10 holidays in Europe for people who hate the heat
If recent years are anything to go by, this won't be the last of it. It looks likely that we are in for another long, scorching summer in Europe. Fine, if you like your holidays hot. But if you'd prefer to seek out a cooler corner of the continent, where to go?
The obvious answer is to head north to explore the scenic shores and lakes of Scandinavia, the glacial landscapes of Iceland or the intriguing Baltic cities. The alternative is to head high, perhaps to the Spanish Picos or the French Alps, where there'll be plenty of high-altitude sunshine but none of the enervating heat and humidity.
Whether you are looking for an active, cultural or fly-and-flop break, here's a selection of ten great ways to avoid the worst of the heat in Europe this summer.
The French Alps: best for outdoor activities
Lifts serving the Grande Motte glacier, which rises to a lofty 11,995ft above the mountain resort of Tignes, stay open for summer skiing until July 20. Lower down, in the resort, peak temperatures hover at around 17C and among the cooling activities are kayaking, paddle boarding and visits to the Acroland water park, where adults and children aged 10 years and over can plunge down slides into the icy lake water below.
Peak Retreats (023 9283 9310) offers a seven-night stay in Le Nevada, Tignes Val Claret, from £317, self-catering, based on four staying in a two-bedroom apartment, including ferry crossing for car and passengers, departing July 12.
Finland: best for family adventure
The lakes, rivers and forests of eastern Finland offer a vast playground for active families who want a sunny outdoor holiday without excessive heat. Temperatures rise to a pleasant 21C in child-friendly lakeside resorts, which lie within a two-hour drive of Helsinki and offer canoeing, swimming, paddle boarding, fishing and local trails.
Discover the World (01737 428 406) offers a five-night Taste of Finnish Lakeland from £525, including car rental. Excludes flights to Helsinki, based on two adults and two children under 12 years. Departures until September.
Denmark: best for cycling
Zealand, Denmark's largest island, offers peaceful backroads and uncrowded cycle paths, long hours of daylight and gentle sunshine. Relaxing itineraries loop through shady woodland, past sandy beaches and scenic fjords, and through small fishing villages, with a foray into the coastal city of Roskilde.
Freedom Treks (01273 977961) offer a seven-night, self-guided Zealand Bike Tour from £1,033, including luggage transfer, maps and route information. Excludes bike hire (£86 for a hybrid with pannier; £205 for an E-bike), flights to Copenhagen and rail transfers. Departs weekly through July and August.
Normandy: best for being by the seaside
The Côte d'Azur can see summer temperatures nudge 30C or more in July and August, but northern France enjoys a more temperate 20 to 22C. Hop across the Channel to stay near the sandy beaches of Normandy, the a chance to tour the wartime sights, sample the seafood and explore the rocky island of Mont-Saint-Michel.
Brittany Ferries (0330 162 5457) offers seven nights at four-star Hotel Le Grand Hard-Domaine Utah Beach from £1,266, self-drive, including return Portsmouth to Caen ferry crossing, departing August 5.
The Spanish Picos: best for mountains
While temperatures sizzle in the Costas, the mountainous areas near the Cantabrian coast of northern Spain offer a welcome refuge from the summer heat. The Picos de Europa are best explored on foot with a network of well-marked paths through peaceful rural backwaters, the medieval town of Potes and the bucolic Valdeón valley.
Pura Aventura (01273 676712) offers an eight-night, self-guided Rural Life and Mountain Hikes tour from £1,650, including four lunches, six dinners and luggage transfers. Excludes travel to Bilbao. Departures throughout July and August.
Svalbard: best for wildlife-watching
In the nothern Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, temperatures barely reach 7C in July and August and nights can dip to 2C. These islands are home to walruses, whales and polar bears, which gather in the fjords near the capital Longyearbyen. Try dog-sledding on wheels for views of the glacier at Nordenskiöldbreen.
Regent Holidays (01174 537640; regent-holidays.co.uk) offers a five-night Svalbard Summer Break from £1,750, including four excursions. Departures throughout July and August.
Iceland: best for spectacular landscapes
Iceland's summer season is as short as it is cool. July and August see temperatures barely reaching 13C, but the long days (up to 20 hours of daylight), make this an ideal season to explore its unique inland and coastal scenery. From spectacular waterfalls to spouting geysers and from black-sand beaches to naturally heated lagoons, it's the perfect antidote to the muggy Mediterranean.
