Where to go in October? Quieter places in Europe and Japan

TL;DR

Of the 35 European countries we cover, October carried the smallest share of the year's 2025 tourist nights in Croatia (3.7%), Bulgaria (4.1%) and Albania (5.9%). It was not the quietest month in any of them. In Japan, it was the quietest in none of 47 prefectures. It was the busiest month in two Japanese prefectures.

How we picked the quieter places

For each country and prefecture, we took its 2025 nights at tourist accommodation and worked out what share fell in October. If a place's visitors were spread evenly, each month would carry 8.3% of its year. A share below that means October was quieter than that place's average month; above it, busier.12

This compares each place with itself, not places with each other: a low share is a quiet month for that place. For how each year looks in full, open the country or prefecture page.

Europe in October: all 35 countries, quietest share first

In 25 of the 35 countries, October carried less than an average month's share (8.3%) of 2025's tourist nights.1

European countries by share of 2025 tourist nights in October
CountryShare of 2025 nights in OctoberCompared with an average monthBusiest monthQuietest month
Croatia
3.7%
BelowAugustJanuary
Bulgaria
4.1%
BelowAugustNovember
Albania
5.9%
BelowAugustFebruary
Austria
6.2%
BelowAugustNovember
France
6.2%
BelowAugustNovember
Norway
6.5%
BelowJulyJanuary
Sweden
6.6%
BelowJulyJanuary
Italy
6.8%
BelowAugustNovember
Luxembourg
6.9%
BelowJulyJanuary
Slovenia
6.9%
BelowAugustNovember
Lithuania
7.0%
BelowJulyJanuary
Greece
7.1%
BelowAugustJanuary
Montenegro
7.2%
BelowAugustJanuary
Finland
7.3%
BelowJulyApril
Liechtenstein
7.3%
BelowAugustNovember
Switzerland
7.3%
BelowJulyNovember
Latvia
7.4%
BelowJulyFebruary
Denmark
7.5%
BelowJulyJanuary
Romania
7.6%
BelowAugustMarch
Iceland
7.8%
BelowJulyDecember
Poland
7.8%
BelowAugustJanuary
Czechia
7.9%
BelowAugustJanuary
Estonia
8.0%
BelowJulyJanuary
Serbia
8.1%
BelowAugustFebruary
Slovakia
8.1%
BelowAugustMarch
Hungary
8.3%
Same, once roundedAugustJanuary
Belgium
8.6%
AboveJulyJanuary
Spain
8.7%
AboveAugustJanuary
Netherlands
8.8%
AboveAugustFebruary
Ireland
8.9%
AboveAugustJanuary
Portugal
9.1%
AboveAugustJanuary
Germany
9.2%
AboveAugustJanuary
Malta
10.1%
AboveAugustJanuary
Türkiye
11.7%
AboveAugustFebruary
Cyprus
12.8%
AboveAugustJanuary

Where was October the quietest month of the year?

In 2025, October was not the quietest month in any of our 35 European countries or 47 Japanese prefectures.12

Where was October the busiest month?

In 2025, October was the busiest month in two Japanese prefectures, and in none of our 35 European countries.12

  • Kumamoto (Japan): 9.9% of the year's nights
  • Fukuoka (Japan): 9.0% of the year's nights

Japan in October: every prefecture

Japan's figures come from a sample survey, and the gaps between prefectures are often smaller than its sampling error, so we list the prefectures alphabetically rather than ranking them.3

