Where to go
Best places to travel in June: six trips for the longest days
June is the month of light and the last weeks before the summer holidays fill Europe. These are the places we would pick, from Porto's midsummer street party to the midnight sun in Lofoten.
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It is eleven at night on the Ribeira in Porto and still light enough to read faces in the crowd. A stranger taps you on the head with a plastic hammer, sardine smoke drifts over the river, and nobody is thinking about bed. This is São João, and Porto takes it seriously.
June is when Europe is open but not yet full. Ferries, mountain trails and beach bars are running, yet most schools are still in session. We have picked six places with a reason to go now: two midsummer festivals, two places where the sun barely sets, and two coastlines at their best before August.
Short answer: where should you go in June?
Go to Porto or Florence for the midsummer festivals around 24 June. For light nights and big landscapes, choose Lofoten or Reykjavik. For swimming before the crowds, the Amalfi Coast and Sardinia are hard to beat in June.
Best for a street party: Porto
Best for history and spectacle: Florence
Best for the midnight sun: Lofoten
Best city for light nights: Reykjavik
Best for swimming under cliffs: the Amalfi Coast
The Yeatman
The pool at The Yeatman, with Porto behind.
Porto: São João, the night nobody sleeps
Porto's biggest party falls on the night of 23 June, the eve of the feast of St John. Locals walk the streets with plastic hammers and leeks, grill sardines on the pavement and release paper lanterns over the river. Fireworks light up the Douro at midnight, and the crowd drifts west to the beaches at Foz until sunrise.
For the rest of June, Porto rewards slow evenings. Take the old tram along the river to Foz, eat grilled fish in Matosinhos and give an afternoon to the port lodges across the bridge in Vila Nova de Gaia.
The catch: hotels fill early for São João and rates climb. Book months ahead and accept that you will not sleep much. Read our Porto guide.
The Yeatman: the fireworks from across the river
The Yeatman sits high on the Gaia side, so on São João you watch the midnight fireworks over the Douro from your own balcony rather than from the crush below. It is Porto's wine hotel, with a deep cellar, a spa and a restaurant facing the city. Choose it if you want the party at a distance and a quiet room afterwards.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at The Yeatman
Portrait Firenze
The view from Portrait Firenze.
Florence: San Giovanni and a very rough ball game
Florence honours its patron saint, San Giovanni, on 24 June with fireworks over the Arno. The same day brings the final of calcio storico on Piazza Santa Croce, a sixteenth-century ball game played in period costume that looks more like wrestling than football. Temporary stands fill the square for the June matches.
June still leaves room for the museums before the heaviest crowds of July and August. Book the Uffizi and the Accademia ahead whatever the month, and save the evenings for Oltrarno.
The catch: calcio storico tickets sell out quickly, and the city is already hot and busy by late June. Start early and rest in the afternoon. Read our Florence guide.
Portrait Firenze: the Arno outside the window
Portrait Firenze stands on the riverside promenade by the Ponte Vecchio, and the rooms facing the Arno put the San Giovanni fireworks in your window. Every room is a suite with a small kitchen, which makes a long afternoon break from the heat easy. It is expensive, but you can walk to almost everything.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Portrait Firenze
Svinøya Rorbuer
Svinøya Rorbuer in Svolvær.
Lofoten: the midnight sun over the peaks
From late May to mid July the sun never sets in Lofoten, the island chain off northern Norway. You can hike Reinebringen at eleven at night, paddle a glassy bay at midnight and sleep when you are tired rather than when it gets dark. June comes before the biggest wave of visitors in July.
Drive west from Svolvær towards Henningsvær, Hamnøy and Reine, stopping wherever the mountains drop into the sea. Hike the famous trails early or late to avoid queues on the path.
The catch: the weather turns quickly and June can be cool and wet. Pack wool and waterproofs, and book a hire car early. Read our Lofoten guide.
Svinøya Rorbuer: the midnight sun from the jetty
These red fishermen's cabins stand on stilts on a small island joined to Svolvær by a bridge. On a clear June night you sit on the jetty with the sun hanging low over the mountains. The cabins have kitchens, so you can cook the catch from the harbour and set off west each morning.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Svinøya Rorbuer
Konsulat Hotel
The facade of Konsulat Hotel in Reykjavik.
