Escape To Europe
In
The Off Season
 © Traveling Times, Inc.
  Though
traditionally a warm weather destination for Americans, Europe can
be surprisingly enjoyable during the off season. Tourist attractions
which are typically overcrowded in the summer, late spring and early
fall suddenly seem pleasantly sparse. Local residents tend to be
more congenial. And, perhaps most importantly, the cost of just
about everything spirals downward, including hotel accommodations,
airfares, goods and services.
In London, autumn
welcomes visitors with hazy-sunny days and short lines-if any-at
such popular attractions as the Palace of Westminster, the National
Gallery and the Imperial War Museum. If you're a theater lover, this
is the perfect time to visit, as theater seats are more readily
available.
Even if you happen upon
inclement weather in London and must wear your Burberry raincoat,
you needn't despair; this city knows how to make the best of a
chilly clime. Those who have stepped out of a pouring rain into one
of the city's 6,000 pubs for some hot tea and shepherd's pie can
tell you what a warming experience this
is.
Vienna in the off season
may be cold, but the city's arts positively sizzle during the winter
and early spring. The various opera and dance companies, orchestras
and choirs are in residence, and the balls are in full
swing.
Everything in Vienna is
to some extent theatrical, and there is something so pleasingly
dramatic about wrapping up against a cold winter's evening with
scarves, capes, gloves and hats, and braving the elements to attend
a performance at the opulent Vienna State Opera House, the
Staatsoper.
In Paris, too, visitors
find much to celebrate in the off season, most especially spring and
autumn. Chances are that the skies will be blue while the crowds
begin to dwindle. The Eiffel Tower can be seen without pushing and
shoving. And it takes contemplative silence and long, leisurely days
to see all the art displayed in Parisian museums, from the Louvre to
the Musee d'Orsay, the Musee Picasso and the Musee
Rodin.
Visit Europe
in the off season and you may never want to travel in peak season
again.
-Gretchen
Zauner
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