Show all 47 prefectures' share of 2025 guest nights in October
Japanese prefectures, share of 2025 guest nights in October
PrefectureShare in OctoberBusiest monthQuietest month
Aichi8.8%AugustFebruary
Akita10.9%AugustFebruary
Aomori10.4%AugustJanuary
Chiba8.1%AugustJune
Ehime9.4%AugustJune
Fukui9.0%AugustJanuary
Fukuoka9.0%OctoberJanuary
Fukushima9.7%AugustJanuary
Gifu9.1%AugustJune
Gunma8.5%AugustApril
Hiroshima9.8%AugustJanuary
Hokkaido8.5%AugustApril
Hyogo9.1%AugustFebruary
Ibaraki9.0%AugustJanuary
Ishikawa9.8%NovemberJanuary
Iwate9.1%AugustDecember
Kagawa9.6%AugustFebruary
Kagoshima8.8%NovemberJune
Kanagawa9.6%AugustFebruary
Kochi9.3%AugustJanuary
Kumamoto9.9%OctoberJune
Kyoto9.5%MayFebruary
Mie8.4%AugustFebruary
Miyagi9.5%AugustJanuary
Miyazaki8.9%AugustJune
Nagano9.0%AugustApril
Nagasaki9.5%AugustJanuary
Nara9.5%MayJanuary
Niigata8.7%AugustApril
Oita8.8%MarchJune
Okayama9.5%AugustJanuary
Okinawa9.8%AugustJanuary
Osaka8.9%AugustFebruary
Saga8.1%AugustFebruary
Saitama8.7%AugustFebruary
Shiga9.6%AugustFebruary
Shimane10.8%AugustFebruary
Shizuoka8.4%AugustJune
Tochigi9.7%AugustFebruary
Tokushima8.8%AugustJanuary
Tokyo8.7%DecemberFebruary
Tottori9.8%AugustFebruary
Toyama10.2%AugustJanuary
Wakayama9.0%AugustFebruary
Yamagata9.8%AugustApril
Yamaguchi9.3%AugustJanuary
Yamanashi8.3%AugustFebruary

What is the weather like in October?

Of the 28 European capitals we have weather for, Nicosia has the highest average high in October (29.2 °C) and Reykjavik the lowest (7.6 °C), averaged over 1991–2020.4 We do not yet publish weather for Albania, Greece, Denmark, Portugal, Switzerland, Lithuania and Malta.