Reykjavik: a capital that never gets dark
Around midsummer Reykjavik has close to twenty-four hours of light. The city is small enough to walk, and the bright nights mean you can soak in a geothermal pool at midnight, eat late in the old town and drive the Golden Circle in the evening once the tour buses have gone.
June is also good for whale watching from the old harbour and for puffins on the islands just offshore. Hire a car if you want to see the waterfalls and black sand beaches of the south coast at your own pace.
The catch: the light makes sleeping hard for many visitors. Bring an eye mask and do not expect warm days. Read our Reykjavik guide.
Konsulat Hotel: between the harbour and the old town
Konsulat Hotel is on Hafnarstræti, with the harbour and Harpa concert hall on one side and the old town's restaurants on the other. The rooms have heavy curtains, which matter in a month without darkness. A warm, well-placed choice for couples who want to walk everywhere.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Konsulat Hotel
Casa Angelina
The swimming spot below Casa Angelina in Praiano.
The Amalfi Coast: swimming before high season
By June the sea on the Amalfi Coast is warm enough to swim, and boats to Capri and the sea caves run daily. You can still find a table in Positano without booking a week in advance, which gets harder in July.
Walk the Path of the Gods from Bomerano early in the morning, use the ferries between towns instead of the bus, and keep a day for Ravello, which sits above the coast with its gardens and views.
The catch: the coast road is narrow, buses are packed and parking is costly. Travel by boat wherever you can. Read our Amalfi Coast guide.
Casa Angelina: a white hotel above Praiano
Casa Angelina is in Praiano, between Positano and Amalfi, and its all-white interior keeps the rooms bright and cool. Steps lead down to a swimming spot under the cliff, and the terrace looks towards Positano and Capri. Pick it if you would rather sleep somewhere calmer than the two big towns.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Casa Angelina
Cala di Volpe
The pool at Cala di Volpe in Sardinia.
Sardinia: clear water and room on the sand
Sardinia in June is the island before Italy goes on holiday. The beaches of the Costa Smeralda and the La Maddalena archipelago have water so clear that moored boats seem to float in mid air, and there is still space for a towel on the famous stretches.
Hire a boat for a day around La Maddalena, drive inland to the mountain villages and try porceddu, slow-roasted suckling pig, at an agriturismo, a working farm that serves meals.
The catch: distances are long and you need a car. Choose one part of the island rather than trying to see it all. Read our Sardinia guide.
Cala di Volpe: boats from the hotel jetty
Hotel Cala di Volpe sits on a bay on the Costa Smeralda and was built to look like a small fishing village, with towers and arches in warm colours. Boat trips to La Maddalena leave from its own jetty. It is a hotel for a special trip, and June brings more calm and lower rates than August.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Cala di Volpe
Good to know before you book
Midsummer fills the cities: São João in Porto and San Giovanni in Florence both fall around 24 June. Book months ahead.
The light affects sleep: in Lofoten and Iceland it is bright all night. An eye mask helps.
Prices rise through the month: southern Europe gets busier and dearer from late June as school holidays begin.
Hire cars run out: Lofoten, Iceland and Sardinia all need a car, and June stock goes quickly.
June travel: frequently asked questions
Where is the best place to travel in June?
Porto and Florence for midsummer festivals, Lofoten and Reykjavik for the midnight sun and wild landscapes, and the Amalfi Coast or Sardinia for the first proper swimming of the year.
When is São João in Porto?
São João is celebrated on the night of 23 June every year, with street parties, grilled sardines and fireworks over the Douro at midnight.
When can you see the midnight sun in Lofoten?
The sun stays above the horizon in Lofoten from late May to mid July, so the whole of June has round-the-clock daylight when the sky is clear.
Is June a good time to visit Italy?
Yes. The sea is warm enough to swim, ferries are running and crowds are smaller than in July and August, though cities get hot and busy towards the end of the month.
Is June expensive for travel?
It depends on the week. Early June is usually cheaper than the school holidays, while the midsummer weekends are expensive in the cities that celebrate them.