Europe in November

[austintexas]

Wife and I are trying to put together a trip in Nov '08. London for 2 nights, Paris for 2 nights, then off to Germany to stay with friends of hers in Cologne. Will hit the surrounding countries, including much of Germany by train or car for the following 8-10 days or so.

Fly to London. 2 nights. Train to Paris. 2 nights. Train/drive to Cologne.

Must-sees for me: Berlin wall, Switzerland, Amsterdam, shittons of German beer. Perhaps French wine country (is that in the north?). What is the weather like in November?

May be around Thanksgiving.

Tips?

 

[TXHookem]

You can bank of at least 2 of the 3:

1) Cold
2) Wet
3) Foggy

... pop in some flight delays for good measure thanks to numbers 2-3. BUT... there are fewer tourists. You may end up some spates of good weather. We hit Venice in November of 2005 (it snowed on us in Venice) and it was definitely low season. There are big advantages to that. Also hit Paris in November of 2002 and there was no line to get into the Louvre. The weather was really cold but we had some very clear sunny days.

 

[mynametaken]

Don't forget dark. Days are much shorter as Europe is at a higher latitude than the US or even Canada. Paris is higher than Montreal, for example. Plan for lots of nighttime activities or try to get as far south as possible.

 

[Texclerk]

Do not try to do London and Paris. You are not giving enough time to either city to really do anything. Two nights in each place? The first day in London will be spent walking around trying to stay awake, you will have a full day, and then it is off to Paris for part of the day and then one night. Then you have only one full day in Paris. The traveling, checking into the hotel, unpacking, and packing cuts into your time. Maximize it by staying in just one city or the other, which will then give you three full days-enough time to hit some of the high spots in both cities. As one who has been to both several times, I just think you are not giving either what they deserve.

In genreal, you are trying to fit way too much in. Belin is in eastern Germany, while Cologne is in western Germany. Amsterdam is not close, but there is wine country everywhere. Great German, French, and Luxembourg wine areas will not be far and could be done as a day trip from Cologne. However, November is not the best time to head to wine country. Check out the discussion boards at slowtrav.com.

 

[HORN_FAN_86]

I agree that 2 days each in London and Paris is too short. While 4 days in one would suffice. Basing out of Cologne gives you access to lots of great places. Amsterdam is about a 4 hour drive. Most of the German and NE French wine regions are close, but you won't see much in November. The wine festivals are in August/September. Most vinyards are shut for the winter by then. Most castles along the Rhine are closed from Novemebr to May. You will find travel bargains, but have to deal with mostly cold, wet weather and short days. I think by late November the sun sets around 4:30PM. However, some Christmas markets open around November 20th.