Average weather in October at one station per European country, 1991 to 2020, warmest first
Station city (country)Average highAverage lowRainRainy days
Nicosia (Cyprus)29.2 °C15.9 °C24 mm10.0 days
Podgorica (Montenegro)22.8 °C12.3 °C176 mm9.2 days
Rome (Italy)22.2 °C12.4 °C88 mm7.3 days
Ankara (Türkiye)20.3 °C8.4 °C33 mm4.9 days
Madrid (Spain)20.0 °C11.1 °C64 mm7.2 days
Belgrade (Serbia)18.7 °C9.4 °C55 mm6.8 days
Bucharest (Romania)18.0 °C5.7 °C61 mm5.6 days
Sofia (Bulgaria)17.6 °C6.3 °C54 mm6.0 days
Budapest (Hungary)17.2 °C8.7 °C44 mm6.0 days
Zagreb (Croatia)17.0 °C7.5 °C88 mm8.0 days
Paris (France)16.5 °C9.9 °C55 mm9.5 days
Ljubljana (Slovenia)16.1 °C7.9 °C150 mm9.3 days
Vaduz (Liechtenstein)15.7 °C6.9 °C74 mm8.7 days
Brussels (Belgium)14.9 °C8.1 °C68 mm10.7 days
Bratislava (Slovakia)14.8 °C7.2 °C55 mm7.7 days
Amsterdam (Netherlands)14.7 °C7.7 °C87 mm12.4 days
Vienna (Austria)14.3 °C7.3 °C47 mm7.2 days
Prague (Czechia)13.9 °C5.8 °C36 mm7.0 days
Berlin (Germany)13.9 °C5.8 °C45 mm14.4 days
Dublin (Ireland)13.6 °C7.1 °C78 mm11.6 days
Luxembourg (Luxembourg)13.5 °C6.6 °C76 mm10.4 days
Warsaw (Poland)12.9 °C5.0 °C40 mm7.6 days
Riga (Latvia)10.5 °C4.9 °C76 mm12.0 days
Stockholm (Sweden)10.1 °C5.5 °C51 mm9.3 days
Oslo (Norway)9.6 °C3.8 °C93 mm11.0 days
Tallinn (Estonia)9.5 °C3.7 °C78 mm12.9 days
Helsinki (Finland)9.2 °C4.2 °C73 mm10.2 days
Reykjavik (Iceland)7.6 °C2.7 °C80 mm13.1 days
Show October weather for all 47 Japanese prefectures
Average weather in October at one station per Japanese prefecture, 1991 to 2020, warmest first
Prefecture (station)Average highAverage lowRainRainy days
Okinawa (Naha (那覇))28.1 °C23.5 °C179 mm8.8 days
Kagoshima (Kagoshima (鹿児島))25.8 °C18.0 °C105 mm7.1 days
Kochi (Kochi (高知))25.0 °C15.6 °C208 mm8.3 days
Kumamoto (Kumamoto (熊本))25.0 °C14.9 °C87 mm6.5 days
Miyazaki (Miyazaki (宮崎))24.7 °C15.8 °C197 mm8.3 days
Saga (Saga (佐賀))24.3 °C14.7 °C90 mm5.7 days
Nagasaki (Nagasaki (長崎))24.1 °C16.5 °C102 mm5.8 days
Ehime (Matsuyama (松山))23.8 °C15.1 °C113 mm7.1 days
Hiroshima (Hiroshima (広島))23.7 °C14.9 °C109 mm6.2 days
Yamaguchi (Yamaguchi (山口))23.7 °C12.9 °C91 mm6.2 days
Osaka (Osaka (大阪))23.7 °C16.0 °C136 mm8.3 days
Fukuoka (Fukuoka (福岡))23.7 °C16.0 °C94 mm6.8 days
Shizuoka (Shizuoka (静岡))23.6 °C15.6 °C250 mm9.5 days
Gifu (Gifu (岐阜))23.6 °C14.5 °C162 mm8.8 days
Wakayama (Wakayama (和歌山))23.4 °C15.6 °C161 mm8.5 days
Okayama (Okayama (岡山))23.4 °C13.4 °C95 mm6.6 days
Kyoto (Kyoto (京都))23.4 °C14.4 °C143 mm8.2 days
Oita (Oita (大分))23.3 °C15.2 °C145 mm6.5 days
Aichi (Nagoya (名古屋))23.3 °C14.8 °C165 mm9.0 days
Kagawa (Takamatsu (高松))23.2 °C15.1 °C120 mm8.1 days
Hyogo (Kobe (神戸))23.2 °C16.7 °C118 mm7.8 days
Tokushima (Tokushima (徳島))23.1 °C15.9 °C200 mm8.3 days
Mie (Tsu (津))22.6 °C15.5 °C186 mm9.1 days
Nara (Nara (奈良))22.6 °C13.5 °C135 mm9.2 days
Yamanashi (Kofu (甲府))22.5 °C13.0 °C158 mm8.2 days
Tottori (Tottori (鳥取))22.4 °C12.9 °C154 mm11.0 days
Chiba (Chiba (千葉))22.3 °C15.6 °C226 mm10.5 days
Shiga (Otsu (大津))22.2 °C13.3 °C149 mm9.2 days
Fukui (Fukui (福井))22.1 °C13.1 °C154 mm12.0 days
Shimane (Matsue (松江))22.0 °C13.4 °C126 mm10.7 days
Kanagawa (Yokohama (横浜))22.0 °C15.7 °C240 mm10.7 days
Tokyo (Tokyo (東京))22.0 °C14.8 °C235 mm10.5 days
Saitama (Saitama (さいたま))21.9 °C13.5 °C197 mm10.0 days
Ishikawa (Kanazawa (金沢))21.8 °C13.9 °C177 mm12.7 days
Gunma (Maebashi (前橋))21.7 °C13.2 °C142 mm8.8 days
Toyama (Toyama (富山))21.6 °C13.1 °C172 mm12.6 days
Tochigi (Utsunomiya (宇都宮))21.4 °C12.6 °C174 mm9.7 days
Ibaraki (Mito (水戸))21.2 °C12.5 °C185 mm10.2 days
Niigata (Niigata (新潟))20.7 °C12.8 °C158 mm13.6 days
Fukushima (Fukushima (福島))20.5 °C11.7 °C139 mm8.2 days
Miyagi (Sendai (仙台))19.8 °C11.9 °C151 mm8.2 days
Nagano (Nagano (長野))19.7 °C10.3 °C100 mm7.9 days
Yamagata (Yamagata (山形))19.5 °C9.8 °C105 mm9.6 days
Akita (Akita (秋田))19.0 °C10.4 °C176 mm14.3 days
Aomori (Aomori (青森))18.3 °C9.1 °C119 mm12.8 days
Iwate (Morioka (盛岡))17.9 °C7.9 °C109 mm10.5 days
Hokkaido (Sapporo (札幌))16.4 °C8.0 °C110 mm11.6 days

