Child-free travel in September

It’s not just leaves that start falling in the autumn – temperatures and hotel prices tumble, too, making the months of September and October an attractive travel proposition. Plus, of course, all the holidaying school-age families have long departed, which means less queuing and more possibility of bagging a restaurant table – likely still alfresco at this time of year – without having to book it a silly amount of time in advance. From Amsterdam to the Big Apple, here’s where to escape for a last blast of sunshine before winter descends.

Amsterdam

For theatrics and endorphins

It would be a shame – during the city’s 750th anniversary year– not to wish Amsterdam many happy returns in person. Bring your birthday cheer in the autumn, when the elm tree-lined canals and Golden Age architecture can be admired without the cycle-riding crowds. Don’t get us wrong, the Dutch capital will be busy but pleasantly so, with queues for the Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum less daunting. The first half of September sees the Amsterdam Fringe Festival in full swing. This mash-up of modern theatre, performance and dance brings an added energy to the cobbled streets. If you’re needing nature, head north out the city for the untamed archipelagic beauty of the Wadden Islands, where the rush of swimming in a still-warm sea or strolling across near-empty sands will leave you feeling euphoric. 

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New York

For milkshakes and stargazing

The Big Apple is always a good idea, but it tastes even sweeter when the heat of the sidewalk subsides, Central Park is in the first blush of autumn and hotel prices fall. This is the time to walk everywhere… There are 1,700 public green spaces in the metropolis, but New Yorkers are abuzz about relative newcomer Little Island, a public park in the middle of the Hudson River that hosts music, theatre, opera and dance performances. Or learn the secrets of the cosmos on the High Line, where every Tuesday until the end of October you can stargaze with the Amateur Astronomers Association. Make sure to detour for grilled cheese sandwiches and shakes at Chelsea Market. That said, it should be warm enough to drink in the views at one of NYC’s rooftop bars minus the peak-summer battle for a bar seat.

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Athens

For gyros and moonlit movies 

Athens in July and August can be sweltering, with the Acropolis shimmering in excess of 40°C. September promises milder sunshine, meaning excursions to archaeological sites are more manageable, the marble and stone less baking. Athenians are cinephiles and, with the evenings still balmy, they sip on sour cherry cocktails at Cine Thisio, one of the 65-plus outdoor cinemas hidden away on the city’s rooftops and in courtyards. The food steals a scene, too. Grab gyros on the go (the no-frills Kostas outside Monastiraki does the best – arrive early, it sells out quickly) or long-lunch on organic Greek pork and red mullet at Michelin-starred Makris. Bed down along the coast for a welcome nighttime breeze. 91 Athens Riviera is grown-up glamping – cabanas come with 1,000-thread-count linens, walk-in showers and plunge pools.

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Venice

For cicchetti and queue-free culture

It may be the destination du jour for billionaire nuptials, but Venice will have your heart. While there isn’t really an off-season, the throngs subside as the days grow shorter. With school-children-age families long gone and the Venice Film Festival glitterati back in LA, the galleries are quieter, the vaporetti a little emptier. You’ll have a half decent chance of seeing St Mark’s Basilica, the glass-blowing island of Murano and crossing the Rialto Bridge without waiting in a hot, sticky line. So, too, should you have luck finding a space in All’Arco, a teeny wine bar serving some of the best cicchetti in town. For its fabled dolce vita spirit and famous Bellinis, swing by the Hotel Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel, which is unveiling architect and interior designer Peter Marino’s renovation phase by phase. Viva la Serenissima…

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Reykjavík

For hot springs and bright lights

The autumnal shoulder season in Reykjavík means the usual – fewer tourists, cooler temps – but it’s also when the natural landscape shines. Whizz past lava fields and birch forests on two wheels, adding one of the area’s hot springs or geothermal spas to your Google Maps – Hvammsvík and Sky Lagoon are especially soothing. The northern lights illuminate the sky from mid-September. If the odds are in your favour, you might see them from your hotel window but for the aurora in all its glory, stay in a glass-roofed igloo outside the city. Just as life-affirming is catching sight of migratory humpbacks and minkes before they head south – the whale-watching tours are less busy at this time of year – or observing the réttir, a centuries-old tradition when sheep and wild horses are rounded up in their droves for winter grazing.

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Johannesburg

For Indigenous art and rare birds

September is the start of spring on the Highveld, when Johannesburg unfurls in the sun. At the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens and The Wilds, coral trees, wild pears and aloe cascade with colour, their petals a feast for nectar-feeding birds. If you spot Verreaux’s eagles, all the better. Jozi’s rich past makes it an inspiration for creatives with many immersive museums and indie galleries – for Indigenous art, make it the Origins Centre at Wits University. For contemporary, it has to be the progressive Goodman. If you’re in situ on 24 September, you’ll coincide with Heritage Day (though the celebrations of South Africa’s roots tend to span the month), when communal braais sizzle, there’s free entry to museums – including the thought-provoking Apartheid Museum – and many wear their finest traditional attire. 

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