Europe in September- Recs?

[Kevo]

I'm headed back to Amsterdam for a work trip mid-September and planning to extend my trip by a week to check out some new places.

I've been to-
-London (2x, 3x?)
-Edinburgh and the Scottish highlands (2x)
-Amsterdam (4x)
-Cologne (2x)
-Berlin
-Hamburg (2x)
-Denmark (1x)
-Chamonix (1x)
-The Dolomites (my favorite place in Europe) and South Tyrol
-Barcelona (4x)
-Iceland

I'd like to check out a new country or two. Was thinking of checking training over to Austria and Switzerland or perhaps heading to Norway. Preliminary research is that the Alps can be pretty raining in September.

Ireland, Portugal, the Basque region of Spain and SW England/ Wales are also on my list of places to go before I die. I'm also very open to the idea of checking out anywhere in Eastern Europe that doesn't require a visa for a US passport.

Flying home out of an airport served by a Star Alliance carrier would be ideal. Interested in mountain biking, hiking, general sightseeing, etc. I love mountains and maritime cities.

Whatcha got?

[Beaver]

Corsica, Sardinia. Corsica is a lump of mountain sticking out of the Mediterranean, Sardinia is pretty much flat. Both really cool. Mt biking, skiing, whitewater in Corsica, pretty cool be on the beach looking up at the glaciers. Tons of pirate history on both.

[XXX-er]

I was in Portugal last april/may , fly into Lisbon tour east and south by car, stay airBnB, good food/wine, not expensive, the Portuguese seem a little more chill then Spaniards.

[Buster Highmen]

Paris-(Train)->Grenoble-(Car)->Romanche->-(Car)La Grave-(Car)->Briancon-(Car)-> Oulx-(Car)->St. Michel de Maurienne-(Car)->Grenoble-(Train)->Paris.

I've always wanted to check out the Duoro River in Portugal and Corsica and Cyprus.

We just did trains from Salzburg to Bolzano through the Gasteinertal and Mallnitz over the Italian border. Beautiful trip.

[abraham]

I spent 3? Days in Bilbao at the end of August last year and really liked it. I'd get a car next time to get to some of the further beaches but it was a good mix of art, history, food, hiking and time on the beach. For getting around I just used the MRI and bus but I wasn't able to make a long distance bus trip work one day for some reason? Google didn't do well with the bus schedule but it may have been holiday or construction related. I ought to put up some pictures from my trip.



I'm also interested in the suggestions you get. I'll likely be in Europe working for the second half of September and my girlfriend is going to come and join for a long weekend or so. She's never been so I've been trying to think of where to go that's easily accessible for both of us, interesting, and has the right things to do. It's a bit overwhelming

[XXX-er]

I should have said east and NORTH of Lisbon, went to Braga & Porto, the boat ride up the Duro on a nice day was pretty awesume

if you wana learn alot do the free walking tours which are not really free cuz the guides do expect a tip

[Ripzalot]

Preliminary research is that the Alps can be pretty raining in September.

Not really in recent years. If it does rain it only rains a day or two at most. But the alps is a big place, it can be bone dry one one side and wet on the other.

Imho, september is the best time to travel the alps for non skiing trips. Fall biking and hiking is gorgeous here. Fewer tourists, cheaper rates, cool weather. Wait and see what the weather does and book last minute. There wont be any competition for hotel rooms or flights.

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[GBB]

Option 1: Have you ever been to Munich? You’ll be there during Oktoberfest if that’s something that interests you. You could easily use Munich as a springboard into Berchtesgaden and then down into Austria.

Option 2: explore the Baltics. Estonia is an incredible country that would be a good way to start exploring Eastern Europe. You could also take a ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki and hit Finland as well.

Option 3: head to the Asturias region on Spain’s northern coast. Relatively unknown area with the Picos de Europa nearby.

Happy to expand on these a bit later this evening.

[Captain Awesome]

I'm a bit biased, but if you haven't been to Prague (I didn't see it on your list), it's definitely worth a stop. Bratislava is also great - the old downtown is sort of a miniature Prague Old Town, but on the Euro instead of the Koruna, and really close to Vienna (also cool). Vienna has Austrian Airlines, a Star Alliance partner.

I was recently in Zurich and had an awesome time, but it's not cheap.

[Kevo]

Option 1: Have you ever been to Munich? You’ll be there during Oktoberfest if that’s something that interests you. You could easily use Munich as a springboard into Berchtesgaden and then down into Austria.

Option 2: explore the Baltics. Estonia is an incredible country that would be a good way to start exploring Eastern Europe. You could also take a ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki and hit Finland as well.

Option 3: head to the Asturias region on Spain’s northern coast. Relatively unknown area with the Picos de Europa nearby.

Happy to expand on these a bit later this evening.

I've only ever flown through Munich. I'm interested in Munich, but not interested in Oktoberfest. I'm allergic to beer (no joke).

North Coast of Spain and Estonia both sound really interesting. Thanks!

Not really in recent years. If it does rain it only rains a day or two at most. But the alps is a big place, it can be bone dry one one side and wet on the other.

Imho, september is the best time to travel the alps for non skiing trips. Fall biking and hiking is gorgeous here. Fewer tourists, cheaper rates, cool weather. Wait and see what the weather does and book last minute. There wont be any competition for hotel rooms or flights.

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Great intel. Thanks.