Trailfinders
The Baltics: best for cruising
A Baltic Sea cruise is a great alternative to the sultry Mediterranean in the summer months, and although you can expect plenty of sunny days, you may also need to pack a jumper for cooler days. Highlights include shore excursions to see the mix of medieval and modern architecture in the region's cities, and the variety of coastal scenery.
MSC Cruises (020 3426 3010) offers a seven-night Baltics and Scandinavia Cruise on MSC Poesia, from £2,559, full board, including children's clubs, on-board entertainment and excursions to Klaipeda in Lithuania, the Latvian capital of Riga, Stockholm and Copenhagen, based on an interior cabin. Excludes flights to Hamburg and transfers to the embarkation point at Warnemünde. Departures on July 27 and August 10.
Switzerland: best for a group tour
Snow-covered peaks and glaciers, which circle the Upper Engadine Valley in south-east Switzerland, provide an alluring backdrop to bucolic mountain pastures and larch woodlands, where mild conditions are ideal for a huge variety of alpine flowers. Spring comes late to this region and in July you can still expect to see orchids, primroses, glacier jasmine and foxgloves at their best.
Naturetrek (01962 733051; naturetrek.co.uk) offers a seven-night Switzerland - Alpine Flowers of the Upper Engadine from £2,595, full board, departing July 2 and 9.
The clear, azure-blue seawater and sandy beaches on this far-flung Norwegian island may look reminiscent of the Caribbean, but the temperatures are quite a contrast. Averaging around 15C in summer, its scenic landscapes of moorland and mountains offer a range of spectacular walking terrain, with comfortable accommodation in small fishing villages and long hours of daylight.
Inntravel (01653 617000) offers a seven-night Hike Senja - An Arctic Island from £2,510, half board, including car hire and walking notes. Excludes flights. Departures throughout July and August.
Prices quoted are per person including breakfast, transfers and flights, unless otherwise stated, and are subject to availability.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
The 10 best cities on Earth (according to you)
What makes a city a perfect travel destination? Does it need to be eye-catching from the first moment you see it – in a television show, or in an Instagram feed? Does it need a long history – promising a mini-break where you can drift back through the centuries? Does it need a bucket-list landmark – a soaring tower or an epic palace that you just have to photograph? Does it need amazing restaurants, or a lively bar scene? Or does it need a little of all of the above – an alchemic combination that turns a maze of roads, buildings and everyday life into a vibrant hub of which holiday dreams are made? This would seem the conclusion to be taken from the latest Telegraph Travel Awards – and, in particular, the list of the top 10 cities favoured by you, the readers. It adds up to an exclusive club, but also an eclectic one, with urban hotspots from Asia, Africa, Europe and North America all making the grade. The following article examines each of the tantalising 10, and compares their current high rankings against previous performance in this poll. Are there notable risers and fallers? Has a city jumped from nowhere to be one of your new firm favourites? And has the winner in the last (2023) edition of the awards managed to keep its shiny crown? All is revealed below. 10. Singapore 2023 position: 20th These latest Telegraph Travel Awards have seen the readership's gaze shift a little towards the Far East. There are three cities from the region in this top 10 (only one made the cut in 2023), so Singapore is a flavour of things to come. In truth, although it has generally been absent from the upper reaches of this poll (it only made the top 10 once in the six prior awards), it is no surprise to see Singapore held so highly in your estimation. The city-state at the tip of the Malay Peninsula is a classic travel destination, drifting into the evening on cocktails and polite conversation. True, it has 21st-century attractions aplenty, such as the flashing 'supertrees' of the Gardens By The Bay urban park. But much of Singapore sings of prior eras – not least the Raffles Hotel, now restored to full majesty following a two-year refurbishment. 9. Porto 2023 position: 11th Europe has so many intriguing cities that some, inevitably, will sit just beyond your travel plans, forever the 'maybe next year' option for an autumn mini-break. Perhaps Portugal's second city is one of them. And perhaps it is coming increasingly into focus. This is the first time that Porto has been listed as one of your chosen top 10, its ascent to ninth marking a continuation of an upward curve: from 22nd in 2019 to 11th in 2023. Moreover, it has managed to eclipse Lisbon (16th) in this latest poll – maybe because the Portuguese capital, famously picturesque, has become famously busy; maybe because Porto's charms are obvious to those keen to look – such as the Luis I Bridge, crossing the Douro in a double-deck iron arch. There is also the two-for-the-price-of-one factor. Vila Nova de Gaia and its port lodges, on the south side of the river, is technically another city. 8. Venice 2023 position: 2nd In some