There’s a question we get here a lot: When is the best time to visit Europe for soccer fans?

And when it comes to the best months for European soccer, we always say the same thing: With a nod to England over the holidays, the answer is September to November for “European nights.” It’s got the games, the weather, the smaller tourist crowds, the schedule stability, and virtually every major European city offering soccer among their well-known attractions.

I’m going to share a soccer season Europe travel guide in a moment, but first, just a little context.

When is the Soccer Season in Europe?

The UK and European Seasons run from August to May, and during that time, in addition to the regular league schedule, there are various domestic cups (like the FA Cup) and international competitions.

The biggest of these international competitions is the Champions League, which is the club championship of Europe. Its second-tier companion is the Europa League, and below that is the Conference League. Each European country’s league contributes from three to seven clubs to these competitions, which play their games during the week from September through May, leaving most weekends for league games.

Best Months for European Soccer

So, what’s the best time to watch soccer in Europe? Any stretch with weekend league games plus midweek games, especially what they call “European nights,” when those European competitions are on.

And why in the fall, if the season goes until May? Because the weather is still pretty good (as opposed to England over the holidays), and the schedule is easy to predict. For example, the “league stage” of the 2024-25 Champions League – as well as the Europa and Conference Leagues – was set in early September, all the way until January. In the spring, everything is more unsettled because teams are getting knocked out of domestic cups and Europe.

So you can pick a week right now, pick which part of Europe you want to go, set aside the right two weekends, and see six or eight games if you want, in at least two countries, with some serious sightseeing in between.

We Can Help You Plan Your Trip for European Soccer

Best Time to Visit Europe for Soccer Fans: Our Top Three Suggestions

First, check out our 2024-25 European football calendar as a reference tool, and then here are the three best times to see football matches in Europe.

All of these trips include one inter-country plane trip, which are quite cheap in Europe. So you can fly into one country and out of the other, or for example base in London for two weekends but visit Italy, Spain, or Germany during the week.

And all of these home teams are places where Groundhopper Guides sells official tickets. Check the menu above or fill out the contact form below for more.

September 14 to 23, 2024

• Sept. 14-16: Premier League and Football League all over England, including Tottenham v Arsenal.
• Sept. 17: Champions League, but no English teams at home, so try the Carabao Cup Third Round!
• Sept. 18: Celtic and Man City at home in Champions League, more Carabao Cup
• Sept. 19: Nothing in England, so pop over for Champions League games in Bergamo, Italy (Atalanta v Arsenal); Rotterdam (Feyenoord v Leverkusen); or Spain (Atlético Madrid v Leipzig).
• Sept. 20: Enjoy a night off in whichever country you’ve chosen.
• Sept. 21: Premier League, Football League, La Liga (including Real Madrid at home), and Serie A (Juventus v Napoli).
• Sept. 22: Premier League, Football League; two more La Liga games in Madrid; and in Italy, Roma and Fiorentina at home, plus the “small matter” of the Milan Derby at San Siro.

Note that the above could be done with any other country the first weekend, and then England the second. Or just Spain and Italy!

October 19-27, 2024

• Oct. 19-21: Full league weekends in England – Liverpool v Chelsea, anyone? – as well as Italy (Como, Milan, Juventus, Roma v Inter) and Spain (Bilbao, Madrid, Barcelona).
• Oct. 22: Champions League. If you’re in England, go to Aston Villa or Arsenal; if in Italy, AC Milan or Juventus; if in Spain, how about Dortmund at Real Madrid? If you want to save money, there’s also Football League back in England.
• Oct. 23: England offers City at home; Spain has Atlético Madrid and Barcelona at home; and Italy has Atalanta v Celtic with probably 100,000 Scots in town. Or head over to Lisbon for Benfica v Feyenoord, because why not?
• Oct. 24: Rome, Bilbao, Sevilla, Porto, Lyon, London, Glasgow, Edinburgh … all have European games.
• Oct. 25: Still in England? Want to be? We can offer Forest at Leicester on a Friday night.
• Oct. 26: In England we can get you into Villa, Brentford, Man City or Everton. In Italy, Napoli, Bologna, or Atalanta.
• Oct. 27: In London, for your easy flight home tomorrow, we have Chelsea-Newcastle, Palace-Spurs, West Ham-Man United and Arsenal-Liverpool! Or if you stayed in Spain, you could see Barcelona at Real Madrid or a Basque Derby of Osasuna at Real Sociedad up in San Sebastian. Or in Italy, how about Juventus visiting Inter?

November 23 – December 1: Thanksgiving Weekend Soccer Trip!

Here’s a time when a lot of Americans have some time off work, anyway – Thanksgiving Day being November 28.

• Nov. 23-24: The usual league schedules everywhere, but this time, let’s fly to Italy first, because Juventus are at AC Milan on Saturday, but mainly because Roma are at Napoli Sunday. You need to see the Derby del Sole. In Germany you could go to Leverkusen or Dortmund Saturday, then Mönchengladbach Sunday — all while staying in Cologne. In Spain, there are three league games in Madrid alone plus the big Basque derby of Real Sociedad at Bilbao. Or in England, take your pick from home games at Arsenal, Villa, Everton, Fulham, Leicester (v Chelsea), City (v Spurs), or Southampton. On a budget? Sunderland and their army of fans will be at Millwall this weekend.
• Nov. 25: If you’re in Italy like we told you, go up to Florence or Venice for a game tonight!
• Nov. 26: Still in Italy? Good. Go see Leipzig at Inter. In Germany? How about PSG playing at Bayern — which by the way isn’t terribly far from northern Italy via train through the Alps. In England? Feyenoord at City, or a host of Football League game. Or why not be in Lisbon to see Sporting host Arsenal?
• Nov. 27: Since you’re in the north of Italy, go to Bologna to see them play Lille. Or if you’re the UK, Celtic are home in Europe. Oh, and Real Madrid are at Liverpool tonight. So there’s that.
• Nov. 28: Lazio are at home tonight in Rome, while Roma are playing Spurs in London. Manchester United are home, and about a million Rangers fans will be on the French Riviera to see their team play in Nice.
• Nov. 29: If you’re in England, get over to Sheffield to see United host Sunderland. Great atmosphere, that one.
• Nov. 30-Dec. 1: Full league lineups again, but since we’re dreaming, just plan on going to Anfield to see Liverpool play City. Then work your weekend around that. Choices include Chelsea-Villa, Palace-Newcastle, Spurs-Fulham and West Ham-Arsenal.

Looking to Buy European Soccer Tickets?

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