January 21, 2020

10 Wonderful PLACES To Visit This Winter (Europe Edition)

10 wonderful places to visit this winter

Why to travel in winter?

Winter is a great time for travelling. Not many people travel in winter and that brings so many benefits. Firstly, the places you’re visiting will be significantly less crowdy than in summer, which is a peak season in most of the destinations.

Since my last blog post about where to go in autumn has immense success, I decided to make a winter edition. This time, all these places are in Europe. If this blog post will be as successful as before, I will definitely make an US and Asia version too.

How to travel in winter?

But firstly, I’ll tell you something about travelling in winter. It’s harder to pack for a trip in this (although magical) but crispy cold season. You will definitely need a coat or two in all of these destinations, as well as an umbrella and some warm tights.

It’s probably less concerning to you, but to my fellow content creators out there, travelling and creating photos in winter is a struggle. I usually look too red in the face, makeup has been blown out by the wind, my eyelashes stick together like icy spider legs.. And my outfit is big puffy jacket and boring jeans underneath. Well to make it interesting, especially if you can’t bring lots of outfits with you, the best thing to do is to layer. I always do that while I’m wearing a dress, just to be super comfortable and not looking too boring all the time.

There’s also a great importance of checking the weather. Especially on mountains, weather can change drastically and you might need to update your information every couple of hours.

Don’t forget to bring a sunscreen and a good moisturiser, to protect your skin during the trip.

Now that you’re all covered in terms of winter travel packing, let’s take a look at these wonderful places!

1. London, UK

London must have made it to the first place on the list. Since I’m going there in a few weeks, I had to put it on here!

There are significantly less tourists in winter London than in summer, which makes our trip a whole lot easier. Less queues in art galleries, sights and monuments. Also hopefully less crowded area around London Eye. And you got the same experience as in the summer. Britain is pretty cloudy and rainy, no matter the season. Now you will be at least able to bring umbrella and not worry about hurting someone.

There are also ice skating rinks you can use for a small fee. That essentially creates that magical experience that you will surely love. The stores are also beautifully arranged for the Christmas and winter season.

You can also see Richmond Park near London where you can really easily find deers and other animals. It looks splendid in winter.

2. Vienna, Austria

Vienna is a capital of Austria, a country that neighbours with Slovakia, where I live. I can get there pretty much anytime, either for some Christmas shopping or just admiring their stunning architecture.

I visited Vienna in both summer and winter and loved it more in winter. I guess it is those lights, Christmas markets and snowy weather that makes it my favourite there.

3. Dublin, Ireland

Dublin is best known for its parties, crafted beer and festivals that took place only once a year and in winter! There’s a New Year festival that brings the magic to the city. There are street performers, dancers and top-charting musicians.

Irish pubs are world-known and are definitely worth the visit. Dublin is actually considered the friendliest city in Europe by TripAdvisor. Dubliners are easy to help you, talk to you and add to your experience there. You can find them in their local pubs, with fun chatter and quirky characters. They tell you everything you want for a free cup of tea, coffee or a pint.

4. Dresden, Germany

Dresden is mostly famous for its beautiful church called Frauenkirche, the church of our lady. There is a beautiful interior there as well, so definitely go inside and admire the beauty.

Apart from that, there are so many stunning churches, sights and similar monuments in Dresden. You just have to choose. They’ve got amazing Christmas markets as well. However, the most beautiful Dresden is at night, or evening. When the sun goes down and lights illuminate the monuments.

5. Bergen, Norway

Bergen looks like your dream nordic village. It seems like it’s straight from the Frozen movie. Bergen is filled with idyllic atmosphere, colourful wooden homes, quiet harbour and fjords guarding the city from the sides.

In winter months you can also see Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis and enjoy this beautiful moment of astronomical theatre on the sky. There’s no chance of seeing it in summer.

Of you choose to go to Bergen, you need to bring a lot of warm clothes here. It’s freezing. But remember, aurora borealis.

6. Strasbourg, France

Strasbourg in France is that Instagram village you see all winter. It looks too good to be true, and you always question whether those decorations aren’t just added in Photoshop.

But no wonder, Strasbourg is located in Alsace, a region that is near borders with Germany. They share the similar architecture, food and culture. Strasbourg also has beautiful decorations made apparently just for Christmas/winter time

7. Transylvania, Romania

The place where secret masked balls take place, that is Transylvania in Romania. Everyone heard about it because of Stoker’s Dracula, but have you travelled here?

The region offers stunning old castles, untouched nature and atmosphere like from fairytales.

8. Plitvice, Croatia

Who would say Croatia would be a great winter spot? In summer, there are thousands of tourists going there for a vacation, but winter isn’t as popular.

And I really wonder why.

Plitvice National Park is a complex of lakes and water streams that offers a magical adventure. The national park is also quite known for a fact that Winnetou was filmed here. It is a calm and wonderful place, and it’s been prettier in winter.

9. Hallstatt, Austria

Hallstatt needs to be mentioned in each of these articles. This little village looks like it’s been painted by Monet and then somehow transported from painting to a real life. Or you can imagine a fairytale story with a beautiful village below the castle, well, that’s Hallstatt.

It has probably the best scenery out of all these places. It’s located right next to the lake called Hallstatt See. This place is always a desire for all the photographers and travellers, so it might not be less crowdy than usual. But its definiteky worth a look. I mean, imagine sitting in those candlelit restaurants, sipping fine wine and looking at the blue Hallstatt See along with snow-capped Dachstein mountains. Oh what a beauty.

10. High Tatras, Slovakia

For those who don’t know, Slovakia is the country where I live. And it’s definitely worth at least a one day trip. Most tourists stumble around Vienna, Budapest and Prague, but they never go to Bratislava or anywhere else.

High Tatras are the smallest big mountains in the world, which comes with lot of benefits. The hikes are usually shorter with immense amounts of views at different things. Everything is basically packed inside an area of the mountains.

You can also come here for a ski trip, as there are so many amazing routes. I always like to come here in winter, at least for a day, to find traditional architecture and possibly a deer or two.

In conclusion

Winter is a wonderful season that is magical in its own way. I love travelling this time arounf the year, because the places are less crowdy and I get to experience a different atmosphere than usual. Hope you enjoyed this blog post and come to see more from me next time! Dont forget to read the autumn version of this post as well.

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