senses, a drop of six positions should be seen as a sign of waning affections. But perhaps a plunge in Venice's fortunes is only to be expected. Italy's lagoon city has flirted with a less positive sort of travel headline of late: haunted by the spectre of overtourism, questioned over its introduction of an entrance fee, and framed – not for the first time – as a playground for the super-rich by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos's wedding. But equally, 'La Serenissima' will always have its serenity, and while the image of canals, gondolas and bridges is recognisable to the point of cliché, there is a rare beauty to the picture all the same. It definitely resonates with you, the reader. While eighth is Venice's lowest rank in the last seven editions of The Telegraph Travel Awards, it has not failed to be one of your 10 favourite cities in that same 11-year window. Some things – and places – are timeless. 7. Vancouver 2023 position: 4th The Telegraph readers' relationship with America remains curiously muted. It is 11 years since the US appeared in the roll-call of your top 10 favourite countries (10th, in 2014). And for all the glamour of New York and Chicago, it is New Orleans and its southern charms that polls best in this particular list – although only in 26th. It is a different matter, however, on the far side of the border, Vancouver preserving an ever-present relationship with the top 10 which also dates back to 2014. It is not difficult to understand the appeal of this urban giant at Canada's south-western corner – a haven for skiing in the cold months, when the slopes are alive at Whistler Blackcomb and Cypress Mountain; a sensation in summer, when the sun catches on the totem poles in Stanley Park, and adjacent Vancouver Island beckons for road trips. 6. Copenhagen 2023 position: 21st Every time the results of The Telegraph Travel Awards are announced, this top 10 tends to feature at least one city which rises to prominence from a previously unheralded slot in the statistics. In 2023, it was Rio de Janeiro, surfing a wave of post-pandemic escapism to surge from 31st to seventh – only to drop back whence it came (to 37th) this time around. The Danish capital's leap to sixth in the 2025 poll – up from 21st in 2023, and 34th in 2019 – feels similarly rocket-powered. There is no reason to doubt Copenhagen's allure – Michelin-starred cuisine at Noma and Geranium; the trendy bars of Vesterbro; the painted buildings of the Nyhavn waterfront; the theme-park kitsch of the Tivoli Gardens. Whether it can maintain its popularity with Telegraph readers, or will splash back to a lower ranking, will make for interesting viewing in 2027. 5. Kyoto 2023 position: 9th The second of the three Far Eastern cities in this poll stands on a firm footing. Kyoto has now enjoyed a single-figure placing in three consecutive editions of The Telegraph Travel Awards – and in rising four positions in this latest iteration, cements its reputation as one of the essential stops on any tour of Japan. None of this is a shock. In contrast to the neon gleam that illuminates many of the other major cities in the Land of the Rising Sun, the former ' Heian-kyō ' – the name translates as 'peaceful capital' – clings to much a quieter ideal. The twin Buddhist temples of Kinkaku-ji (with its Unesco World Heritage status) and Ryōan-ji (with its karesansui rock garden) have come to symbolise Kyoto's sense of calm, although if it is crowds and Instagram moments that you crave, a hike up through the (800 or so) orange torii gates of the Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine will tick all the boxes. 4. Tokyo 2023 position: 18th In 2023 and 2019, Kyoto was your most highly rated Japanese city. Here in 2025, it has been eclipsed by its compatriot – via a surge from 18th position (in both 2019 and 2023) to the heady heights of fourth. Of course, any long-haul jaunt to reach Kyoto will almost certainly pass through the Japanese capital, and Tokyo has clearly seized the attention of those who have made the journey. But then, few would deny that it shines as one of the most eye-catching cities on the planet – literally, in the case of Shinjuku and Akihabara, where technicolour signs and billboards make for a 21st century glow, and in Shibuya, where the famous five-way street crossing is a constant flurry of people. Indeed, whether it is Blade Runner or Lost in Translation, a stay in Tokyo can give you the impression that you have stumbled into a movie – where each of your senses is stimulated simultaneously. 3. Sydney 2023 position: 8th Australia's most celebrated city (with apologies to Melbourne) is no stranger to the top branches of this particular tree; Sydney has been listed among your 10 favourite cities in every Telegraph Travel Awards since 2014. However, its ranking in 2023 was an unusually meagre eighth – a side effect, perhaps, of Australia's notably stern response to Covid-19, which left the country effectively closed off to international travellers until well into 2022. Three years of relative normality have now passed, and Australia's image as a haven of southern sunshine and astonishing geography – rather than a shuttered shop – is fully restored. With this, Sydney is back to third in this poll – the Opera House once again resplendent in its waterfront setting, the Harbour Bridge arcing mightily, Bondi Beach preening, and the restaurants of Surry Hills waiting for diners. Business as usual. 