Crikey it’s a long haul from the August bank holiday to Christmas — and with darkness creeping very noticeably into both ends of the day, this is the time we all start to feel it. The words “I could do with a break” hover on everyone’s lips.
So it’s good to know, at this moment of transition, that the cities of Europe (and a little further afield) offer so many different ways to escape. In Seville, you can still soak up the last of summer’s warmth as you kick back on your hotel’s roof terrace. In Copenhagen, harbourside sauna pods and chatty communal dinners are ready to supply a different kind of warmth. Meanwhile, orchestras, dance companies and opera houses are in the midst of their new seasons, revitalised after their long summer breaks. The leaves are turning. Mushrooms, nuts and truffles are adding depth and character to restaurant menus. The last of the grape harvest is coming in. It is a time of plenty.
Just as enticing is the fact that this is also the moment hotel prices start to drop before they plumb their low-season depths in November, so you’ll get more luxury for your hard-pressed pound. Next month, for example, double rooms in the five-star, 17th-century Xara Palace in Malta start from less than £200 a night, and will put you at the heart of Mdina’s magnificent baroque buildings. Walk a couple of minutes from the front door and you’ll be at the stately cathedral of St Paul. Meanwhile, in Vienna, two nights in the arty and elegant Altstadt hotel can be had for £324pp, including flights.
Maybe with a little of the money you’ve saved you can make a start on your Christmas shopping, treat yourself to some of this season’s fashion, or book a long relaxing massage. Or how about popping into a classy little Parisian café for a slice of chocolate cake, just as darkness falls? Imagine: it’ll be like wrapping yourself in the warmest, most comforting of blankets.
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1. Culture and food in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Check your dates coincide with a visit by the Nederlands Dans Theater. Ranked among the world’s best contemporary dance companies, it still has seats available for several performances scheduled next month at Amsterdam’s International Theatre (tickets from £11, ndt.nl). Pair with Nan Goldin’s show of contemporary American photography at the Stedelijk Museum of modern art (£19; stedelijk.nl), and finish with a giant slice of appeltaart in the Stedelijk’s buzzy Ten restaurant (tenamsterdam.nl). The snug, 1930s-flavoured Jan Luyken hotel is three minutes’ walk away.
Details B&B doubles from £148 (janluykenamsterdam.com). Take the train to Amsterdam
2. Chocolate and autumn leaves in Paris, France
Never mind the mushrooms (or bedbugs). Autumn in Paris is all about chocolate, courtesy of the world’s biggest beanfeast: the Salon du Chocolat trade fair (Oct 28-Nov 1, £12; salon-du-chocolat.com). And if you can’t make it to the salon, book yourself into the cute Hôtel du Petit Moulin in the Marais and create your own tour of the city’s best chocolatiers. Patrick Roger, Jacques Genin and Alain Ducasse all have boutiques nearby. Finish by scoffing your purchases amid the falling leaves in the Jardin des Tuileries.
Details Room-only doubles from £251 (hoteldupetitmoulin.com). Take the Eurostar to Paris
3. Culture and markets in Barcelona, Spain
More than 140 years since its first stones were laid, Gaudí’s famous church, the Sagrada Familia, is nearing completion. Two more of its towers were finished this month, leaving only the fifth unfinished — as you’ll see from the rooftop bar at the Sercotel Rosellón (sercotelhoteles.com). There’s more eye candy waiting at the forthcoming twin-site Miró-Picasso exhibition (Oct 20-Feb 25, £19 or free some Thursdays; fmirobcn.org) before you embark on another kind of autumn feast — of the season’s exotic fruits. Book into the swanky art nouveau Hotel España, next to Ramblas, and just round the corner the Boqueria market will be brimming with pomegranates, quinces, persimmons and prickly pears (free; boqueria.barcelona).
Details Room-only doubles from £151 (hotelespanya.com). Fly or take the train to Barcelona
4. Mountain views and coffee houses in Zürich, Switzerland
Admittedly, the 870m Uetilberg is no match for the Alpine peaks further south. But it’s only four miles from the centre of Zürich, and its summit served by its own railway, the S10 (£8 return; szu.ch). At the summit, you’ll get an eye-popping view that mixes autumn foliage and distant snow — particularly popular in November when it pokes above the blanket of cloud that often covers the city. For quick access to the trains, stay at the eclectic, colourfully decorated 25hours Hotel on Langstrasse. Then combine with the super-cool Design Museum (£11; museum-gestaltung.ch) and some old-town coffee-house chat at Henrici (cafe-henrici.ch) for a seductive mix of town and country.
