{"id":120689,"date":"2023-11-22T11:59:02","date_gmt":"2023-11-22T11:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogcamlodipine.com\/?p=120689"},"modified":"2023-11-22T11:59:02","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T11:59:02","slug":"our-guide-to-visiting-europe-in-the-off-season-including-cheap-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogcamlodipine.com\/travel\/our-guide-to-visiting-europe-in-the-off-season-including-cheap-deals\/","title":{"rendered":"Our guide to visiting Europe in the off-season, including cheap deals"},"content":{"rendered":"
Some cities in Europe are becoming so overrun with visitors a new word has been invented to capture the phenomenon: \u2018overtourism\u2019.<\/p>\n
In places such as Barcelona and Venice – among the worst affected – holidaymaker charges have even been introduced to reduce numbers during peak periods, in the form of hotel taxes or fees for cruise passengers.\u00a0Budget airlines and cruise ships have been blamed for the worst overcrowding.\u00a0Yet there is a way to avoid the rush: go during the off season between now and\u00a0Easter, when flights and hotels are cheaper. Here\u2019s our guide.<\/p>\n
FLOCK-FREE FLORENCE<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here are the best European cities to visit in the off-season. The list includes Florence (pictured) in Italy, which is considerably less congested at this time of year\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A crowd of August tourists taking photos in Florence’s Piazza della Signoria<\/p>\n Florence has introduced fines for eating snacks in four central streets \u2014 a move designed to reduce congestion. Queues in winter for the Uffizi Gallery with its Renaissance masterpieces are blissfully short. Admission is lower as well from November 10 to December 20 and January 10 to February 20 (\u00a310.40, not \u00a322.50). It\u2019s quieter at the Duomo, the city\u2019s spectacular cathedral, too.<\/p>\n Budget hotel: <\/span>Doubles from \u00a3108 at the modern, central AC Hotel Firenze (marriott.com).<\/p>\n Cheap flight:<\/span>\u00a0From \u00a367 for Stansted-Pisa returns; Pisa is one-hour by bus away (ryanair.com).<\/p>\n SECLUDED SEVILLE<\/span><\/p>\n Temperatures in Andalusia\u2019s capital touch 21C in November and 22C in March. Enjoy the city\u2019s brilliant tapas bars near the enormous Gothic cathedral without the summer crowds. Attractions including the cathedral (where the tomb of Christopher Columbus is to be found), the Moorish palace of the Alcazar, flamenco shows and the neo-Moorish Plaza de Espana are much easier to see.<\/p>\n Budget hotel: <\/span>Doubles from \u00a359 at the arty little La Casa del Maestro (lacasadelmaestro.com).<\/p>\n Cheap flight:<\/span> From \u00a360 for Luton-Seville returns (ryanair.com).<\/p>\n QUIET BARCELONA<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Go to Barcelona over winter to enjoy Parc Guell (pictured) without having to elbow your way around<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Barcelona’s stunning beach is jam-packed in the summer months<\/p>\n Barcelona, with a population of 1.6 million, can attract more than 20 million tourists annually, mainly from June to September. Go over the winter to enjoy the Ramblas (the main street), the Bas\u00edlica de la Sagrada Fam\u00edlia (Antoni Gaudi\u2019s spectacular cathedral) and Parc Guell without having to elbow your way about.<\/p>\n Budget hotel: <\/span>Doubles at the stylish Motel One from \u00a377 (motel-one.com).<\/p>\n Cheap flight: <\/span>From \u00a364 for Edinburgh-Barcelona returns (ryanair.com).<\/p>\n EMPTY IN VENICE<\/span><\/p>\n Authorities have approved a trial of a \u00a34.30 fee for day visitors for next summer to keep tourist numbers down. Big cruise ships have already been banned. Venice attracts as many as 13 million tourists and has 49,693 tourist beds compared to just 49,308 for residents. In the winter it\u2019s gloriously quiet by the canals near St Mark\u2019s Square and the Rialto Bridge \u2014 and easy to book a gondola, too.<\/p>\n Budget hotel: <\/span>Doubles from \u00a3100 at the charming Hotel San Moise (sanmoise.it).<\/p>\n Cheap flight: <\/span>From \u00a3109 for Bristol-Venice returns (easyjet.com).<\/p>\n DISHY DUBROVNIK<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dubrovnik (seen above) is ‘especially beautiful’ in winter. Take advantage of return flights from Gatwick with easyJet from \u00a375\u00a0<\/p>\n When cruise ships arrive, it can really become a scrum in the lovely walled city of Dubrovnik. In the winter, when fewer come, it\u2019s especially beautiful \u2014 a great time to go for a walk along the old battlements facing out to the choppy sea.<\/p>\n Take the cable car to the mountain overlooking the city without the usual long wait.<\/p>\n Budget hotel:<\/span> Doubles from \u00a371 at the stylish Scalini Palace hotel (scalini palace.com).<\/p>\n Cheap flight: <\/span>From \u00a375 for Gatwick-Dubrovnik returns (easyjet.com).