2. Seville 2023 position: 3rd Seville's popularity in this poll is remarkable. Not only is it consistently named as your favourite city in Spain (it has now outscored each of Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia in every one of the past six Telegraph Travel Awards), it has now risen to become your best-loved city in the whole of Europe (an achievement it also managed in 2018). Anyone unfamiliar with the Andalusian capital might wonder how, without a beach, or a La Rambla-style mega-boulevard, Seville can be so appreciated. Anyone who has wandered through a city where memories of the region's Moorish era as Al-Andalus swirl at almost every turn will already know the answer. The Alcazar palace recalls the distant mists of the 11th century in its tinkling fountains and cool courtyards. The Casco Antiguo tells a later story of tapas bars and boutiques – but is no less alluring. 1. Cape Town 2023 position: 1st We live in a turbulent era, where war rages, heatwaves stalk the Mediterranean summer, and travel can feel a more precarious prospect than we might admit. So it is reassuring to find that some things do not change. In the past 11 years, Telegraph readers have been asked the question 'What is your favourite city on the planet?' seven times. And seven times, you have replied: 'Cape Town'. In truth, this unswerving consistency is easy to unpick. Few places can match South Africa's most feted metropolis for photogenic power: the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront fringing the Atlantic, Table Mountain rearing as an epic backdrop, the land ebbing down to the beaches of Camps Bay and the flicked tail of the Cape of Good Hope. Then there are the winelands to the east; the promise of fine vintages in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. What price eight times out of eight in 2027?
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
I'm too ill to travel – why won't the hotel refund me?
Q Is it legal or reasonable for a hotel not to offer any sort of refund? I was booked to stay at a well-known hotel chain this coming Saturday night. Unfortunately, I am ill and can't go. The hotel has refused to refund me. It seems quite harsh that it's a flat 'no' like this! A The hotel responded to your polite request for a refund by saying: 'Unfortunately due to the cancellation policy, the amount due is not refundable even if the booking is cancelled or modified.' I checked the conditions for the 'advance saver' you booked; in return for a 15 per cent discount on the regular, flexible rate (refundable until midnight the night before), it makes quite clear you are not getting your money back. Sorry. Yet there is rather more to your case than that. I have tried to make a booking for Saturday night and found the place is full up. The website says: 'Unavailable for the selected dates'. There are two possibilities that I can see: one is that the hotel will have an unoccupied room on Saturday night because you won't be showing up; that would be a shame. The other is that the hotel has deliberately overbooked. Hotels often predict a certain number of no-shows of people who have booked and paid in advance, perhaps selling 102 rooms in a 100-room hotel. (I recently asked at the front desk of a four-star hotel in Brussels if they had any rooms available that night, and was told 'minus two' – ie it was overbooked.) Whichever explanation is correct, I think it would be fairer and commercially smart on a busy night to allow you to change dates for a fee or to allow you to cancel completely for, say, a 50 per cent refund. Then the hotel could resell your room with confidence, and probably price it at significantly more than the £95 you paid due to strong demand. For now, though, I fear all you can do is spend your hard-earned money elsewhere in future. Q What countries have you not been to? Steve Holland A Far too many to mention. While I relish visiting new nations, I am in no sense a 'completist' wanting to visit every country in the world. I am sure the scattering of island nations across the Pacific have their charms, but I won't be putting together a complicated, expensive and time-consuming itinerary to visit them. (I have, though, been to Easter Island, part of Chile, which I wholeheartedly recommend.) My most pressing wish is to explore more of Africa. In the west, I have heard great things about Sierra Leone and Ghana. Congo looks fascinating. And, in the southeast, Malawi and Mozambique are tempting. In the Indian Ocean, Reunion (technically part of France) and Madagascar appeal. In the Middle East, I will be visiting Lebanon for the first time this October, but Syria, Iraq and Iran I will save for later. The main Asian nations I long to visit are Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. I have tried to visit the last of those. The authorities refused to issue a visa. I hope officials in Ashgabat may be more lenient next time. North Korea? I would much prefer to visit when this strange land is freed from tyranny. In South America, my 'missing' nations are the sole Dutch and French