Details Room-only doubles from £188 (25hours-hotels.com). Fly or take the train to Zürich
5. Political intrigue and Native American art in Washington DC, US
America’s next presidential election looms, so why not get a proper sense of what’s at stake with a tour of Washington DC before all hell breaks loose? With autumn colours about to peak in the National Arboretum (free; usna.usda.gov), now is the perfect moment. Book the crisp, contemporary Citizen M and you’ll also be close to a new exhibition of modern Native American art at the National Gallery (free; nga.gov). Nearby, guided tours of the Capitol building are also free (visitthecapitol.gov), so you won’t need to start a riot to get in.
Details Room-only doubles from £116 (citizenm.com). Fly to Washington DC
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6. Art, hiking and Spanish roasts in Madrid, Spain
Come autumn, Madrid warms itself up with hearty stews and cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig), as you’ll discover on this guided walking tour (starting Nov 1) that includes three group dinners and tapas tasting at the Mercado de San Miguel. Also on the menu: the Prado’s breathtaking collection of paintings by El Greco, Velázquez and Goya, and a day’s hiking in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park. The park’s waterfalls, pine forests and craggy peaks are only an hour’s drive from the city centre.
Details Four nights’ B&B from £1,299pp, including flights, transfers and some meals (ramblersholidays.co.uk)
7. Explore the Black Forest and Freiburg, Germany
The Black Forest marches right to the edge of Freiburg, so you don’t have to go far to find its blazing autumn foliage. Take a short walk up the Schlossberg to get your bearings, then start exploring — riding the Schauinsland cable car, or taking the Höllental Railway to the Ravenna Gorge waterfalls. Back in Freiburg, the friendly Park Hotel Post is a great base for exploring the Old Town sites, including the cathedral, its market and the Augustinermuseum of medieval and baroque art.
Details B&B doubles from £129 (park-hotel-post.de). Fly or take the train to Freiburg
8. Markets of Turin and the Langhe, Italy
A guided tour of Europe’s largest open-air market — at Turin’s Porta Palazzo — will get you in the mood for this five-day tailor-made feast. Piedmont’s autumn produce is your target, so once you’ve snacked your way around the market’s 800 stalls, you can drive to Benevello in the Langhe. Your second guided tour is in nearby Alba, with white truffles and hazelnuts in season. There’ll be the odd glass of richly perfumed red on offer too. This is the land of barolo, Piedmont’s king of wines.
Details Four nights’ B&B from £1,600pp, including flights, guides and car hire (originaltravel.co.uk)
9. Prague’s new beer spa, Czech Republic
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Don’t just sip a beer, soak in it. At the small, private boutique Beer Spa on winding Rybna street, Prague’s latest wellness treat comes in a wooden tub filled with warm water, brewer’s yeast, hops and beer extracts — said to ease fatigue and regenerate the skin. You can share your tub with a partner, or soak alone, with fresh beer on tap beside you, before retiring to a hay bed for a lie-down (from £95pp for an hour, beerspa.com). And if you’re done with hops by the end, it’s good to know that one of Prague’s most atmospheric wine bars, Bokovka, is at the end of the street. In between the two, the Hotel Josef offers bright, modernist digs.
Details Room-only doubles from £120 (hoteljosef.com). Fly to Prague
10. Feast on seafood in Montreuil, France
You don’t have to drive very deep into France for a proper gastronomic break. Turn right at Calais, and in a couple of hours you’ll be scoffing mussels, langoustines and oysters at Sur Mer, Alexandre Gauthier’s new seafood restaurant at Merlimont-Plage, south of Le Touquet on the Opal Coast (mains from £19; lagrenouillere.fr). This, however, is only a starter. Just a short drive inland, Gauthier’s La Grenouillère has two Michelin stars, and à la carte dining starts from £56 for a suite of hors d’oeuvres and a main dish (lagrenouillere.fr). His luxe-y guesthouse, Pieux, is in the same small town as Douglas Haig’s First World War HQ, Montreuil.
Details Room-only doubles from £104 (pieux-chambresdecirconstances.fr). Take LeShuttle to Calais
11. Captivating break in Tangier, Morocco
In northwestern Morocco, the daytime November temperature can still top 20C. Which makes Tangier a lovely, balmy base for this five-day tour, designed by Moroccans to give you a taste of their mountains and the Atlantic coast. You’ll day-trip to the blue-washed town of Chefchaouen to shop for its famous blankets, learn how to cook autumn’s quinces to make a sweet and savoury tagine, and wander Tangier’s hillside medina — painted so memorably by Henri Matisse. Accommodation is in the Mirage hotel, overlooking the ocean.
