Me and 2 of my friends are planning to travel to Europe in December(17th - 31st)... We plan to cover Paris, Rome, Germany n Switzerland... 3 days per city/country...Will it be a good time to visit Europe during that time? Because I am getting a lot of negative feedback regarding travel to Europe in December. I have been told that shops remain closed during that time due to snow and Christmas season and not much people to be seen on roads because of the same. Also, since it will be Christmas time, hotels/dorms are quite expensive that point of time... Secondly, i am getting feedback that there is not much in Germany to see... Is it true? Are there any good places in Berlin or nearby to see for 3 days and that too during winter?
There is loads to see in Germany, in fact you could happily spend your entire time there and stil have lots of interesting things to come back for. You will easily spend 3 days in and around Berlin I'm sure. In December it will most likely be a bit cold in all of the places you plan to visit - a bit milder in Rome. It's also likely to be a little bit wet rather than snowy. Snow is most likely in Germany and Switzerland. None of the places on your list are particularly likely to be closed due to snow. Shops are mainly furiously open during the run-up to Christmas as it's prime shopping time, but you may have some trouble on 24th, 25th, 26th and 31st. You won't have any problem finding somewhere open in any of the big cities. It would be a good idea to book some hostel rooms in advance, I think, and yes, they can be a little more expensive.
I think you're packing in at least one country too many. I would say keep it down to at least 3, and some on this forum would recommend 2 at the most I'm sure.
Switzerland could be very bad that time of year. I shall be on the Costa del Sol in Spain where I expect a fair number of sunny and warm days with even the occasional hot days.
Yes, rooms will be priced much more expensive than usual over xmas, and places will be shut.
In your place if I had the money, I'd get a Ryanair flight to Las Palmas and spend a few weeks at Maspalomas getting a tan while all the people back home are freezing. I've seen some fairly cheap apartments, like 30 euros for a good room (not a lousy hostal room) for all three of you.
I'm traveling in the same time frame as you are. I'll be in France, Switzerland, Germany and Amsterdam. Don't listen to the negative feedback. There will be plenty to do, just do your homework in advance. I think Switzerland will be the best stay personally. I'm trying to escape the heat, its been on average 110 degrees with 100 % humidity where I live (Florida). So I look forward to traveling during the cold and not sweating my ass off when I step outside! anyway have a safe trip! Oh yea, Amsterdam is suppose to be pretty fun on New Years Eve! so I've heard!
Not exactly the best time to go (unless you like winter sports), but I've done it myself, too. I see more of a problem with too little time for these places. I would either think about an additional week, or cutting it down to just 3 cities. Germany is extremely cold at that time! You won't mind the cold in Switzerland because it's so beautiful.
Extremely cold in Germany over Christmas? Not bloody likely. Chances are high it is just above freezing and raining.
A typical Christmas in the region where I live looks like this:
http://suboptimales.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/weih.jpg
Of course we have had some cold snaps with temps going down to -10 C / 14 F and some snow over Christmas, but that happens approx. once every 5 years.
If you want White Christmas check out the Alps, I would especially recommend Salzburg in Austria and the sourrounding area.
Thanks for the suggestions guys... Based on your feedback, we have decided to visit 2 countries for now... We will visit only France and Italy for now... We have also shortened our trip to 10 days i.e. 5 days per country... We might extend it by a day or two if we think it is worth the time and money...
Also, I checked Ryan Air is offering 22 euro return flight from Paris to Milan...
Suggestions to see places in France and Italy are welcome...
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