Travel

12 Places in Europe at Their Best in October

October is Europe with the summer's sea and the winter's crowds. Twelve places at their best this month, from Crete's last warm swims and Malta's clear water through the harvest in the Douro, Tuscany and Alsace, to the golden larches of the Dolomites and the red deer rut in the Scottish Highlands: what makes each an October place, what the weather actually does, three planned weeks, seven mistakes and the packing list for each kind of trip.