Never been to Paris? Easy high speed train. C'mon.

Edit: Maybe a cheap flight to Istanbul? Seriously. Awesome exchange rate these days.

Holding off on Paris for now since there is a decent chance I'll end up there for work at some point in the not too distant future. Istanbul/Turkey did come to mind after their recent currency collapse.

Corsica/Sardinia could be really cool. I'm interested, but also kinda want to check the box on a few new countries.

[S_jenks]

If you're looking for a smaller and less-traveled country, have you ever considered visiting Slovenia?

- Cheap-enough to get to, and if you rent a car the entire country is within the realm of day trips.
- Great hikes in the northern area, particularly around Mt. Triglav.
- Ljubljana is a pretty sweet capital that is small but well-preserved. Cool things to see/do around there
- Piran is on of their few coastal towns, but has the mashed-up cultures of the Italian and Croatian coast. Very beautiful.
- Food is also mashed-up, and has the influences of Italian, German, Baltic, etc.
- Much cheaper to visit then neighboring Austria/Switzerland.

[hutash]

I here there is a nice little hotel in Switzerland that is looking for guests...ask for the maggot discount.

[BobbyBill]

Corsica, as mentioned above is awesome. Also, Croatia.

[GBB]

I've only ever flown through Munich. I'm interested in Munich, but not interested in Oktoberfest. I'm allergic to beer (no joke).

North Coast of Spain and Estonia both sound really interesting. Thanks!

I'd skip Munich at that time of year then.

If you're looking for a smaller and less-traveled country, have you ever considered visiting Slovenia?

+1 for Slovenia

I somehow glossed over your Ireland comment in your initial post. A week would give you just enough time to do a very enjoyable tour of the island. You could take a cheap flight from AMS to DUB, rent a car in DUB and pick a direction to drive around the coast.

[smmokan]

If you're looking to get out and explore via hiking and/or mountain biking, then I'd recommend:

Croatia
Norway
South Germany/Austria/Switzerland
Spain's Basque Coast

Can't go wrong with any of those options. At the very worst, at least you won't be sitting in I-70 traffic.

[Cruiser]

My sister spent a week fooling around in Croatia a couple of years ago and had nothing but positive things to say about the people, place, and food.

[OldLarry]

My sister spent a week fooling around in Croatia a couple of years ago and had nothing but positive things to say about the people, place, and food.

Is Croatia the Arkansas of Europe?

[hutash]

Since Ireland is on your list, and you are starting in Amsterdam, just hop a Ryan Air flight (if they aren't on strike), rent a car a drive around. It is one of my favorite countries, and the weather is always shitty, so it doesn't matter when you visit. It is by far the friendliest country in Europe.

[iceman]

Is Croatia the Arkansas of Europe?

Hey! Where the fuck ya been Larry?

[Benny Profane]

Shopping for shoes, no doubt.

[patxi]

My son and I biked along the Danube for a couple of weeks this summer. Started in the Black Forest in the hills above Triberg, Germany and made it as far as Hungary. It is more or less flat or downhill with only a few short climbs per day. My favorite section was the German section as far as Ingolstadt but it was all pretty nice. 95+% of it is along a dedicated bike path (dirt, gravel or paved). We camped on the German portion but it is very easy to just roll up in any village/town/city and find accommodation for the night. My wife and daughters (10 & 12) joined us for the Austrian/Slovakian/Hungarian sections.

If you want to explore new countries, I would recommend biking from Vienna to Budapest. You'll see 3 world class cities (Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest) and travel through some beautiful countryside (2 miles outside of each of those cities is farmland, natural parks, etc.,..). Rent bikes with panniers from Vienna Explorer: pickup in Vienna and drop off in Budapest. Easyjet flies to both of those cities so you can cheaply get to a hub city if your airline doesn't serve those.

[geo039]

If you're looking for a smaller and less-traveled country, have you ever considered visiting Slovenia?

- Cheap-enough to get to, and if you rent a car the entire country is within the realm of day trips.
- Great hikes in the northern area, particularly around Mt. Triglav.
- Ljubljana is a pretty sweet capital that is small but well-preserved. Cool things to see/do around there
- Piran is on of their few coastal towns, but has the mashed-up cultures of the Italian and Croatian coast. Very beautiful.
- Food is also mashed-up, and has the influences of Italian, German, Baltic, etc.
- Much cheaper to visit then neighboring Austria/Switzerland.

This! DM Paz his mom runs a b+b. Amazing place!

[Kevo]

Thanks again for all of the awesome advice and recs in this thread. I ended up settling on Lofoten, Norway. Something about the cold, martitime climate seems very appealing. It also helped that somehow, some way the airline gods made it so that an open jaw itinerary DEN->AMS, EVE->DEN was $600 cheaper than DEN->AMS->DEN, so I get to expense a flight to Lofoten.

Seems like September in Northern Norway has a chance for seeing the northern lights. I got snowed out on northern lights in Iceland a few years ago. Fingers crossed.

[Rossymcg]

have a good trip,
there's so much to do with so many different cultures,
I'd have mentiined Poland, plenty to do in Krakow and only 90km from the Tatras, you won't find many places cheaper in Europe either

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[Dromond]

I only just saw this thread, but happen to be going to western Norway next week to tour around a bit for similar sounding reasons. It’s great to read everyone’s euro recommendations!