Thirty-year averages from one weather station per country or prefecture: the same station its page uses. They describe a typical year at that station, not a forecast, and weather varies within every country. A rainy day is one with at least 1 mm of rain.

How warm is the sea in October?

Average sea surface temperature in October, 1991–2020, at the open-sea point nearest each weather station, where there is one within 30 km: 8 European capitals and 29 Japanese prefectures. It is open sea, not a beach reading.9 Every month, and how we chose the points.

Average sea surface temperature in October near European capitals, 1991 to 2020, warmest first
Station city (country)Sea, October
Nicosia (Cyprus)25.3 °C
Rome (Italy)21.4 °C
Amsterdam (Netherlands)14.8 °C
Dublin (Ireland)13.4 °C
Riga (Latvia)11.3 °C
Tallinn (Estonia)10.7 °C
Helsinki (Finland)10.3 °C
Reykjavik (Iceland)8.3 °C
Show October sea temperatures for 29 Japanese prefectures
Average sea surface temperature in October near Japanese prefecture stations, 1991 to 2020, warmest first
Station city (prefecture)Sea, October
Naha (Okinawa)27.1 °C
Miyazaki (Miyazaki)25.5 °C
Kagoshima (Kagoshima)25.3 °C
Kochi (Kochi)25.1 °C
Nagasaki (Nagasaki)24.1 °C
Tokushima (Tokushima)23.6 °C
Wakayama (Wakayama)23.6 °C
Shizuoka (Shizuoka)23.3 °C
Kobe (Hyogo)23.1 °C
Kumamoto (Kumamoto)23.1 °C
Saga (Saga)23.0 °C
Matsuyama (Ehime)22.9 °C
Osaka (Osaka)22.9 °C
Oita (Oita)22.8 °C
Fukuoka (Fukuoka)22.7 °C
Tsu (Mie)22.5 °C
Matsue (Shimane)22.4 °C
Tottori (Tottori)22.1 °C
Fukui (Fukui)22.0 °C
Yokohama (Kanagawa)22.0 °C
Kanazawa (Ishikawa)21.9 °C
Toyama (Toyama)21.9 °C
Chiba (Chiba)21.6 °C
Niigata (Niigata)21.6 °C
Tokyo (Tokyo)21.6 °C
Akita (Akita)20.9 °C
Mito (Ibaraki)20.8 °C
Sendai (Miyagi)19.4 °C
Aomori (Aomori)19.1 °C

Which public holidays fall in October 2026 and 2027?

These are the national holiday lists we publish for 33 European countries and Japan, copied from each country's page. Regional holidays, such as those of Germany's states or Spain's regions, are on the country pages. Spain's 2027 list and some 2027 dates elsewhere are not published yet. What each list covers differs; see the notes for each country.56

October 2026

Public holidays in October 2026
DateHolidayWhere
Thu 1 OctoberCyprus Independence DayCyprus
Sat 3 OctoberDay of German UnityGermany
Sun 4 OctoberSt Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ItalyItaly
Mon 5 October5 OctoberPortugal
Mon 12 OctoberFiesta Nacional de EspañaSpain
Mon 12 OctoberSports DayJapan
Fri 23 October23 OctoberHungary
Mon 26 OctoberNational DayAustria
Mon 26 OctoberOctober bank holidayIreland
Wed 28 October28 OctoberGreece
Wed 28 OctoberGreek National DayCyprus
Wed 28 OctoberIndependent Czechoslovak State DayCzechia
Wed 28 OctoberNational Holiday (from 13:00)Türkiye
Thu 29 OctoberNational Holiday, the day the Republic was proclaimed in 1923Türkiye
Sat 31 OctoberAll Saints' DayFinland, Sweden
Sat 31 OctoberReformation DaySlovenia

