Europe in Winter

[Fina]

It will be COLD

We're going all over Western Europe from December 18-January 12.

What type of clothes should we pack?? I know to take a very warm jacket, and jeans, but for footwear? Sweaters??

Luckily, we found a great travel company and won't be backpacking, so we can take a bit more clothes.

We're from Arizona, and I have never been anywhere where there is snow

[evekennedy]

Hi. Where in Western Europe will you be travelling? Im in Dublin, Ireland. Our winters get very cold but most times it rains during winter, it doesnt snow that often. Id say bring a rain coat! Umbrella....jacket and some warm jumpers. Some winters we get freak weather when its not that cold in the winter but its usually miserable. Best to check weather forcast nearer the time. ;D

[Kim]

We were in Europe in March (at that point we were in the Netherlands, Belgium etc.) and found it to be quite cold - and we are from Canada!

It was more the cold wind that cut right through you..

You want to take a good thermal shirt and layer. Gloves, scarf and warm socks too.

We had hiking shoes that were fine, they are pretty much all we wore until it started getting warm in about May or June. Make sure to wear your shoes in first if they are new, you don't want to be dealing with blisters once you get over there.

Hmm.. what else. Oh yeah, make sure your jacket has a hood. There can be unexpected rain shower or places (crowded areas, skinny streets) where an umbrella can be a pain. Definately bring an umbrella (small, collapsable one) but a hood is very handy.

Kim

[LHR02]

Well.....unless you are going to the mountain/alp region you 'likely' won't see snow. ;D That said, it can be pretty cold, then again some years not at all. Where are you going to be? I was in Europe from November through March and had every type of weather, but overall I had good weather, 40's usually, little snow except for Poland and the alps, and actually way less rain than I had anticipated. If you can let us know where you will be I can let you know more specifically what it was like last year....which actually means nothing for this year as it can be so different year to year. But having spent the past two years Nov/Dec/Jan over there maybe I can help some?

[Fina]

Thanks for the help

We will be in London, all over France and Italy, Switzerland, Austria, all over Germany, and Amsterdam.

Thanks again!

[CuriousToronto]

With the prevalence of mountain areas in Switzerland you WILL want to bundle-up!

Particularly if you have to visit the Alps Regions. If you're going to be spending significant amounts of time there you might want to take winter boots.

I'm a big believer in scarves, hats, and gloves. Even if it's not brutally cold they could come in handy.