I have one enduring vision of Venice. My daughter stands alone on the balcony of St. Mark’s Basilica quietly surveying the scene below. Sophie takes her time—as well she should, since no other tourists are jostling for this prime viewing position—and she takes in everything around her: the Grand Canal, the sheltered arcade surrounding Piazza San Marco, and finally, the legendary square itself, where on this mist-shrouded day, the pigeons outnumber people. Such an experience is both utterly magical and exceedingly rare … The fact of the matter is it’s hard to find serenity in notoriously-crowded La Serenissima.
The Christmas crush barely clears out before revelers descend for Carnevale, the city’s pre-Lenten party. Then there is a brief respite before Easter, when the peak season starts in earnest. This year, thanks to the 2007 edition of the Biennial International Art Exhibition, it will last straight through October with visitors flooding out just in time for November’s acqua alta (or high water) to come flooding in. Sure, Venice is an extreme example. Yet nearly all the continent’s popular vacation destinations divide their calendar into different tourism seasons.
High holidays and school breaks are major determinants. However, the clincher is climate, with the nicest (read “warmest”) months usually being designated as peak periods throughout Europe. Hot days, of course, are essential for certain types of travelers. For instance, sun worshippers looking for a beach to bake on have to go in high season because by mid-autumn temperatures at top sun spots (Crete, Capri, and Portugal’s Algarve among them) have dipped into the low seventies and seaside resorts are typically locked up tight.
But if you don’t have your heart set on bikini-photos, off-season weather might seem perfectly pleasant. After all, the mercury in Parisian thermometers can still hit 75º F in October; and around the Mediterranean it’s even balmy enough for lemon and almond trees to bloom in January. So an off-season trip can be just the ticket for other types of vacationers—and now is the time to start planning!
Sightseers
In season, appreciating those “must see” sites is a challenge. Spain’s fabled Alhambra Palace is a case in point. One guidebook warns that “it is imperative to turn up as early in the day as possible to be sure of getting in, and you should be prepared for queues of one to two hours in high season.” I, conversely, strolled in one afternoon in early spring and virtually had the place to myself. But it’s not just ease of access that makes the difference. Places like this Moorish extravaganza (to say nothing of Europe’s age-old churches and temples) are best approached with a sense of awe: that’s hard to conjure up when you’re encircled by souvenir-selling touts or camera-wielding tourists.
