[Tyrone212]

Interesting from a wild weather perspective in terms of snow and storms. I would say it is Reykjavik. While its Winter months aren't exceptionally cold like Moscow and Helsinki.

In terms of snowfall and windstorms I would think the average winter is more interesting. Moscow and Helsinki would have more days with snow on the ground but their climate would be more settled, calm and in the freezer type of set up.

If you had to choose to spend a Winter season in a European city based entirely off climatic conditions, Where would you choose and why? Also if you feel any European city better meets the criteria that I used for choosing Reykjavik please share.

[Dickie10]

Bucharest

[Gonzo]

Most European cities offer more variety in terms of weather than any Irish or UK city with the exception of maybe London. London actually gets a summer.

If I had to choose a city to live in based on the weather I would require decent warm to hot summers with alot of dry weather and some decent cold and snowy weather in the winter without it being excessively cold or long lasting.

Based on this I instantly rule out anywhere near the Atlantic and anywhere too far north or too far south. I'm not going to single out any city in particular but If I had a choice it would probably a German city like Berlin or Frankfurt, Vienna in Austria, Bern in Switzerland.

Summers would regularly get into the high 20's and low 30's, there would be decent thunderstorms during summer as well as plenty of warm an dry weather. Winters of course would get quite cold at times but not excessively cold all the time. Snow would be far more regular than any Irish or UK city and the Atlantic wouldn't be on the doorstep 365 days a year.

[Nqp15hhu]

Oslo to me, but would prefer a NE USA climate with slightly longer winters.

[esposito]

I’m leaning towards Stockholm. It generally has cold winters with some snow, plenty of dry continental air and is far away from the Atlantic. I also like the idea of living close to the sea (Baltic Sea). Summers generally good and can get quite warm at times.

[Chris_5339762]

Munich.

Lovely summers, low to mid 20s in general with guaranteed good conditions.

Winter does get some snow but if theres none, you're only a short train ride from loads of different parts of the Alps.

Edit: I still don't know anywhere worse than Ireland for poor summers and winters. Dublin is tolerable, they get more good weather than other parts of the country. Cork can be warmer, but suffers from terrible periods of mist and drizzle, Galway is just diabolical.

[Artane2002]

I'm torn between Tallinn and Helsinki, both of them get cold winters with snow and they get very decent summers, with highs averaging in the low 20s, more than enough for me (high teens preferable though). Helsinki is marginally cooler than Tallinn but Tallinn is marginally sunnier, so I would probably prefer Tallinn.

[snowstorm445]

Living in Brussels at the moment I’d have to say the weather is remarkably like Ireland for large parts of the year, Autumn and Spring in particular. Lots of changeable days with temperatures in the 10-14C category. In many ways Autumn in the Netherlands and Belgium is every bit as wet and damp as in Ireland, probably even moreso.

But you really notice the differences in the Winter and especially Summer. Temperatures got up to 39 and 40C last July and August, and that’s become more common in recent years. The thunderstorms are far more powerful and regular than in Ireland as well. Winters aren’t as bad, and can often be pretty mild like in Ireland but when cold weather hits like it did last week temperatures can really tumble (got down to -12C on Wednesday night). Snow isn’t that much more common than Ireland tbh, although the setup is far less marginal considering the continental landmass. Generally speaking it tends to be drier in an easterly set up than in Ireland as well considering the distance to the sea.

Overall I’m pretty pleased with it climate wise, but I suspect if you wanted more regular guaranteed cold mixed with a warm summer, you would probably want to try Munich or Vienna maybe.

[snowstorm445]

Originally Posted by Chris_5339762

Munich.

Lovely summers, low to mid 20s in general with guaranteed good conditions.

Winter does get some snow but if theres none, you're only a short train ride from loads of different parts of the Alps.

Edit: I still don't know anywhere worse than Ireland for poor summers and winters. Dublin is tolerable, they get more good weather than other parts of the country. Cork can be warmer, but suffers from terrible periods of mist and drizzle, Galway is just diabolical.

I have to say having lived in Dublin and Cork, some days in Dublin can be a pure washout, but even in winter it usually comes in heavy spells and then clears up. But in Cork you can have horrible damp drizzle hanging over the city for days on end, which is much less pleasant. I think overall Cork gets about twice the rainfall amount of Dublin.

[almostthere12]

Originally Posted by snowstorm445

I have to say having lived in Dublin and Cork, some days in Dublin can be a pure washout, but even in winter it usually comes in heavy spells and then clears up. But in Cork you can have horrible damp drizzle hanging over the city for days on end, which is much less pleasant. I think overall Cork gets about twice the rainfall amount of Dublin.

Lived in both as well and have you ever noticed how it rains a lot in the morning rush hour in Cork and continues into the afternoon but then by the time the system reaches Dublin it contains a lot less rain and doesn't hit until it's dark in winter anyway. That way at least you get to enjoy a dry day!

As for where to live in Europe, I would go with Munich for its weather!!

Btw a lot people that are from a city etc. that far inland crave the coast and the sea........my better half being one, I am always telling her inland Ireland gets warmer summer weather and colder winter weather but to no avail!!

[Nqp15hhu]

I would agree with that. I couldn’t stomach living far inland myself, or in a plain type landscape either.

[fvp4]

If the criteria is the European city, on the sea, with the most interesting winter climate then the pool is massively reduced. Stockholm? Tallin? Riga?

[Donegal Storm]

I can't think of many places in Europe that have a winter climate I'd actually call interesting, to my knowledge at least there's nowhere comparable to NE US for snow storms or the Great Lakes for lake effect snow.

Snow and cold weather is enjoyable for me mainly because of its rareness anyway, if I had to deal with it constantly from November to March I definitely wouldn't consider it half as interesting.

I think maybe somewhere like Nice would be ideal for me, pleasant and mild but with guaranteed snow a short drive north and warm sunshine all the way from April to October in one of the most beautiful corners of the continent

[Tyrone212]

Originally Posted by fvp4

If the criteria is the European city, on the sea, with the most interesting winter climate then the pool is massively reduced. Stockholm? Tallin? Riga?

Doesn't have to be a coastal city.

[highdef]

Munich has been mentioned a few times and that's the answer I would also like to give however it's not the capital of Germany so can't be included.

So Bern would be my choice of capital city. Far inland away from the sea so lots of calm weather (the further from the sea, the better for me), beautiful summers, cracking thunderstorms and snow every winter.

Other capitals with climates that I would like would be the likes of Vaduz, Vienna, Zagreb, etc.