What are the best places to backpack in Europe this winter?

Question

Me and a few friends are planning a trip to go backpacking in Europe this winter vacation, and originally I figured we would go to Spain, but where have you had a good experience backpacking during the winter?

Answer 1

By "backpacking" do you mean:

"A" - Carrying your belongings in a backpack, and sleeping inside [hostel, hotel, etc.]?

or

"B" - Carrying your belongings in a backpack, sleeping outside/in a tent, in a campground or in the countryside?

The reason I ask is that most of Euope is pretty cold in winter, and thus not that great for "B" unless you are accustomed to it.

If you mean "A", the southern part of Spain is fairly warm in winter. I lived in Madrid for a year, which was quite cold in winter. We were very happy to go south for a weekend to visit our friends in Sevilla.

I checked the December average for Sevilla:

High  62.0° F   Low  44.0° F

I can imagine that the southern part of Italy and Sicily are fairly warm.

I checked the December average for Palermo, Sicily:   Average high 60.8° F   Average low 52.7° F

Winter travel can be nice because there are fewer tourists [there are exceptions of course, like in winter sports areas], hotel prices tend to be lower, the locals are more relaxed, etc. However, there is less daylight and sometimes attractions aren't open as long.  

All in all, I think it's a great time to travel, then again to me, anytime is a great time for traveling to Europe! :^D

With some research, you can decide if you want to go.

Answer 2

When I was younger and didn't mind the COLD, backpacking in Europe was fun. But the cold wind, snow and bitter freezing rain is no fun. Go down to southern Italy, northern africa,,.....