representatives on the continent, Suriname and French Guiana. I will reach them one day. Mostly, though, I am desperate to explore more of the countries I have already visited. I am looking forward to returning to Ukraine – as well as Belarus and Russia – when the war ends; tourism is a force for healing after conflict. Large swathes of Turkey look enticing, as do Georgia and Armenia. At the other end of Asia, I have barely done Indonesia justice, and will do so soon. Finally, the more I see of the great European nations – France, Spain, Italy, Germany... – the more I want to return. Q I am going to Belgium in early September. I don't think we have time for Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp. Which two of those would you choose? John Gregory A Without question, Antwerp and Ghent. Bruges is a superbly preserved medieval city with a magnificent, Unesco -listed historic centre. But in summer it is Belgium's strongest contender for overtourism, especially when a big cruise ship docks at nearby Zeebrugge. According to maritime sources, vessels will call at the port on most days in the first half of September. Bruges and Ghent are sometimes portrayed as similar – but in my view, the latter has more to offer. Rivers and canals slice Ghent into a collection of enticing quarters. You can survey them from the top of the 14th-century belfry – accessible by 366 steps. The first cultural highlight is a superb Modern art museum, Smak. Next, a spectacular work of art, The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by Jan and Hubert Van Eyck, on display in the cathedral; it is also known as the Ghent altarpiece. And Citadelpark has much to offer, including the beautiful University Botanic Gardens, with 10,000 species of plant, and MSK – the Museum of Fine Arts. Antwerp is twice the size of Ghent and more industrialised, but the city centre is eminently walkable. The central station is more than a busy transport hub: it is a palace of mobility and the grandest possible entry point to a city. The impressively refreshed Royal Museum of Fine Arts (also known as KMSKA) is lots of fun. Antwerp's Flemish renaissance Grote Markt feels like a more enjoyable central square than even the Grand-Place in Brussels. Both Antwerp and Ghent offer superb food and drink at reasonable prices – as does everywhere else in Belgium. Just in case you have time en route from Antwerp to Brussels airport or main railway station for your journey home, Mechelen is well worth a lunch stop, too. Q I was booked to fly from the Maldives to Doha and onwards to London on Qatar Airways on the day the Iranians fired their missiles at the Al Udeid Air Base. The flight to Doha was cancelled. Ground staff at the airport could only give me a slip of paper telling me to contact the local Qatar Airways office. That was impossible; two emails only got automated replies. So I bought full-price British Airways tickets home for the following day. Qatar now refuses to pay any compensation or expenses and has only offered a refund of the unused return portion. Of course, I accept the cause was beyond the airline's control. Even though it was a 'non-UK sector' that was cancelled, because the whole journey started and finished in London, that gives me UK rights, I think? Leon D A Your experience mirrors mine last November when Qatar Airways cancelled a flight from Kathmandu to Doha, not in such dramatic circumstances as yours. The carrier washed its hands of the matter, offering a replacement flight a week later. I ended up spending £1,300 to get home via Bangkok. Qatar Airways issued a refund for the return leg promptly, but it didn't cover even half of that cost. You have, I'm afraid, become the latest traveller to learn of the loophole in British and European air passengers' rights rules. They do not apply to a non-European airline flying from outside the UK or the EU. So there is no obligation to find another flight or provide hotels and meals. This is infuriating and should be addressed. Rules notwithstanding, the passenger-friendly course of action for Qatar Airways would have been to rebook you immediately on the British Airways flight for which you ended up paying top whack. But tens of thousands of passengers were stranded in various locations. Many of them, such as those flying out for the UK, were covered by air passengers' rights rules. So it is unsurprising that they were prioritised. If you happen to have been on a package holiday to the Maldives, then the holiday company is required to look after you and should recompense you. Otherwise, I suggest you try your travel insurer.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
The TravelSmart guide to perfect summer escapes
Maybe you haven't yet booked your 2025 holiday, or maybe you're looking ahead to next year's break. Either way, this week's TravelSmart has got you covered with a comprehensive guide to top summer holiday destinations – including a few that you might not have considered. Travel Correspondent Simon Calder reveals top value spots in Turkey, while Assistant Travel Editor Emilee Tombs shares the best things to do in the Balearics, and other members of the Independent Travel team rave about the likes of Prague, Marrakech and Porto. Watch TravelSmart on Independent TV.
