“Copenhagen just makes sense to me in the fall,” says Christine Andraus of Partenza Travel. She means the bakeries, the candles in every window, the design, and a population that has stopped pretending it is still summer.
Andraus is one of several advisers Condé Nast Traveler consulted for a September 11 guide to Europe’s best autumn trips. The magazine’s pitch is simple. Once the beach clubs close, the continent turns crisp, the crowds thin out, and cities show a less polished side. Kimberly Davis of Trouvaille Travel says her clients have noticed. “I’m seeing people looking far more off the beaten path this season,” she says, with Copenhagen now beating the usual London, Paris or Rome.
Copenhagen and the Danish Riviera
The magazine suggests wandering through Assistens Cemetery while its leaves turn gold, then warming up in a fisherman’s sweater at a harborside food hall such as Reffen or Broens. Davis says travelers are booking design-led hotels like Hotel Sanders over the grander Hotel D’Angleterre.
Andraus would add a couple of nights in North Zealand, the Danish Riviera. Kronborg Castle, the one tied to Shakespeare, sits among big forests and wild shoreline there, and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art looks out over the sea.
Vienna and San Sebastian
Nadine Fedorenko of Fora Travel names Vienna as a top fall pick. The city has spent recent years collecting new contemporary museums and galleries, restaurants that have outgrown farm-to-fork, and luxury hotels including a Mandarin Oriental and a Rosewood. Autumn adds a chill that suits the gardens. Visitors can head to vineyards just outside town for biodynamic wine, order schnitzel in an old-fashioned café, or watch The Third Man at the Burg Kino. The anniversaries stack up, too. “Hotel Sacher turned 150 this year, the Albertina Museum turned 250, and even Mozart celebrated a big birthday [his 270th]!” Fedorenko says.
For eaters, there is San Sebastian, which has one of the densest concentrations of Michelin-starred restaurants anywhere, plus a lively bar scene. Temperatures sit in the 60s, and short showers leave a mist over the town. “San Sebastian in October gives you pintxos, the coast, Rioja nearby, and temperatures where you actually want to walk around all day,” Andraus says. October 5 to 7 brings San Sebastián Gastronomika, which marks 50 years of New Basque Cuisine and will host the chefs who pioneered the avant-garde Basque style in the 1970s for masterclasses and tastings. Andraus recommends Hotel Maria Cristina for a central base, or Akelarre for its celebrated restaurant.
Ireland, Paris, the Dolomites and Umbria
Ireland’s countryside is where Samhain, the forerunner of Halloween, began. County Meath’s sacred sites include the Hill of Ward and the Hill of Tara, where Celts lit fires more than 2,000 years ago to ward off spirits. The Púca Festival runs October 29 to November 1. Andraus is happy with some bad weather: “Give me a gorgeous country house, boots, a long walk, a fire, a great dinner, and maybe a little rain, and I’ll be very happy.” She likes Ballyfin Demesne for an old-school stay and suggests pairing it with a few days in the west, from Clare and Mayo to the Connemara Coast, with its limestone formations and glacial lakes.
Paris rewards a return trip. In fall the temperature stays between the mid-50s and low-60s, museum queues shrink, and the park chairs are easier to claim. Residents drift back from their holidays in the “rentrée,” and exhibitions reopen, among them “Auguste Bartholdi and Mary Cassatt” at the Musée d’Orsay and “Cézanne and Us” at the Grand Palais. Celine Dion is also playing a residency at the Paris La Défense Arena until October 17. The affordable Hotel Rochechouart starts at around $300 a night.
Andraus pushes the Dolomites for a different reason. “The larches turn this crazy golden color, the air is crisp, the summer crowds are gone,” she says. Mid-to-late October is peak foliage. She points to the Croda da Lago Circuit and its Lago di Federa, and to Lago di Braies, which is quieter once summer ends. Spa hotels abound, and she names Hotel Hubertus as a favorite.
Umbria, in central Italy, is her pick for clients who have already done Tuscany. “Fall is when Umbria really shines,” she says, listing truffles, wine, olive harvests and tiny medieval towns. Museum stops include the National Gallery of Umbria and the Fondazione Burri, and there is the basilica in Assisi and hiking in Montecucco National Park. For a splurge, she recommends Castello di Reschio, a hotel where she could “happily send someone for four nights and almost tell them not to make plans.”
