Autumn is quietly the smartest time to travel in Europe. Prices dip, the summer crowds thin out, and destinations that felt overheated in August take on a completely different character. The Euronews Travel team has shared its personal picks for the season, and between them they cover almost every kind of trip: castles, foliage, golf, Michelin dining and countryside pubs.
Editor Saskia O'Donnoghue, a self-confessed autumn hater, is giving the season one more chance in Bavaria. Her plan: wander Munich's beer halls and markets, then head south to the mountains and castles — Neuschwanstein might be an obvious choice, but ringed in gold and red foliage, it earns its reputation. Backup plan if that fails? Malta, where she has previously sunbathed in November.
Travel journalist Dianne Apen-Sadler looks further north, to Sigulda, Latvia's self-styled "autumn capital", around 45 minutes from Riga by train. In October the banks of the Gauja River turn orange, and the best views come from the Sigulda Cable Car and Turaida Castle. Riga itself — UNESCO-listed old town, strong museums, craft breweries — makes an easy base for a weekend.
Mike Starling argues for skipping London and the Lake District entirely and going north of the border. Scotland's glens and lochs are at their best in autumn, rain showers notwithstanding, and it's prime season for bagging a Munro (any summit over 3,000 feet) or playing spectacular golf. The reward afterwards: log fires, hearty food and a whisky.
For something more luxurious, Fakhriya M. Suleiman has Monaco on her list — a rare shoulder-season visit to a city-state she normally avoids in summer crowds. Highlights on her wishlist include walking the compact principality past the new Mareterra district, the Princess Grace Rose Garden in Fontvieille, and a table at Blue Bay, Marcel Ravin's two-Michelin-starred restaurant blending Caribbean and Mediterranean cooking with a sea view.
The remaining two picks are slower in spirit. Maya Abu Hajleh, raised in the Gulf, wants the simple pleasure of Italy's small towns, lakes and crunchy fallen leaves — no itinerary, just cafés and walks. And Rebecca Ann Hughes, escaping northern Italy's 35°C heatwaves, is heading to family in the Lake District and the New Forest, drawn by the very British combination of damp woodland, wild ponies and a warm country pub at the end of the walk.
Why it matters: there's no single "right" autumn trip here, which is the point. Whether your idea of the season is foliage cable cars, mountain summits, fine dining or a fireside pint, Europe delivers it cheaper and quieter after summer ends.