Big cities where October is mild and dry enough to be outside all day. 100 places with a guide of their own in Europe were scored in October, and 47 rate Good or better. The eleven below lead, spread across the region.
The shortlist
- 190 · IdealCannesFrance
Midday in October feels like 20°C under often cloudy skies, which rates 90, Ideal, for easy outdoors. Good weather here runs from September to mid November, so there is room either side. See mid October on the map.
- 285 · IdealNaplesItaly
A typical midday in October feels like 21°C, and the Easy outdoors rating averages 85 over the stretch. The good spell lasts about two months, from late September to mid November. Open it on the map at mid October.
- 385 · IdealAlbufeiraPortugal
A typical midday in October feels like 21°C, and the Easy outdoors rating averages 85 over the stretch. Good weather here runs from mid April to mid November, so there is room either side. See mid October on the map.
- 485 · IdealChaniáGreece
Rated 85 (Ideal) for easy outdoors in October: midday feels like 22°C, with partly cloudy skies. The good spell lasts about two and a half months, from mid September to November. Open it on the map at mid October.
- 585 · IdealTrapaniItaly
A typical midday in October feels like 23°C, and the Easy outdoors rating averages 85 over the stretch. Good weather here runs from late September to November, so there is room either side. See mid October on the map.
- 683 · IdealValenciaSpain
Rated 83 (Ideal) for easy outdoors in October: midday feels like 23°C, with partly cloudy skies. The good spell lasts about two months, from late September to mid November. Open it on the map at mid October.
- 782 · IdealGranadaSpain
Rated 82 (Ideal) for easy outdoors in October: midday feels like 21°C, with partly cloudy skies. See mid October on the map.
- 871 · GoodAronaSpain
Arona is in the Canary Islands, not on the mainland. Midday in October feels like 23°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 71, Good, for easy outdoors. It rates Good or better all year, not just now. Open it on the map at mid October.
- 968 · GoodPaphosCyprus
Rated 68 (Good) for easy outdoors in October: midday feels like 26°C, with mostly clear skies. Good weather here runs from October to mid December, so there is room either side. Rain is rare at this time of year. See mid October on the map.
- 1060 · GoodBelgradeSerbia
Midday in October feels like 16°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 60, Good, for easy outdoors. The good spell lasts about two months, from September to October. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at mid October.
- 1155 · GoodBucharestRomania
Midday in October feels like 15°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 55, Good, for easy outdoors. Open it on the map at mid October.
How this list is worked out
The data
Every figure comes from a decade of weather-station observations, blended into one typical year and read at midday, local solar time. Scores here are averaged in October; a city missing a reading for any part of that stretch is left out rather than scored on part of it.
The rating
Easy outdoors: A comfortable feels-like gates the score — best 16–26 °C for an easy day out (strolling, sitting out, sightseeing). Dryness matters most; strong wind knocks it back. Sun is a bonus, not required. A place is also left out when its typical readings contradict its own rating, for example a high score alongside frequent rain.
The spread
To keep one warm corner from filling the list, entries are at least 150 km apart, no more than three sit within 1,000 km of each other, and no more than three come from one country unless the list would otherwise run short.
Only places that draw visitors
Towns and cities with plenty of hotels, guest houses and holiday lets nearby for their size, or a great many of them in all, counted from Overture Maps Places, an open dataset. That keeps out places the weather favours but nobody travels to. Where two places share one resort or city, the one a visitor would name is kept.
The dotted links open the map at that place and time of year, on the same layer. The map remembers the time of day you last chose there; set it to midday to see these exact numbers.