Yes, of course, if you adjust your expectations a bit.
You won’t sit in streetside cafés, you won’t dine al fresco, you won’t sit on a bench and stare at a fountain.
But you may sit in cozy indoor cafés and sip a hot chocolate. You may stroll across a Christmas Market and enjoy a cup of Glühwein. You may enjoy Christmas decorations and illuminations (they stay even after Christmas). You will find that it has a special charm if it turns dark in the afternoon and fires and candles are lit up. You will enjoy special food and drinks of wintertime, with scents of spices, apples and oranges. Of course, the architecture will be still standing in wintertime, and all the museums will be open.
But:
- Be prepared for coldness. How cold it gets in wintertime depends on whether you are in northern or southern Europe and it depends on whether you travel in November, December, January or February. In northern Europe, temperatures may be as low as -10°C or even lower in January and February (but very cold weather is usually associated with blue skies). So, dress properly. Do not forget to take something with you that covers the ears. Take winter boots, preferably water-tight ones.
- Be prepared for rain. Whereever you are, it might rain all day. Take proper raingear and an umbrella (you can take a small, foldable one).
- Be also prepared for snow. Most European cities do not have much snow, but it can happen. Again, good shoes (I personally prefer European-made hiking boots for all kind of winter weather).
- Do not expect greenery. Most trees do not have leaves in wintertime. Cities might look grey, other than on travel websites. But the decorations and illuminations compensate for that.
- Be generous with accomodation. Take something with a sauna or at least a bathtub.
Some visual impressions:
London
Paris
Berlin
Vienna
Rome
Madrid
Copenhagen’s Nyhavn is especially nice in wintertime. The cozy restaurants have beautiful illuminations and they have buffets with many different kinds of marinated herring, special winter beer and mulled wine or punch.
The Christmas Markets in Germany are reason enough to travel in wintertime. The French cities Strasbourg and Colmar have similar markets, also Austrian cities.
On certain days in February, carnival is something you should not miss (like here in Basel):
A cup of Glühwein on a Christmas market is unbeatable.
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