Details Four nights’ B&B from £1,600pp (inclusivemorocco.com). Fly to Tangier
12. Crowd-free Venice, Italy
In Venice the crowds are thinning, prices have dropped, and the weather is a whole lot more conducive to sightseeing. So book the chic and understated Ca’ di Dio hotel at the entrance to Arsenale before the winter rains arrive, and enjoy the latest art shows alongside those ravishing Rialto views. Right now, the Palazzo Grassi shimmers with fashion photography from the archives of Condé Nast (£13; pinaultcollection.com). Meanwhile the Peggy Guggenheim Collection is devoting its galleries to the cubism and conceptual art of Marcel Duchamp (£14; guggenheim-venice.it).
Details Room-only doubles from £310 (vretreats.com). Fly or take the train to Venice
13. Watch the migratory birds near Lisbon, Portugal
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Sure, Lisbon will be dripping with seasonal treats over the coming weeks: caldo verde soup, hearty fish stews and castanhas assadas (roasted chestnuts) to name a few. But why not broaden your experience of autumn by taking a boat trip to the 35,000-acre Tagus Estuary Nature Reserve (from £44; getyourguide.co.uk)? The estuary’s southern shore is one of Europe’s most popular staging posts for migrating birds, as well as the winter home of thousands more — including flamingos, common stilts and ospreys. Back in the city, the white, bright Memmo Alfama hotel has lovely views back across the river.
Details B&B doubles from £128 (memmohotels.com). Fly to Lisbon
14. Opera and art in Milan, Italy
Never mind autumn’s fading light. Milan is sure to shine on this five-day guided tour, starting on October 31. Top billing goes to the back-to-back operas you’ll see at La Scala: Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes on November 2, followed by L’Amore di tre Re by Montemezzi the next night. But you’ll also get a tour of the magnificent Brera Gallery, whose collection includes masterpieces by Caravaggio, Mantegna and Raphael, as well as a visit to the Casa Verdi retirement home for former musicians and singers to meet some of its residents and pay your respects at Verdi’s tomb.
Details Four nights’ B&B including flights, guiding and tickets from £1,898pp (kirkerholidays.com)
15. Photography and forest fun in Berlin, Germany
Fancy some autumn colour? Then climb Berlin’s Teufelsberg (£7; teufelsberg-berlin.de). It’s built from rubble cleared from the city after the Second World War, and the former American listening post on top is covered with 400 works of street art. Then you can follow the Havelhöhenweg path to the Wannsee lake, winding through the 5,500-acre Grunewald forest. Back in the city, the stylish Hotel Amo by Amano in Mitte is a canny place to stay — it’s next to Berlin’s new museum of photography, Fotografiska (£7; fotografiska.com).
Details B&B doubles from £80 (amanogroup.de). Fly or take the train to Berlin
16. Saunas and hot tubs in Copenhagen, Denmark
One of Europe’s most memorable autumn sunsets comes courtesy of Copenhagen’s abandoned shipyard at Refshaleoen. Here, squirreled among the quays, is Hot Tub Copenhagen, a neat, friendly and entirely improbable village of saunas and bubbling pools. You book a glass-fronted sauna cabin, strip naked, and — if you’re timing’s right — watch the sun go down against the dome of the Frederiks Kirke (one hour for up to six people from £92; hottubcph.dk). Follow with a big, buzzy £17 communal dinner at your hotel, the snug and cosy Kanalhuseet. With easy, friendly conversations warming the atmosphere its the very essence of hygge.
Details Room-only doubles from £163 (kanalhusetcph.com). Fly to Copenhagen
17. Sipping and spas in Champagne, France
An indulgent escape awaits at the five-star Relais & Chateaux Hostellerie La Briqueterie in Vinay. It’s just outside Épernay, and for three nights it will be your base on this Luxury Spa Break in Champagne. You’ll be tasting 17 wines on the tour, including vintage Moët & Chandon, single varietal champagnes in Hautvillers, and some of the big-name wines of Reims. So it’s good to know that travel will be by private taxi. There’s also plenty of time to relax and recover in the hotel’s well-equipped spa.
Details Three nights’ B&B from £1,662pp, including some meals (grapeescapes.net). Take the train to Reims or LeShuttle to Calais
18. Sunshine in Seville, Spain
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“What happened to autumn?” You’ll be forgiven for asking the question in Seville, where October temperatures can break the 30C barrier. So base yourself in the Joya del Casco hotel (which has its own rooftop terrace) and slow your pace to a saunter through the 1,000-year-old gardens of the Alcazar Palace (£12; alcazarsevilla.org). Then, catch your breath with a late lunch on the riverfront terrace of the De La O — Iberian meats and mountain mushrooms feature right now (mains from £10; delaorestaurante.com). By late afternoon you should be ready for a flamenco lesson (£25; airbnb.co.uk/experiences).
