Five European escapes we’re saving for autumn

Someone drops a photo into the group chat, someone else checks flights, and ten minutes later everyone agrees a weekend away would do them good.

Then someone looks at the forecast, which in November can kill the whole plan before you've even picked a date. We say take the warmer jacket and go. If rain cuts your walk short, stop for lunch and stay for dessert. Two hours around a table with friends is a perfectly good plan. We love that first morning after a late arrival, when daylight finally reveals where you've landed. You head out for coffee, someone is still sweeping leaves off the pavement, and you've got all day to find out where the hill around the corner leads. For an autumn weekend, we'd pick at least one place worth getting up early for. Someone will always suggest another stop along the way. Here are five places in Europe we'd happily take Monday off for. Sunday afternoon is never when we feel like going home.

Hřensko, Czechia

Hřensko is a small village on the German border, right where the Kamenice flows into the Elbe. Above it, in the forests of Bohemian Switzerland, Pravčická brána looks like a doorway someone forgot to build walls around.

It's only when you look at the surrounding trees that you begin to grasp the scale of the arch.

From the Tři prameny junction, the red-marked trail climbs for around two kilometres to reach it. Down in Edmund's Gorge, you can see the same sandstone from a boat when the season allows, looking up at a sliver of sky between the rock walls. The municipality currently lists guided visits through 8 November 2026, so check its opening notice before setting off; this is a seasonal excursion, not a year-round service.

Lake Bled, Slovenia

At Bled, you've barely put your phone away before the island church appears from another angle worth falling behind your friends for. The six-kilometre lakeside walk gives it plenty of chances to pull that trick. You can get here by bus from Ljubljana, while the short, steep climb to Ojstrica rewards you with a view from above. From the shore, you'll see the wooden pletna boats that can take you to the island when the weather allows. Then there's kremšnita, the cream cake with vanilla custard and puff pastry. We'd order a slice even if we'd only stopped for coffee.

Paris, France

In autumnal Paris, we'd leave an entire afternoon for the Tuileries. You can move the green chairs beside the fountains, which comes in handy when November leaves just one patch of sunshine on the path. Entry to the garden is free, and it stretches between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde, though a chair somewhere in the middle would do us nicely.

Rain is a good excuse to spend some time with Monet's Water Lilies at the Orangerie,

at the Seine end of the garden. Montmartre has its own spot for this kind of afternoon: the little Square Marcel-Bleustein-Blanchet behind Sacré-Cœur. From there, you can look out over the neighbourhood's rooftops and start thinking about an apéritif on the walk downhill.

The Dolomites, Italy

In late autumn, the golden larches around Cortina d'Ampezzo stand out in bright patches against the dark green forest. At Lake Federa, the colour reaches the shore beneath the rocks of Croda da Lago. When the water is still, you get the mountains twice, once above you and once in reflection. The walk from Ponte de Ru Curto, on the road towards Passo Giau, takes around two hours each way. The lake sits above 2,000 metres, and late-autumn snow and ice can change your plans. In good conditions, we'd pack a flask and stay for coffee beside the water before the wind takes the reflection away.

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

From the bottom of the hill, Neuschwanstein looks suspiciously close. After the first bend, you understand why the walk from the Hohenschwangau ticket centre to the entrance takes 30 to 40 minutes. The white towers rise above the forest,

and in autumn, the trees are half the beauty of the view.

Ludwig II commissioned the castle in the 19th century, and construction continued after his death. Today, visits to the rooms are by timed guided tour. From Marienbrücke, when the bridge is open, you can fit both the towers and the whole wooded slope into a single shot.

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