hordes of cruise ship vacationers and benefit from decrease low season costs.

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