European winter getaway - suggestions

bernard

bernard

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Where would you go in Europe - or close - to escape winter for a month or so?

I don't need tropical like temps, but not 'chilly' and rainy either. Budget friendly a plus. Western health care available. Some nightlife and culture

Canaries
Cyprus
Malta
Southern Spain

Specific recommendations (cities, areas) welcome.

From basic reseach Canaries too expensive accomodation for a month or more. Malta seems the best choice. Southern Spain (Seville?) might be easiest.

Suggestions?
 
Budapest, Hungary too cold for you?

I also love Belgrade, Serbia.

^ Nightlifes here are better than West Europe if you ask me.. minus what i've heard about Spain

You mean US winter or Euro Winter season? There's differences there.
 
Yes central europe and balkan too cold for sure. I need something like 15 degrees celcius.
 
Tried and tested (probably will relocate within a year) - Valencia, Spain.

800,000 population
tourist destination, but not overcrowded like Malaga
15km long sand beach (huge, a lot of bars, tapas, etc)
relatively cheap
public transportation top notch
warm, but not too warm
people are friendly and awesome
 
bernard said:
Where would you go in Europe - or close - to escape winter for a month or so?

I don't need tropical like temps, but not 'chilly' and rainy either. Budget friendly a plus. Western health care available. Some nightlife and culture
Click to expand...

Catania in southern Italy ticks a few boxes. I lived in the city center 3 years ago and I'd go visit the food market daily to buy fresh produce and fruit. It's messy but the prices are cheap and the food tastes amazing.

Here are the pros:
  • International airport with direct flights to many European cities
  • 600,000 people in the city (1 MM or so in the metro area)
  • Reasonably cheap
  • Good food if you love pasta, bread/pizza, seafood
  • The central area is walkable
  • It is by the sea, however, I don't see it as feasible during the winter
  • The people are hard/tough on the outside and open up to you after 30 seconds of conversation (it's boggle me how strange it feels)
  • Plenty of Greek/Roman historical places to visit in a 50 km radius, Italian/Sicilian baroque
  • Catania also has a big university, so plenty of small pubs in the city center to explore and meet new people
And the main con:
  • You need to speak Italian. Although you can get by with English and staying within the city center, speaking Italian opens up many more doors. As a foreigner there, most of the foreigners I saw are Chinese or African.
I never had any issue living there, even though I have heard about pickpockets, stolen cars, and other big city issues. Personally, I also never had any issue whatsoever with the mafia, even though it's supposedly a big thing in southern Italy. Most people I knew joked about the Sicilian mafia having relocated to Milan and Rome. I also read about the G-7 meeting last year in Taormina in a British newspaper and all the concerns about the mafia... Ironically, 36 hours later the news reported someone running people over and stabbing survivors in central London.

You haven't mentioned when you plan on visiting, so here's my final tip to wherever you go: Windows 10 has a great weather app, so open it, scroll down, and check the historical variances to choose the best month for your needs. It's reasonably accurate in my experience.
 
Since you mention Spain, have you considered Valencia? I think it's a better destination than Seville, with a very good climate, some of the best beaches in Spain, good gastronomy ...
 
Are Spanish people friendly like Central Europeans/balkans, etc ?

I know french/italians seem negative to me... too many annoying people but i know that's just how they communicate
 
EyesExist said:
Are Spanish people friendly like Central Europeans/balkans, etc ?

I know french/italians seem negative to me... too many annoying people but i know that's just how they communicate
Click to expand...

I'm Spanish, and I can assure you that the people here are very friendly. It also depends on the area, but in Valencia, as I recommended, people tend to be very friendly.
 
These places you recommend, are they 'warm' in the winter? Valencia has average temp of around 10 in December/January?
 
The average temperature of Valencia in winter is around 12 degrees Celsius.
 
Catania

DECEMBER
Average High: 17 °C
Average Low: 12 °C
Record High: 22 °C (2014)
Record Low: 4 °C (2001)

JANUARY
Average High: 15 °C
Average Low: 10 °C
Record High: 20 °C (2016)
Record Low: 0 °C (2017)
 
It's all good suggestions and very exciting.

Maybe I should go to a few different places for a couple of weeks instead of one long trip.

2 weeks in December

2 weeks in January

2 weeks in February
 
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