Going to Europe in a heatwave - would you go?

Albermarle

soolin said:

I’m currently in the south of France, temperatures have been up in the mid to high 30s . The one thing we have noticed that when we arrived it was cooler and there were lots of French families on the beaches, since it got this hot there are very few children to be seen. This time last week there were children playing, now none at all. I’ve been on the beach under a parasol for a few hours but the heat has got to me and I was taking regular dips in the sea, but have had to give up and come back to the apartment as I was beginning to feel a bit light headed and sick. 

It’s also not getting cooler in the evenings, in fact today if was scheduled to get hotter as the afternoon wore on. 

Some posters have said ' go out in the morning to avoid the high heat later'
Well I am just back from Northern Spain. It was not unbearably hot ( low 30's) but that was already pretty much the temperature at 10.00, and it did not start to cool off until about 12 hours later.
In fact it was more pleasant in the afternoon as there was more of a breeze. 

jimi_man

Ha ha, when I said ‘we go out early’ I meant that we started walking (hiking) at 6.30am having left the apartment at 5.45am. We were finished by 9am at the latest. It was late 20s when we started and around mid 30s when we finished. Early 40s in the afternoon so there is a difference here. 

Nebulous2

@Albermarle I wondered if it was me you were referring to, and thought I should have defined early. 

My first outing was generally a reasonably short walk before 7, then breakfast, and we were out for over an hour either cycling or walking starting before 8. 

Temperatures for us were usually about 23 at 6, 24 at 7, 25 at 8, rising quickly to over 30 at 10. Hottest part of the day was 4ish, often at or over 38. 

So morning offered us a better opportunity than later in the day. 

Hoenir

silverwhistle said:

I'm off to Northern Italy at the end of July - not my choice of dates. Last year we went caving, white water rafting, walks in the mountains, zip wires  etc, and a visit to Torino. I suggested the latter to a local friend to do again this year: no, she said, stay in the mountains!

Spent some years taking my son to activity holiday's in the Pyrennes. What it was not is cold. By late afternoon the outdoor unheated pool  was perfectly fine, Such was the temperature it reached. 

cantbelieveit23

Personally, I would not consider cancelling, but you should go if you can overcome the worry before departure.
We have a little place near the Med coast in Spain, and will be going there next week until end August.  We have no aircon and can honestly say, after nearly 20 years, that there have been less than a handful of nights when we needed a dip in the pool before getting to sleep.  As has been mentioned by others, life in these countries is built around high temperatures, but humidity is the key point.  Usually, partly because of time difference, things don't really heat up until late morning, so you can make use of that time.   For us, the Spanish plan of late lunch in the shade, and dinner well after 2100 works well.  Hydration and, when necessary, rehydration essential, of course.

Olenna

heatherw_01 said:

It is all down to how you handle heat.

I am very cold below 25c (yes I am cold all year round in the UK) and 30c-37c is my happy place, so I would be going.

But some people don't handle heat well.

You could find some things to do near the water to cool down, but make sure to wear a lot of sunscreen.
You could take a fan and a cooling towel too, although they only do so much.
A boat ride would be nice too.

Unfortunately, fans don't work above the high 20's - when above that level they're simply blasting hot air. 
Real air conditioning is required and likely staying out of the peak sun from 11 am - 3 pm altogether. 

NoodleDoodleMan

The heat will still be a challenge before and after this timeframe.

zagfles

It's all very personal, personally there's no way on earth I'd do a city type trip in a heatwave, I don't mind pool/beach holidays when it's hot but I do need to get into the sea/pool to cool off. Sightseeing in a city in a heatwave, which I have done, I consider hell. If I'd already booked and a heatwave was predicted I'd alter any plans I have for sightseeing and instead go snorkelling/swimming in the sea if it's on/near the coast. Or if possible do the sightseeing early morning etc, but usually impractical if you want to do walking tours etc.

But I don't mind cold for that type of trip, I've done city trips in very cold weather which to some people would be hell but I'm fine with that, just wrap up well.