CNN: Pros may outweigh cons of Europe in the off-season - by Rick Stevens
Pros may outweigh cons of Europe in the off-season - by Rick Stevens
Each summer, Europe greets a stampede of sightseers and shoppers with eager cash registers. Before jumping into the peak-season pig pile, consider the advantages of an off-season trip. Outside of peak season, adventurers loiter all alone through Leonardo's home, ponder un-pestered in Rome's Forum, kick up sand on virgin beaches and chat with laid-back guards by log fires in French chateaux. In wintertime Venice you can be alone atop St. Mark's bell tower, watching the clouds of your breath roll over the Byzantine domes of the church to a horizon of cut-glass Alps. Below, on St. Mark's Square, hungry pigeons fidget and wonder, "Where are the tourists?" Without the crowds, you can enjoy step-right-up service at tourist offices and experience a more European Europe. Although many popular tourist-oriented parks, shows and tours will be closed, off-season is in-season for the high culture: plays and operas are in their crowd-pleasing glory. For instance, in Vienna, while the Boys Choir, Opera and Spanish Riding School are scarce in the summer, all have a busy schedule of performances through the rest of the year. Europe's major cities crackle with energy year-round. In London, you can spend your days at the British Museum and National Gallery, and your nights at a cozy pub or a world-class play. In Paris -- the City of Light that always sparkles -- you can get face-to-face with Mona and scale the Eiffel Tower. In Florence, you'll see Renaissance paintings and Michelangelo's David without peak-season crowds.
