The best times of year to visit ...
We are often asked when is the best time of year to visit one of our travel destinations. The "right" answer depends on what kind of holidaymaker you are.
Many of our guests are restricted by school holidays. For them, July and August and May half-term week are the only times they can visit. But those who are free to travel at any time during the season often find destinations at their best in spring or autumn. Here, our team of experts at Vintage Travel reveal some of Europe's hidden gems and the best time of year to visit them.
April May June July August September October
April
In Andalucia, April is a great month for spring flowers. The skies are clear and the quality of the light is exceptional, particularly on the Costa de la Luz.
Diada de Sant Jordi - St George's Day - is celebrated with gusto across Catalunya on April 23. According to tradition, men give women roses and the women respond by giving the men a book. April is also a wonderful time to walk the coastal paths of Catalunya.
May
Walkers in Corfu will find an abundance of colourful spring flowers, including the island's famous wild orchids. May is also a great month to explore the mountainous interior of Kefalonia.
In Tuscany, before the heat of summer descends, this is the best time to walk in the gorgeous rolling hills of the Garfagnana.
May is asparagus season In Istria. So abundant is it in this corner of Croatia that it grows wild and is sold for pennies at roadside stalls. This is also the best time of year to buy local produce at the town and village markets of the Midi-Pyrenees in France.
June
In Italy, the arrival of summer is met with a string of festivals - a great time to mix with local people as they celebrate ancient traditions.
In Umbria, the Festival dei Due Mondi - the Festival of the Two Worlds - kicks off in Spoleto. It's a wonderful celebration of opera, theatre, dance and classical music.
If you stay in Le Marche, the second Sunday in June marks the festival of La Fiorita in Castelluccio, a village in the Sibillini Mountains. It is a celebration of the flowering of the meadows - an incredible sight.
Corfu in June is the best time of year to view fireflies. If you're lucky you'll be able to sit on the terrace of your villa after dark and watch fireflies glowing and pulsing in the trees. This is also a perfect time to walk the inland paths of Skopelos, discovering the island's many pretty monasteries.
July
Early July is a great time to visit Provence and watch the lavender fields explode into colour. In Catalunya, the Cap Roig music festival is held in the delightful Cap Roig Botanical Garden. As summer takes hold, the pavement cafes of Istria are abuzz with local people enjoying themselves, and in Corfu, open-air concerts are held in the old fortress of Corfu Town - a spectacular setting.
July and August are the best times of year to enjoy the beaches and towns of Galicia in northern Spain. Swimming in the sea is superb. In the Italian region of Le Marche, an open-air opera festival is held in Macerata, with performances held in the semi-elliptical Sferisterio. Perfect acoustics under the stars.
August
Head to the Costa Verde in Portugal for uncrowded beaches, local festivals and glorious weather. Another region where it's possible to find long stretches of uncrowded sandy beaches in August is the Peloponnese in Greece. In Skopelos it's time to witness the harvest of figs and plums.
The island is famous for its figs and prunes (dried plums) and in August they are literally falling from the trees by the sides of roads.
In the French region of Aquitaine, August is the best time to visit the evening markets in the bastides. Food stalls and communal tables are laid out in the town squares.
September
After the flurry of summer, the Mediterranean begins to unwind in September. Calm is restored, and this is one of the best times of year to swim in the warm sea. 
In Istria the water is crystal clear, and in Kefalonia September is a wonderful time to rent a small boat and explore the rugged unspoilt coastline.
Grapes are harvested in the Costa Verde to produce the region's famous Vino Verde and in Aquitaine, the vineyards of Bordeaux and Bergerac are beginning to turn colour. The quality of the light is superb and in the towns and villages there is a sense of peace and quiet.
October
Although the season is winding down and people preparing for autumn, the weather in October can often be superb. This is a great time to rent a car and explore the countryside or take long walks on coastal paths - all those wonderful things that in the heat of summer seemed too much trouble.
One of the best places to find warm weather now is Andalucia where the beaches are all but empty. In the Peloponnese, October is the time to harvest the kalamata olives.