Mid September to mid October: the summer heat gone, the rain not yet in. Of 1,033 towns and cities that draw visitors in Europe, 836 rate Good or better from mid September to mid October. These 15 are the best of them, spread across the region.
The list
- 186 · IdealHerefordUnited Kingdom
Rated 86 (Ideal) for active outdoors from mid September to mid October: midday feels like 13°C, with often cloudy skies. The good spell lasts about seven and a half months, from mid April to mid November. Open it on the map at early October.
- 285 · IdealFécampFrance
A typical midday from mid September to mid October feels like 14°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 85 over the stretch. Good weather here runs from April to early November, so there is room either side. See early October on the map.
- 384 · IdealSaint-BrieucFrance
A typical midday from mid September to mid October feels like 14°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 84 over the stretch. The good spell lasts about eight months, from late March to mid November. Open it on the map at early October.
- 478 · GoodFrankfurt (Oder)Germany
Midday from mid September to mid October feels like 14°C under often cloudy skies, which rates 78, Good, for active outdoors. Good weather here runs from late August to October, so there is room either side. See early October on the map.
- 577 · GoodBriançonFrance
A typical midday from mid September to mid October feels like 15°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 77 over the stretch. The good spell lasts about two months, from September to October. Open it on the map at early October.
- 677 · GoodLjubljanaSlovenia
Midday from mid September to mid October feels like 16°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 77, Good, for active outdoors. See early October on the map.
- 777 · GoodToruńPoland
Midday from mid September to mid October feels like 13°C under often cloudy skies, which rates 77, Good, for active outdoors. The good spell lasts about two and a half months, from late August to October. Open it on the map at early October.
- 877 · GoodLeónSpain
Rated 77 (Good) for active outdoors from mid September to mid October: midday feels like 17°C, with partly cloudy skies. Good weather here runs from September to mid November, so there is room either side. See early October on the map.
- 976 · GoodOhridMacedonia
A typical midday from mid September to mid October feels like 17°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 76 over the stretch. The good spell lasts about two and a half months, from mid September to mid November. Open it on the map at early October.
- 1075 · GoodHelsingørDenmark
Midday from mid September to mid October feels like 12°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 75, Good, for active outdoors. Good weather here runs from May to October, so there is room either side. See early October on the map.
- 1171 · GoodChisinauMoldova
Midday from mid September to mid October feels like 15°C under often cloudy skies, which rates 71, Good, for active outdoors. Good weather here runs from September to October, so there is room either side. Rain is rare at this time of year. See early October on the map.
- 1271 · GoodMangaliaRomania
A typical midday from mid September to mid October feels like 17°C, and the Active outdoors rating averages 71 over the stretch. Rain is rare at this time of year. Open it on the map at early October.
- 1371 · GoodÁvilaSpain
Rated 71 (Good) for active outdoors from mid September to mid October: midday feels like 18°C, with partly cloudy skies. Good weather here runs from September to mid November, so there is room either side. See early October on the map.
- 1470 · GoodCorigliano CalabroItaly
Midday from mid September to mid October feels like 14°C under partly cloudy skies, which rates 70, Good, for active outdoors. The good spell lasts about three months, from mid August to early November. Open it on the map at early October.
- 1563 · GoodFigueira da FozPortugal
Rated 63 (Good) for active outdoors from mid September to mid October: midday feels like 21°C, with partly cloudy skies. Good weather here runs from late September to early July, so there is room either side. See early October on the map.
Among the best-known places
The list above favours whatever the weather favours, which is often a smaller town. These are the best of the places with a guide of their own.
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 from mid September to mid October; a city missing a reading for any part of that stretch is left out rather than scored on part of it.
The rating
Active outdoors: A mild feels-like gates the score — best 10–20 °C, cool enough for hiking, cycling and running. Dryness matters most, with a penalty for strong wind. 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.