Details B&B doubles from £200 (shiadu.com). Fly to Seville
19. Seasonal fare in Krakow, Poland
At the Pod Baranem restaurant in Krakow, they’re turning this season’s porcini mushrooms into a thick, creamy soup (mains from £9; podbaranem.com). Join one of Delicious Poland’s cooking classes and you’ll be stuffing pierogi with mushrooms too (£51; delicious poland.com). This is the moment when the city’s menus are bursting with autumn flavours — bortsch, chanterelles, venison and spiced apple cake among them. Just in the nick of time too. They’ll fortify you against the cold as you tour its pristine Renaissance monuments. Book the chic and central Hotel Stary so you won’t have far to walk.
Details Room-only doubles from £124 (hotelstary.com). Fly to Krakow
20. Sun and surf in Sagres, Portugal
The days may be short, but in the seas around Cape St Vincent, at the western tip of the Algarve, the water temperature still nudges 20C. Thanks to the Atlantic’s autumn storms, there’s usually plenty of surf too. So if it’s action, physical exercise and a sense of connection with nature you’re after, head to the Memmo Baleeira hotel, just above the beach at Sagres. One-day lessons at the Freeride surf school nearby cost £65 including equipment (frsurf.com). Experienced wave riders can also hire a surf guide (£302 for three hours for up to four people). Afterwards, celebrate your successes — and your pratfalls — with draft beers and sourdough pizzas at Arte Bianca (pizzas from £8; artebianca.pt).
Details B&B doubles from £101 (memmohotels.com). Fly to Faro
21. Cosy up in Vienna’s coffeehouses, Austria
The Viennese ritual of coffee and cake is at its most comforting as the clocks go back. So start your afternoon with Klimt’s glittering Kiss at the Belvedere museum (£14; belvedere.at), before kicking up the leaves in the Stadtpark below. Then, make a beeline for Café Prückel nearby. Later, you’ll attend a free concert by University of Music students (mdw.ac.at). But as darkness falls, life is all about a hazelnutty slice of Esterhazy cake on your table (prueckel.at). Finish the day in an elegant grey room at the arty Altstadt Vienna.
Details Two nights’ B&B from £324pp including flights (britishairways.com)
22. Baroque and roll in Rome, Italy
What a great excuse to visit Rome just as its rivers of tourists slow to a trickle. From November 14, the Galleria Borghese will be looking at how Rubens turned classical sculpture into vibrant oil paintings and (with a little help from Caravaggio) invented baroque art (£14; galleriaborghese.beniculturali.it). Book into the elegant, parquet-floored Relais Donna Lucrezia nearby, then it’s off to 53 Untitled in the Centro Storico for one of its £30 set-menu four-course dinners (untitledrestaurant.com). The restaurant has one of Michelin’s coveted Bib Gourmands for affordable gastronomy.
Details B&B doubles from £150 (relaisdonnalucrezia.com). Fly to Rome
23. Go back in time to magical Mdina, Malta
If you want to escape the century as well as the season, jump on a plane to Malta. From its airport, a short 20-minute transfer to Mdina will whisk you back to the 17th century courtesy of the Relais & Chateaux Xara Palace. The only hotel within the mighty cannon-proof walls of the island’s former capital, this mansion sits next to the Bishop’s Palace, two minutes’ walk from the cathedral — and its autumn prices are surprisingly affordable. Think gleaming marble, Michelin-starred dining and a deep sense of quiet.
Details Room-only doubles from £181 (xarapalace.com.mt). Fly to Malta
24. Wine and the wild side around Funchal, Madeira
The softening sun makes autumn the perfect moment for an active city break on Madeira. It’s not just the paths alongside the island’s cliff-hugging irrigation channels (levadas) that make for unforgettable hiking terrain (guided walks from £25; madeira-levada-walks.com). You can also walk the narrow ridge path to the 1,861m summit of Pico Ruivo for stupendous Atlantic ocean views. Base yourself in the sumptuous Savoy Palace, on the seafront in Funchal, and you can mix your yomping with a tasting tour of Blandy’s wine cellars (£11; blandyswinelodge.com) and some serious snacking in the vibrant covered market.
Details Three nights’ B&B from £495pp, including flights (thomascook.com)
25. Fashion and cocktails in Antwerp, Belgium
If it’s time to update your autumn wardrobe, Dries van Noten’s home town is the place. First, treat yourself to one of the lush and intensely coloured bedrooms at Flora, and warm your eyes up with a tour of the revamped MoMu fashion museum (£10; momu.be). Then it’s time to loosen your purse strings in the city’s battery of boutiques. Van Noten’s Het Modepaleis (fashion palace) is the biggest, but there are plenty more heading south, all the way to the magnificent KMSKA museum of fine art (£17; kmska.be). Celebrate afterwards with a cocktail at Dogma, close to your hotel (from £12; dogmacocktails.be).
Details B&B doubles from £260 (hotelflora.be). Take the Eurostar to Brussels and a local train to Antwerp
Where is your favourite city to visit during autumn? Let us know in the comments below
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