Why the Best Time to Visit Europe is During Low Season
There are pros and cons to traveling off season in any country or region.
Traveling off season means cheaper hotel rates, less traffic on the roads, an easier time getting reservations at the top restaurants, and friendlier locals (since they aren’t being inundated by hundreds of tourists every day and are happy to have the business if they are open).
However, there is a reason people travel during peak season. Namely, the weather. For most people, when traveling to a region that is known for it’s wealth of sunshine and warm weather or it’s beaches, warm weather is essential and therefore traveling outside of the warm months of the year is much less desirable.
For myself, I plead the case that traveling off season is the best time to travel to popular destinations.
I may be a different style traveler than many, or perhaps its just my aversion to crowds, heavy traffic, and overbooked (read overpriced) hotels and restaurants is higher than most people’s. I am from California, after all, where I’ve spent my entire adult life living in extremely highly trafficked regions that tourists flock to so I’ve had a lot of practice looking for ways to avoid crowds!
I’d prefer braving rainy days and potential long periods of gloomy weather in order to reap the benefits of being one of the few vs one of the many visitors to an area.
October or November in Provence
The South of France, and Provence is a place most travelers come to to enjoy warm weather and beautiful surroundings. The beaches, the coastal towns, the rural villages with sunny outdoor cafe and restaurant seating and the bounty of summer produce that can be found on every menu are promised in every movie, magazine ad, and travel brochure advertising the area.
But, November in Provence can be wonderful. Mais Oui the weather is temperamental. It could rain for days on end, freezing winter weather could appear earlier than is typical….. OR there could be a wealth of pristine, sunny, crisp Autumn days. If you take a chance, get out there and ignore the weather forecasts you will find your pockets of sunshine and enjoy the region.
In my case so far, November in Provence has been a combination of all three weather phenomena: rain, cold temperatures, and crisp sunny blue skies, sometimes all in the span of only a day. But the blue skies have been often enough to enjoy some wonderful sights and outdoor activities in between relaxing, eating, sitting at cafes and catching up on people watching when it rains.
This past weekend, faced with the choice of staying in and letting the forecast of rain and strong winds deter us from our plans for the weekend, we ventured out to take our chances in Uzes, the Pont du Gard and the Luberon villages.
Planning our Fall Weather Provence Itinerary
My French host’s face when I asked to go to the Luberon villages was droll. ‘Oof.. the Luberon’! He went on to tell me that the reason that no one from Provence goes to the Luberon, is because it is always full of tourists and is a pain to park in or find any good restaurants that are not touristy.
But of course he would take me there so I could see it for myself. He seemed sure I would regret it.
So, we planned to hit Uzes and its Saturday market before the Pont du Gard on Saturday, and to stop at the Senanque Abbey on the way to see a few of the Luberon Villages on Sunday.
We packed the car with rain boots and umbrellas and comforted ourselves with the plan of having very long lunches and stops for wine and coffee if the weather didn’t cooperate.
The Uzes Market, Pont du Gard, Senanque Abbey and the Luberon
The weather, as I had hoped, did not fulfill the forecasts, and we got mostly sun for the entire weekend, only low winds, and an occasional rain shower. We seemed to be two of the very few people who had decided to take advantage of the weekend out and about in this popular area of Provence. My French host was extremely impressed at how easy the roads (and parking) were to navigate. We swept into villages grabbing the best seats with fantastic views at popular Cafes, parked within steps of the famous outdoor market, and took advantage of a dozen different vista points along the road to Roussillon and Gordes (Luberon villages) to capture the views.
We didn’t even have to deal with tourists cramping our style or walking into our pictures uninvited as would usually be the case in Spring or Summer in these areas.
We lingered at lunch in Rousillon talking with the owner of the restaurant over pastis and complimentary coffees, roamed the paths around the ancient Cistercian Senanque Abbey without meeting a single other person, and climbed up to the old town ruins in Opped (a lesser visited Luberon village) for spectacular sunset views before having a last coffee for the day at the only open cafe in town.
By the end of the weekend my stolid, cynical, Provencale host was a convert, complimenting both himself and I for our savvy decision to visit these popular sites in November and making plans to come back more often at this time of the year because ‘Mais Oui’ it only made sense!
Have you ever traveled in Europe off season? If so where did you go?
Have you been to Provence yet?