Europe Travel - best in April

Spring is popping up all over and Middle Europe starts to take on some colour and feel more comfortable. The weather is still unpredictable and it's chilly up north, so, if you have a choice, travel south of Belgium - except for those who want to get ripped who should head for Amsterdam for April 30th, or sooner.
n.b. major tourist locations are likely to be overcrowded/ overpriced/ overbooked around Easter.

Europe Festivities: see European Festivals or Arts Festivals for more suggestions, information and some precise dates.
Italy: Sicily, Taranto have extravagant pre-Easter parades. And on Easter Sunday it's Florence's turn.
Spain: Seville. Feria de Abril, a week long party, traditional dress, parades, dancing and wild parties.
Also Holy Week [Semana Santa], hundreds of parades, singing. The date depends on Easter, of course.
Netherlands: Amsterdam. The totally mad 'Orange day' [Queen's Birthday] is on April 30th. And it's daffodil season too, but may still be chilly.
Russia: St Petersburg. Music Spring, International classical music festival.

For sightseeing/culture in reasonably comfortable weather conditions:
Spain : with the exception of the North, Spain is generally warm and pleasant in April. Visit the magical Moorish cities of Seville [esp. for Feria de Abril 7 day party at the end of April], Cordoba and Granada before they get uncomfortably hot. Barcelona too is a lively, interesting city, though it can be a little chilly in April. Swimming in the Mediterranean in winter is not on yet, nor is the sad, overbuilt coast that is now dedicated to sod-the-culture, we want sun, sea and sangria tour groups.

Italy: Rome, Pompeii, Herculaneum and Sicily [n.b pre-Easter parades] are excellent cultural targets, while Amalfi takes good care of those who need a scenic uplift. Venice is getting warm and Florence has an especially colourful Easter procession.

Greece: April is fine for Athens and the south; it's getting warm and crowds are acceptable. Greece is loaded with sights, ruins and landscapes [e.g. Meteora].
The islands are gorgeous, though the north is chilly and the Med's still too cold for swimming.

And, with a bit of luck these interesting places will also see warmth and some sunshine:
Austria [Vienna]
Portugal [Lisbon, Sintra, Evora]
Turkey [Istanbul]
France [Paris, Ile-de-France, Loire Valley, Burgandy, Avignon, Arles, Riviera]
UK [esp. London, Windsor, Stonehenge, Dorset, Stratford, Oxford, York, Lake District, Edinburgh].
Ireland [Dublin, Kilkenny, Wexford]
Belgium [Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, Bruges, the Ardennes]
Czech Rep. [especially Prague, Bohemia province, Karlovy Vary, Karlstejn castle]

Europe Travel April

Europe Travel
April