Europe in January
My husband and I are planing to travel to Europe in January for about 9 days, and welcome input on the best cities to visit during the off-season. We were thinking about Paris and one other city. Thanks for your advice!
Lindsey
Washington, DC 11/2/09
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Wow, give us all of Europe to recommend!
I like big cities in the winter but I'm a cultural guy and love the concerts, plays and museums. So London would be my first pick after Paris.
I would drift further south just for potential weather issues -- southern Spain, southern France, Rome.
Lindsey, My wife and I are planning a trip in late January/ Early February and were wondering the same things. We are planning our trip to Paris and Rome mostly for reason's listed in the other posts. The major attractions will not be as crowded and it should be more economical with cheaper flights and accomodations. Another good reason is that everyone complains about the heat in Italy and especially Rome in the summer. We thought this would be a great time to go and enjoy this city. It should be around 40-60 degrees F at that time which will be better than IL at the same time. We will do a lot of Museums, Architecture, and catch a couple shows so if the weather is miserable it will not completely ruin our trip. Good Luck and Happy Travels.
This sounds like it might be your first time to Europe. If so, Paris is an absolute must, as it is for trips two through nine million. For a second city, take a heavier jacket and go to London. It's not far away and has a lot more to offer than Rome, Madrid, Lisbon, Berlin, etc. Alternatively, you might want to stay in Paris and make day trips or rent a car and do a three or four day loop -- nothing's very far away and France has a large variety of everything is a relatively small area.
With only 9 days (is that actual days there or are you also counting travel days?) I would split the time between Paris & London. It doesn't matter which order you do it, but fly into one and out of the other. The Eurostar train is fast and easy to get from one city to the other. Buy your Eurostar tickets ASAP to get the best price.