October 2027

Public holidays in October 2027
DateHolidayWhere
Sun 3 OctoberDay of German UnityGermany
Mon 4 OctoberSt Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ItalyItaly
Tue 5 October5 OctoberPortugal
Mon 11 OctoberSports DayJapan
Sat 23 October23 OctoberHungary
Mon 25 OctoberOctober bank holidayIreland
Tue 26 OctoberNational DayAustria
Thu 28 October28 OctoberGreece
Thu 28 OctoberIndependent Czechoslovak State DayCzechia
Thu 28 OctoberNational Holiday (from 13:00)Türkiye
Fri 29 OctoberNational Holiday, the day the Republic was proclaimed in 1923Türkiye
Sun 31 OctoberReformation DaySlovenia

See every month in the holiday calendar, with school holidays too.

Blossom, autumn leaves and typhoons in Japan in October

Maple leaves usually turn red in October at the stations for one prefecture: Hokkaido (around 28 October).7

Over 1991–2020, an average of 1.7 typhoons came within 300 km of a JMA weather station somewhere in Japan in October.8 Typhoons by region and month.

These are the Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991–2020 averages at one station per prefecture; each year's dates differ. See cherry blossom dates and autumn leaf dates for every prefecture.

What these figures cannot tell you

  • A share of each place's own year, not a crowd count. A low share means that month was quiet for that place. It does not mean the place had fewer visitors than somewhere else, and a small country's busy month can still be far quieter than a big country's quiet one.
  • Nights, not queues. A national or prefecture total cannot show crowding at one sight, beach or old town. Day trips do not count at all, because nobody stays the night.
  • One year. These are 2025 figures. Another year can differ, for example when Easter moves between March and April.
  • Japan's figures are a sample survey. The gaps between neighbouring prefectures are often smaller than the survey's sampling error, so we do not rank prefectures against each other.
  • No causes. Weather and holidays sit next to the tourism figures here, but the figures do not show that either makes a month busier or quieter, so we do not say they do.
  • We have not been to these places and make no judgement about which is better to visit.

Other months: January · February · March · April · May · June · July · August · September · November · December. Or open October in Explore.

Key takeaways

  • Lowest share of 2025 tourist nights in October, in Europe: Croatia (3.7%), Bulgaria (4.1%) and Albania (5.9%).
  • October was not the quietest month anywhere we cover.
  • October was the busiest month in two of them.
  • What we would skip: reading a low share as a promise of empty streets. It says October was quiet for that country or prefecture as a whole, not at any one sight.

Sources

The tourism figures come from Eurostat and the Japan Tourism Agency; the weather from the World Meteorological Organization's normals (via NOAA), MeteoSwiss and the Japan Meteorological Agency; blossom and typhoon averages from the Japan Meteorological Agency; and holidays from each country's law or official list. We copied every figure from the country and prefecture pages linked here. See how we research.

