Average temperature in August: 8-13C (46-55F)
Tourists are often put off by Iceland’s inaccessibility but routes are now opening up to visit the Nordic island. Just 40 minutes from Keflavik Airport is Iceland’s capital, Reykjavík, which hosts a huge pride festival every August. From there, intrepid travellers can traverse the Volcanic Way, a 700km route passing eight volcanoes, or hike across Thorsmork Glacier Valley. In the north, whale-watching boats set off from Akureyri, a city dramatically overlooked by Eyjafjordur fjord.
Europe was once home to the perfectly temperate summer holiday – warm enough to bask in a balmy piazza, but cool enough to throw on an extra layer in the evenings. That was until the effects of global warming accelerated and sent popular holiday destinations across the Med and other parts of Europe into literal meltdown.
This summer alone, countries throughout Europe have had ‘red heat’ weather warnings, from wildfires blazing in Spain, Portugal and Greece to severe high temperature alerts in France. But shade worshippers can breathe a sigh of relief, as the travel industry is now embracing a new kind of summer holiday: the cool vacation or ‘coolcation’. From breezy islands to crisp mountainous regions, here are the best places for a cool European holiday in August.
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John Bills is a travel writer who has travelled extensively across Europe, with expertise in Eastern Europe. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines.