<\/p>\n ROME ALONE<\/span><\/p>\n Overcrowding around the famous Spanish Steps has become so dreadful Rome has introduced \u00a3217 fines for sitting on them. At the height of summer, long queues for the Colosseum and the Vatican have become the norm, while visitors are warned to watch out for pickpockets in the swarms around the Trevi Fountain. Go in winter to see the Italian capital at its most relaxed.<\/p>\n Budget hotel:<\/span> Doubles from \u00a3115 at the slick, contemporary Ibis Styles Roma Eur (ibis.accor.com).<\/p>\n Cheap flight: <\/span>From \u00a358 for Stansted-Rome returns (ryanair.com).<\/p>\n NO JAMS AMSTERDAM<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Time your trip to Amsterdam away from peak periods and the canals, like this one, and museums can be ‘pleasingly peaceful’<\/p>\n Overtourism in the popular \u2018party city\u2019 is a huge problem with more than 20 million annual visitors and a population of 800,000: 25 tourists per local. Time your trip away from peak periods though and the canals and museums can be pleasingly peaceful, especially at the usually chock-a-block Rijksmuseum (rijksmuseum.nl).<\/p>\n Budget hotel: <\/span>Doubles from \u00a399 at the central, Tourist Inn (tourist-inn.com).<\/p>\n Cheap flight:<\/span> Starts from \u00a3122 for Manchester-Amsterdam returns (easyjet.com).<\/p>\n BEST OF BRUGES<\/span><\/p>\n More than eight million holidaymakers visit each year while the population is a mere 119,000 and tourist officials are encouraging visitors to come outside busiest summer months. One winter plus is that Bruges looks lovely after it\u2019s snowed and when canals have frozen.<\/p>\n Budget hotel: <\/span>Doubles from \u00a3113 at the charming, modern Hotel Marcel (hotelmarcel.be).<\/p>\n Cheap train: <\/span>From \u00a3102 for London St Pancras-Bruges returns by train (eurostar.com).<\/p>\n WALTZING IN VIENNA<\/span><\/p>\n Enjoy Austria\u2019s capital away from the summer crowds with its sleepy cafes serving Sachertorte (a rich chocolate cake) and strong coffees and relaxed little bars offering mulled wine, local beers and schnapps. St Stephen\u2019s Cathedral, Belvedere Palace, Hofburg Palace and the giant Ferris wheel at Prater Park are blissfully quiet.<\/p>\n Budget hotel: <\/span>Doubles from \u00a398 at the fun, colourful Max Brown hotel (maxbrownhotels.com).<\/p>\n Cheap flight: <\/span>From \u00a387 for Stansted-Vienna returns (ryanair.com).<\/p>\n PEACEFUL PARIS<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Paris is ‘much calmer and more bearable’ in the winter. Above, one of the city’s metro stations<\/p>\n Attractions such as the Louvre Museum, the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre can be rammed in the summer in the French capital \u2014 where around 37 million tourists visit each year. Go in the winter when it’s much calmer and more bearable.<\/p>\n Budget hotel: <\/span>Doubles from \u00a3100 at Aiden by Best Western (bestwestern.co.uk).<\/p>\n Cheap train: <\/span>From \u00a378 for London St Pancras-Paris returns by train (eurostar.com).<\/p>\n LOVING DUBLIN<\/span><\/p>\n See the Guinness Storehouse, the Book Of Kells at Trinity College (a 9th-century copy of the Gospels) and Dublin Castle without the summer crowds. Go during the off season and there\u2019s a much more relaxed atmosphere down Grafton Street or around St Stephen\u2019s Green.<\/p>\n Budget hotel: <\/span>Doubles from \u00a386 at the comfortable Leonardo Hotel Dublin Parnell Street (leonardohotels.co.uk).<\/p>\n Cheap flight: <\/span>From \u00a333 for Manchester-Dublin returns (ryanair.com).<\/p>\n PARED-BACK PORTO<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nestled on the banks of the River Douro, Porto is a great city to discover. Return flights from Stansted with Ryanair are priced from \u00a355\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Perks of off-peak: Visitors to Porto must try a traditional Portuguese pastel de nata tart (above)<\/p>\n Porto is starting to rival Lisbon in popularity with its quaint old town overlooking the River Douro. During winter it\u2019s wonderfully quiet though, with the walkways across its iconic Dom Luis I Bridge almost empty and few crowds at its port wine houses.<\/p>\n Budget hotel: <\/span>Doubles at well-run NH Hotel Porto Batalha from \u00a378 (nh-hotels.com).<\/p>\n Cheap flight: <\/span>From \u00a355 for Stansted-Porto returns (ryanair.com)<\/p>\n CALM ATHENS<\/span><\/p>\n Visitors to the Acropolis, the ancient Greek site in Athens, were capped at 20,000 a day this year in a scheme likely to be continued. Numbers had been topping 23,000 a day causing unpleasant overcrowding. In winter you can almost have the Acropolis, the Temple Of Olympian Zeus and the Panathenaic Stadium to yourself.<\/p>\n Budget hotel: <\/span>Doubles from \u00a395 at the stylish, fun Moxy Hotel (marriott.com).<\/p>\n Cheap flight: <\/span>From \u00a360 for Luton-Athens returns (wizzair.com).<\/p>\n