6 Cities That Are Better in Autumn

An Introduction to Coorie in Edinburgh

at 100 Princes Street

Edinburgh wears the autumn colours so well. Its old stone and brick buildings — whether the Gothic Royal Mile or the Georgian New Town — look stunning as their moody streets and steep, stepped alleyways are patterned with fallen leaves in shades of golden amber and red.

Autumn is the perfect time to embrace coorie, an old Scots term for nestle or snuggle that has been embraced in recent years as a distinctly Scottish approach to finding comfort and contentment in simple pleasures — often compared to the Nordic concept of hygge.

Stay: 100 Princes Street

100 Princes Street’s intimate townhouse occupies the former headquarters of the Royal Overseas League, with just 30 rooms and suites, individually decorated with bespoke tartans, antiques and artwork inspired by explorers. Its position opposite Princes Street Gardens gives many rooms uninterrupted views of Edinburgh Castle, while The Wallace provides a low-lit setting for Scottish classics. But for autumn, the Ghillie’s Pantry is particularly tempting, with its impressive collection of more than 100 whiskies — warming on a cold autumn night.

As for your room at 100 Princes Street, we suggest the Isobel signature suite (named after the Arctic explorer Isobel Wylie Hutchison), which boasts exquisite castle views through floor-to-ceiling windows, cosy moss-green walls and a lavish marble bathroom.

Copenhagen’s Hygge Season

At Villa Copenhagen

As Copenhagen’s air grows crisp, the city shifts naturally towards hygge, with candlelit restaurants ideal for unhurried meals and lingering conversations, excellent coffee paired with smørrebrød, and museums and galleries offering cultural escapism when the occasional rain falls.

Autumn is also a beautiful time to explore Copenhagen’s parks, from the King’s Garden to Frederiksberg Gardens, when the changing foliage adds another layer of beauty to the city.

Stay: Villa Copenhagen

Villa Copenhagen occupies the century-old former Central Post and Telegraph Head Office beside Tivoli Gardens. The hotel has 390 rooms, ranging from lofty rooms with thirteen-foot ceilings to attic quarters with exposed beams, furnished in walnut and smoked glass. Service leans towards convenience and consideration with keyless entry, remote checkout, and in-room touches that bring Denmark indoors: local drinks and snacks in the minibar and a custom scent range evoking the lush flora of Nordic forests.

A favourite suite amongst 360’s Travel Designers is the Earth Suite, which takes the hotel’s sustainability practices and applies them to almost everything in the room: recycled materials like crushed bricks from the building renovations, and a feature wall created from reclaimed wood. Furniture, lighting and accessories come from Danish circular-design brand Mater, while the exercise bike was fashioned from a vintage bicycle frame.

Autumn in the City of Seven Hills

At Sublime Lisboa

As Lisbon’s peak summer season ends, the weather remains pleasantly warm — with sunny days, ideal for exploring, often extending well into October. Your days are best spent taking long walks up and down the city’s famously steep streets, wandering between tiled façades and yellow trams, climbing towards the city’s miradouros and disappearing into Mouraria, one of Lisbon’s oldest quarters, closely associated with fado music, where small restaurants, bakeries (for a pastel de nata or two) and wine bars spill onto the pavements.
Autumn brings the harvest season in Portugal’s vineyards, while the wooded hills of Sintra, the Atlantic coast’s cliffs at Cabo da Roca and long beaches at Guincho, provide dramatic contrast to Lisbon’s vibrant streets.

Stay: Sublime Lisboa

Sublime Lisboa is set inside a 20th-century townhouse in Amoreiras, beautifully transformed into a boutique hotel with just 15 individually designed rooms and suites. Each of the rooms boasts a unique personality, with the Sublime Suites offering the most space and seclusion, along with private terraces or balconies overlooking Lisbon’s red clay rooftops.
The Sublime Lisboa hotel sits close to Parque Eduardo VII, one of Lisbon’s great green spaces, where the broad, sloping lawns rise towards a viewpoint overlooking the city and the River Tagus. From here, it is an easy stroll down boutique-lined Avenida da Liberdade, towards Baixa and the historic centre.

Find more autumn experiences, curated by 360 here.