7 Europe Tips to Improve Your Off-Season Trip

Bargain for Your Hotel Rate

To save some money on hotels in the off season, arrive late without a reservation, notice how many empty rooms they have (look for keys on the rack), and give the receptionist an excuse to win your business with a deep discount. Explain that you're a senior (hosteler, student, artist, whatever) with a particular price limit, and bargain from there. Note that while tourist-oriented places may be cheaper in the low season, the opposite is true of big-city business centers (especially Brussels and the Scandinavian capitals), which are busiest and most expensive in the off season.

Consider Shoulder Season

For many travelers, "shoulder season"—April, May, early June, September, and early October—offers the best mix of peak-season and off-season pros and cons. In shoulder season, you'll enjoy decent weather, long days, fewer crowds, and a local tourist industry that is still eager to please and entertain.

Enjoy the Sights, Sans Crowds

Outside of peak season, adventurers loiter all alone through Leonardo's home, ponder undisturbed in Rome's Forum, kick up sand on virgin beaches, and chat with laid-back guards by log fires in French chateaux. In wintertime Venice, you can be alone atop St. Mark's bell tower, watching the clouds of your breath roll over the Byzantine domes of the church to a horizon of cut-glass Alps.

Take Advantage of Off-Season-Only Offerings

Without the crowds, you can enjoy step-right-up service at tourist offices and experience a more European Europe. Although many popular tourist-oriented parks, shows, and tours will be closed, off season is in season for the high culture: plays and operas are in their crowd-pleasing glory. For instance, in Vienna, while the Boys Choir, Opera, and Spanish Riding School are scarce in the summer, all have busy schedules of performances through the rest of the year.

Europe's major cities crackle with energy year-round. In London, you can spend your days at the British Museum and National Gallery and your nights at a cozy pub or a world-class play. In Paris—the City of Light that always sparkles—you can get face-to-face with Mona and scale the Eiffel Tower. In Florence, you'll see Renaissance paintings and Michelangelo's David without peak-season crowds.

Be Aware of Drawbacks

But winter travel has its drawbacks. Because much of Europe is in Canadian latitudes, the days are short. It's dark by 5 p.m. The weather can be miserable—cold, windy, and drizzly—and then turn worse. But just as summer can be wet and gray, winter can be crisp and blue, and even into mid-November, hillsides blaze with colorful leaves.

Start Early

To thrive in the winter, you'll need to get the most out of your limited daylight hours. Start early and eat a quick lunch. Tourist offices close early, so call ahead to double-check hours and confirm your plans. Pack for the cold and wet—layers, rainproof parka, gloves, wool hat, long johns, waterproof shoes, and an umbrella. Use undershirts to limit the washing of slow-drying heavy shirts. Dress warmly. Cold weather is colder when you're outdoors trying to enjoy yourself all day long. And cheap hotels are not always adequately heated in the off season.

Off-season hours are limited. Tourist information offices normally stay open year-round but have shorter hours in the winter. While most sights stay open through the winter, they typically operate on shorter schedules (such as 10 a.m to 5 p.m. rather than 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.), with darkness often determining closing times. Winter sightseeing is fine in big cities that bustle year-round, but it's more frustrating in small tourist towns, which often close down entirely. In December, many beach resorts are shut up as tight as canned hams.

Connect With Locals

While Europe's wonderful outdoor evening ambience survives year-round in the south, wintertime streets are empty in the north after dark. English-language tours, common in the summer, are rare during the off season, when most visitors are natives. A disadvantage of winter travel is loneliness. The solo traveler won't have the built-in camaraderie of other travelers that he or she would find in peak season. Still, this can be a plus, since it encourages you to really connect with the locals you traveled halfway around the world to meet.

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