Where to go in Europe in August?

1 🇦🇱 Albania

🌡️ 32 °C in the afternoon, 6 days of rain, sea at 28 °C · 💶 €40-70 a day

Albania means the turquoise water of Ksamil on the Riviera, the stone lanes of Gjirokastër, and the wild peaks around Theth. The rising star of the Balkans, still unspoilt and affordable.

Region

2 🇵🇹 Madeira

🌡️ 25 °C in the afternoon, 3 days of rain, sea at 25 °C · 💶 €65-110 a day

Madeira means hiking along the levadas, peaks above the clouds at Pico do Areeiro, and gardens in bloom all year round. A green, vertical island in the middle of the Atlantic.

3 🇨🇭 Geneva

🌡️ 27 °C in the afternoon, 9 days of rain · 💶 €170-280 a day

Geneva fits into a few square kilometres wedged between the tip of Lake Geneva, the Jura and the Salève, with a stony Old Town on one side and the district of the international organisations on the other. The real issue of the trip is not distance but price, because it is one of the most expensive cities in the world and the French border is ten minutes away by tram.

4 🇸🇮 Slovenia

🌡️ 27 °C in the afternoon, 10 days of rain · 💶 €70-120 a day

Slovenia means Lake Bled and its island with a bell tower, Vintgar Gorge on wooden walkways, and Ljubljana with its pedestrian bridges. A little green gem, from the Alps to Postojna Cave.

5 🇬🇧 London

🌡️ 23 °C in the afternoon, 8 days of rain · 💶 €120-200 a day

London means the British Museum, the markets of Camden, and a pint in a pub with time-worn wood panelling. A metropolis that changes face from one neighbourhood to the next, from Notting Hill to Shoreditch.

6 🇦🇹 Austria

🌡️ 27 °C in the afternoon, 11 days of rain · 💶 €90-150 a day

Austria means Vienna and its imperial palaces, Salzburg in Mozart's footsteps and the Salzkammergut lakes at the foot of the Alps. From Viennese coffee to snowy summits, all in a single trip.

7 🇩🇪 Germany

🌡️ 25 °C in the afternoon, 10 days of rain · 💶 €80-130 a day

Germany means Neuschwanstein Castle straight out of a fairy tale, Berlin with its raw memory, and the Black Forest and its firs. And in December, Christmas markets in almost every town.

Region

8 🇷🇴 Transylvania

🌡️ 25 °C in the afternoon, 10 days of rain · 💶 €45-90 a day

Transylvania means seven fortified Saxon towns at the foot of the Carpathians, 150 fortified churches in the villages, and Bran Castle, which Bram Stoker never saw. You drive the Transfăgărășan up to 2,042 metres, pass horse-drawn carts and sleep in a guesthouse for €40.

9 🇵🇱 Poland

🌡️ 26 °C in the afternoon, 11 days of rain · 💶 €45-85 a day

Poland means Krakow's medieval square, the solemn remembrance of Auschwitz and the Wieliczka salt mines carved into cathedrals. A dense history, lively cities and prices that are still gentle.

10 🇧🇪 Ghent

🌡️ 23 °C in the afternoon, 12 days of rain · 💶 €90-150 a day

The second port of medieval Flanders, Ghent has kept its guild houses on the Graslei quay and, in St Bavo's Cathedral, the Van Eyck brothers' altarpiece completed in 1432. With 80,000 students and a car-free centre since 1996, the city stays lively all year round.

11 🇩🇰 Copenhagen

🌡️ 21 °C in the afternoon, 11 days of rain, sea at 19 °C · 💶 €150-250 a day

Copenhagen is best lived by bike, between the colourful facades of Nyhavn, Tivoli's century-old roller coasters and the canals of Christianshavn. The Danish capital has made hygge an art of living and design a religion, from the gourmet market halls of Torvehallerne to the street food quays of Reffen. A compact, relaxed city where everything is within twenty minutes' pedalling.

12 🇸🇪 Stockholm

🌡️ 21 °C in the afternoon, 11 days of rain, sea at 22 °C · 💶 €130-200 a day

Fourteen islands linked by 57 bridges, between Lake Mälaren and the Baltic, with the ochre façades of Gamla Stan at the centre, the 1628 warship Vasa in its museum and the 30,000 islands of the archipelago an hour away by boat. In June the day lasts 18 hours; in December the Christmas markets light up from 15:00.

13 🇨🇭 Zermatt

🌡️ 19 °C in the afternoon, 12 days of rain · 💶 €180-300 a day

A car-free village at 1,620 metres, at the foot of a 4,478-metre pyramid that long served as a chocolate brand's logo. Zermatt has lived off the Matterhorn since its first ascent in 1865, with 400 kilometres of trails in summer and a ski area linked to Italy.