With Autumn on its way, Nick Trend looks at the best destinations to visit for
sunshine, nature, art, opera, Halloween – or even ham.
Autumn sun — Cyprus
Nowhere in the Med does the summer warmth cling on longer and more reliably than in Cyprus. While October is the wettest, often most unsettled month in Majorca, Cyprus is still getting nine hours of sunshine a day, temperatures peaking at 82F (28C) and the sea, after a long hot summer, is like a warm bath. It’s true to say that much of the coastal development is not subtly done, but the far west of the island, and especially the Akamas peninsula and the inland villages, are still largely unspoilt. Sunvil (www.sunvil.co.uk) has the best selection of accommodation.
Autumn sun — Cyprus
Nowhere in the Med does the summer warmth cling on longer and more reliably than in Cyprus. While October is the wettest, often most unsettled month in Majorca, Cyprus is still getting nine hours of sunshine a day, temperatures peaking at 82F (28C) and the sea, after a long hot summer, is like a warm bath. It’s true to say that much of the coastal development is not subtly done, but the far west of the island, and especially the Akamas peninsula and the inland villages, are still largely unspoilt. Sunvil (www.sunvil.co.uk) has the best selection of accommodation.
Oktoberfest — Munich
Munich is seriously underrated as a city-break destination (the Alte Pinakothek, for example, has one of the best art collections in Europe), and tends only to get a mention for its world-famous beer festival. So, if lager and lederhosen are not your idea of fun, delay your trip until a little later in the month when the visitors stream away and hotel prices and airfares plummet. If you want to enjoy the greatest beer festival in the world, however, this year you will need to be there between September 18 and October 4. The festival, 200 years old this year, is focused on a dozen or so beer tents erected in the Theresienwiese park close to the city centre. These get very popular, so it’s worth planning your day and reserving a place well in advance. The official website (www.muenchen.de) has full details on how to do this.
Munich is seriously underrated as a city-break destination (the Alte Pinakothek, for example, has one of the best art collections in Europe), and tends only to get a mention for its world-famous beer festival. So, if lager and lederhosen are not your idea of fun, delay your trip until a little later in the month when the visitors stream away and hotel prices and airfares plummet. If you want to enjoy the greatest beer festival in the world, however, this year you will need to be there between September 18 and October 4. The festival, 200 years old this year, is focused on a dozen or so beer tents erected in the Theresienwiese park close to the city centre. These get very popular, so it’s worth planning your day and reserving a place well in advance. The official website (www.muenchen.de) has full details on how to do this.
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Gauguin’s Brittany
The highlight of the exhibition season in London this autumn (opening
September 30) is Tate Modern’s major retrospective of the paintings and
sculptures of Paul Gauguin. Many people associate his rich palate and
languid nudes with his time in the Marquesas Islands in the South Pacific,
or remember his ill-fated stay with Van Gogh in Arles. But much of his
early, formative work was done around the picturesque village of Pont Aven
in southern Brittany. The countryside and rugged coastline here are as
beautiful as any in France. Go in late September or early October – the
sights will be free of crowds and there is still a good chance of decent
weather. More information: www.brittanytourism.com
and www.tate.org.uk. 
Canaletto’s Venice
If the 18th century is more to your taste, while the Tate Modern is showing Gauguin, the National Gallery is pitching in with a Canaletto exhibition (opening October 13). No painter caught the play of light on water and stone or the sheer architectural grandeur of Venice better. And the wonderful thing about the views Canaletto painted is that they have changed little since. So if you are inspired to see the real thing, October in Venice is generally still balmy, with early morning mist adding to the atmosphere. More information: www.turismovenezia.it/eng and www.nationalgallery.org.uk.
There are few countries which work quite as well as Jordan when it comes to a
“highlights” tour of contrasting sights and landscapes – especially for an
adventurous family trip. The October half-term is the ideal time to travel,
with the temperature in the north about 70F (20C), and a little higher on
the Red Sea and in the desert around Wadi Rum. The most common stops on a
week or 10-day minibus tour are the Roman ruins at Jerash, the splendid
mosaic floors in Madaba, a swim in the Dead Sea, camping in the desert at
Wadi Rum (Lawrence of Arabia country), a visit to Petra and a couple of days
on the beach in Aqaba. Exodus (www.exodus.co.uk)
runs regular tours of the country, including some aimed at families.
I learnt a lesson this summer. Spending a week in the Lake District in July, we were almost washed out by virtually continuous rain, while back home in Norfolk the sun shone in cloudless skies. The point is that Cumbria, as well as being the most spectacularly beautiful county in England, is also the wettest. The solution, I think, is to go at a time of year when you don’t have high expectations of the weather. If it rains, take a blustery hike and dry off in front of the fire in the afternoon. If it’s sunny, you will see the fells at their most resplendent – the dying bracken turns burnt orange, the rowan berries are bright red and the leaves in the valley woodlands are turning. More information: www.lakedistrict.gov.uk.
Often touted as a winter sun destination, climatically this Indian Ocean
island is actually at its best in autumn. October is the driest, sunniest
and least humid month, with temperatures – around 80F (27C) – very warm, but
not too hot. The time difference is manageable, too – three hours ahead of
BST (four ahead of GMT), so you minimise jet lag. It’s essentially a resort
destination, so you need to be sure that you book one that suits you,
bearing in mind that the last two weeks of October are likely to be popular
with families on half-term. Kuoni (www.kuoni.co.uk)
offers a big selection and competitive rates.
If the 18th century is more to your taste, while the Tate Modern is showing Gauguin, the National Gallery is pitching in with a Canaletto exhibition (opening October 13). No painter caught the play of light on water and stone or the sheer architectural grandeur of Venice better. And the wonderful thing about the views Canaletto painted is that they have changed little since. So if you are inspired to see the real thing, October in Venice is generally still balmy, with early morning mist adding to the atmosphere. More information: www.turismovenezia.it/eng and www.nationalgallery.org.uk.
Touring Jordan
I learnt a lesson this summer. Spending a week in the Lake District in July, we were almost washed out by virtually continuous rain, while back home in Norfolk the sun shone in cloudless skies. The point is that Cumbria, as well as being the most spectacularly beautiful county in England, is also the wettest. The solution, I think, is to go at a time of year when you don’t have high expectations of the weather. If it rains, take a blustery hike and dry off in front of the fire in the afternoon. If it’s sunny, you will see the fells at their most resplendent – the dying bracken turns burnt orange, the rowan berries are bright red and the leaves in the valley woodlands are turning. More information: www.lakedistrict.gov.uk.
Tropical sun — Mauritius