  1. Source: Eurostat, Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments – monthly data, doi:10.2908/TOUR_OCC_NIM, accessed 25 September 2026. Dataset last updated by Eurostat on 22 September 2026. Extract: number of nights, NACE codes I55.1–I55.3, all guests and split by guests resident in the country and abroad, January–December 2025.
  2. Source: 「宿泊旅行統計調査」(観光庁) (Overnight Travel Statistics Survey, Japan Tourism Agency), 2025 annual figures (final), tables 2 and 8 and reference table 1, published 6 July 2026. Survey page · workbook. Accessed 17 September 2026. Licensed under the Public Data License 1.0 (PDL1.0).
  3. Japan Tourism Agency, survey outline (調査の概要), glossary (用語の解説) and standard error rates (参考1), on coverage, sampling, the definition of a foreign guest and the January 2026 change of method. Read them. Checked 17 September 2026.
  4. Weather: WMO Member Nations (2023). WMO Climatological Standard Normals for 1991-2020 (NCEI Accession 0253808), the station named for each country in the table (the same station its country page uses), mean daily maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation and number of days with at least 1 mm of precipitation, normals computed from at least 24 years. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. doi:10.25921/800j-vn07. Accessed 22 September 2026. Released by NOAA under CC0. Weather in Japan: 出典:気象庁ホームページ(過去の気象データ検索). Japan Meteorological Agency, 1991–2020 normals for the station named for each prefecture (the same station its prefecture page uses, where the page links the station's own table): daily maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation and days with at least 1.0 mm of precipitation (降水量の階級日数). Accessed 22 September 2026. Licensed under PDL1.0. 気象庁「平年値」を加工して作成 — edited by Gallivanting Gadabout (English wording, selection and rounding). Liechtenstein: Source: MeteoSwiss. Climate normals 1991–2020, station Vaduz: mean maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation total, days with at least 1 mm of precipitation and sunshine duration. Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, open data (opendata.swiss: Klimanormwerte). Accessed 23 September 2026. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. MeteoSwiss does not endorse this site or how the data is used here.
  5. Public holidays in Europe: each country's own law or official list, cited in full on its page: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye. We copied the dates from those pages.
  6. Holidays: 出典:「国民の祝日について」(内閣府)(https://www8.cao.go.jp/chosei/shukujitsu/gaiyou.html), with the holiday list 「昭和30年(1955年)から令和9年(2027年)国民の祝日」 (CSV). Cabinet Office, Government of Japan: national holidays and public holidays, 2025–2027. Accessed 22 September 2026. Licensed under the Public Data License 1.0 (PDL1.0). 「国民の祝日について」(内閣府)を加工して作成 — edited by Gallivanting Gadabout (English wording, weekdays and selection). Holiday names: 出典:日本法令外国語訳データベースシステム(法務省)(https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4846/tb). Ministry of Justice, Japan, Japanese Law Translation, Act on National Holidays (Act No. 178 of 1948, last version Act No. 57 of 2018), articles 2 and 3, English translation. Accessed 22 September 2026. Licensed under PDL1.0. The translation is not an official text; only the Japanese original has legal effect.
  7. Cherry blossom and autumn leaves: 出典:気象庁ホームページ(生物季節観測の情報): さくらの開花日・満開日 and 生物季節観測累年値ファイル (さくらの開花, さくらの満開, かえでの紅葉), 平年値 1991–2020. Japan Meteorological Agency. Accessed 22 September 2026. Licensed under PDL1.0. 「生物季節観測の情報」(気象庁)を加工して作成 — edited by Gallivanting Gadabout (English wording, date format and selection).
  8. Typhoons: 出典:気象庁ホームページ(台風の平年値), with the regions in 「気象庁が天気予報等で用いる予報用語」(地域名). Japan Meteorological Agency, typhoon approach and landfall normals, 1991–2020. Accessed 22 September 2026. Licensed under PDL1.0. 「台風の平年値」(気象庁)を加工して作成 — edited by Gallivanting Gadabout (English wording and selection).
  9. Sea temperature: NOAA Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature (OISST) v2.1, 0.25° grid, monthly long-term mean 1991–2020 (file sst.mon.ltm.1991-2020.nc). Data provided by the NOAA/OAR/PSL, Boulder, Colorado, USA, from their Web site at https://psl.noaa.gov/. Huang, B., C. Liu, V. Banzon, E. Freeman, G. Graham, B. Hankins, T. Smith and H.-M. Zhang (2021), Improvements of the Daily Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature (DOISST) Version 2.1, Journal of Climate 34, 2923–2939, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-20-0166.1. Dataset page. Accessed 24 September 2026. Public domain (NOAA PSL disclaimer). The choice of grid cell and the rounding are ours; these are not official NOAA figures, and NOAA does not endorse this site.

Modified data. The monthly shares, orderings and comparisons are our own calculations from Eurostat's counts and the Japan Tourism Agency's figures (「宿泊旅行統計調査」(観光庁)を加工して作成). Percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Neither body is responsible for these calculations or for how the figures are presented here.