Winter escapes within reach
- The International
- Nov 16
- 6 min read
Travelling is always a good idea but winter sometimes makes it challenging if you’re not a ski bunny and just want something simple yet inspiring. This month, Ophelia suggests a few nearby cities that have something to offer to everyone.
Photographs: Various
Text: Ophelia Wu
Winter has a way of making you feel adventurous, explorative and nostalgic. Streets take on a quiet charm, shops glow from within, and the air is sharp enough to make every breath feel deliberate. It is the season for moving slowly, seeing more, tasting more, and sometimes, simply letting a new city take over your senses. From the canals of Amsterdam to the rugged landscapes of Iceland, winter travel is a different kind of indulgence within a few hours' reach from Copenhagen — especially if you want to stay away from ski holidays and chalets. There's so much to explore near us.
Amsterdam, Netherlands: history, wellness and luxury
Amsterdam in winter has a subtle romance. The city is celebrating its 750th anniversary this October, and there is a feeling that every canal and bridge is part of something larger than itself. Fun fact: Amsterdam was built on wooden pilings — I did not know that, and I was honestly shocked and in awe.
To mark its birthday, Amsterdam in Motion, a new multimedia experience, tells the story of Amsterdam's past, present and future. Museums are a quiet refuge from the cold. With the Iamsterdam Card, which includes public transport and access to over 100 museums, you can move between the Artis Groote Museum, the National Maritime Museum and galleries without worry, leaving more time for wandering or watching frost form on the canal edges during a boat tour. Strolling through tree-lined canals and cobbled streets, you realise Amsterdam at 750 still knows how to surprise.
Stay at the Inntel Hotel Landmark in Oostenburg, "Little Berlin," with wellness rooms featuring private saunas and jacuzzis in industrial, concrete rooms overlooking a panoramic view of Amsterdam East. Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Maurits at the Park is a modern, sophisticated luxury hotel in a 1908 building that once housed a science university, offering concierge service, refined comfort, and a guaranteed best night's sleep. Don't miss out on the chef's table dinner at VanOost, led by chef Floris van Straalen, featuring local and seasonal ingredients and delicate Japanese and French-inspired dishes.
Rotterdam, Netherlands: bold and modern
Rotterdam is a city that does not apologise for being itself. The Fenix Museum tells the story of migration in the Netherlands from inside a historic 1923 harbour warehouse, once the world's largest transhipment building. Fashion lovers should not miss the Iris Van Herpen exhibition, showcasing the boundless creativity that material exploration enables. For something lighter, the Dutch Pinball Museum adds nostalgia and playfulness. Don’t miss out on the historical pinball machines collection.
Hotels like Supernova and the world's first Coffee Hotel are easy and fun. Designed for mingling, they feel lived-in and open to the neighbourhood. Rotterdam in winter has a quiet confidence. You can spend a morning in a museum and an afternoon wandering streets where modern architecture meets history, without feeling hurried as the city unfolds around you.
Flanders, the Northern Region of Belgium: coastal hikes and winter warmth
Belgium might not always be a winter destination, but Flanders in winter has its own beauty. From De Panne to Nieuwpoort, the sea meets the wind in a way that is bracing and almost theatrical. Hiking along the coast makes you aware of every sense.
When temperatures drop, warmth comes from the kitchen. Traditional dishes like beef stew or vol-au-vent with fries feel like small celebrations of winter. Belgian Christmas and winter beers add another festive layer, especially at the Christmas Beer Festival in Essen near Antwerp. Ghent's Christmas market fills 150 huts with mulled wine, waffles and crafts, while the winter pop-up bar at the Castle of the Counts turns a medieval fortress into something alive with warmth.
In Antwerp, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts (KMSKA) spans seven centuries. From October to January, Donas, Archipenko & La Section d'Or highlights Marthe Donas, a pioneer of early abstraction. Ghent's Museum of Fine Arts (MSK) features Stephan Vanfleteren's marine photography, tracing the light and motion of the sea across centuries.
Florence, Italy: where art and appetite meet
Florence's Renaissance past still shapes its rhythm, and every dome, piazza and painting feels like a continuation rather than a memory. Winter brings a slower grace. You can stand in front of Botticelli at the Uffizi without a crowd, or linger in Santa Croce and feel the quiet weight of genius around you.
Cross the Ponte Vecchio into the Oltrarno and you'll find craftsmen still working by hand, cafés serving proper coffee, and a sense that art extends into daily life. When you have had your fill of frescoes and marble, climb to San Miniato al Monte for a view that explains why the Renaissance had to happen here.
Base yourself at La Gemma, a new family-run hotel that combines intimacy and modern sophistication, with concierge service and calm elegance. Its restaurant, Luca's, led by Michelin-starred chef Paulo Airaudo, reimagines classic Florentine flavours with light, contemporary touches. In Florence, beauty is served, tasted and quietly lived.
Iceland: landscapes that demand time
Iceland in winter is not for the faint-hearted; it asks for patience. A quick weekend in Reykjavík is easy, but a longer journey reveals its beauty — pauses in small towns, hikes along frozen trails and vast, shifting landscapes of cliffs, glaciers and waterfalls that change your sense of scale.
Microbreweries offer warmth against all that wilderness. After a long hike, a local brew in a small bar reminds you of comfort and community. Winter in Iceland is about contrasts: cold air and hot springs, silence and sudden sound, starkness and intimacy. It asks you to move slowly, as if learning the world again.
Hamburg, Germany: modern comforts and urban discoveries
Hamburg is easily reached by train from Copenhagen and offers winter travel without fuss. Staying at The Fontenay is indulgent in the right way, whether for a family break or a romantic getaway. Nestled beside the Outer Alster and surrounded by parkland, it is ideally placed for exploring the northern port city.
Beyond its calm surface, Hamburg is full of character. Visit the UNESCO-listed Speicherstadt and Kontorhausviertel, home to the Chilehaus, the world's largest warehouse district, where Gothic red-brick façades meet the modern lines of HafenCity and the Elbphilharmonie. From the Elbphilharmonie Plaza, the view stretches across cranes, canals and winter light. Nearby, St. Pauli hums with live music, quirky bars and the easy energy that defines the city.
When you need a pause, take a harbour boat tour, stroll through Planten un Blomen, explore Miniatur Wunderland, or stop by Brücke 10 for a freshly made fish roll with harbour views. Hamburg is cultured and creative, a winter city alive in every sense.
Gotland, Sweden: timeless charm by the Baltic Sea
Gotland feels slightly out of time. Visby, a UNESCO World Heritage city, is steeped in history yet alive with creativity. The Gotland Museum opens a window to the island's past, while the Cathedral stands as the world's first official Pride church — a symbol of inclusivity rooted in tradition.
Craft and culture thrive year-round. Visit Stuk for locally made art, Studio Pink to watch glass being blown, or Bläse Kalkbruk, an industrial museum by the coast where a small train leads to an old quarry and a café overlooking the sea. Step back in time at Stavgård Viking Farm, a reconstructed Iron Age village that brings ancient crafts to life.
Stay at Kalk Hotel in Visby for limestone elegance, or Grå Gåsen in the south for boutique comfort near the sea. Dine at Lilla Bjers, an organic farm-to-table haven, or taste local spirits at Boge Bränneri. Gotland in winter is quiet, soulful and rich in stories still unfolding.
