Best Medical Conferences & Events This Autumn (Sep–Nov 2026)
Plan your autumn CPD travel around 33 major anaesthesia and pain conferences across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific — paired with marathons, HYROX, and half marathons.
Autumn 2026: The Season for Medical CPD Travel
September through November is the sweet spot for combining CME with travel. The summer tourist crush has faded, flights are cheaper, and the conference calendar is stacked. This autumn alone, CpdRoute tracks 33 anaesthesia, pain, and critical care conferences across 20 countries — plus 157 marathons, HYROX races, and half marathons you can pair with them.
I built CpdRoute to solve a specific problem: conference travel is a perk of our profession, but planning it is a drag. You hunt dates, cross-reference leave, scroll endless race calendars, and still end up at a conference in a city you’d never visit by choice. The site automates the pairing — conferences plus nearby sports events, scored and ranked so you can see what actually works.
Here are the standout events this autumn, grouped by month, with the best sports pairings for each.
September: Europe’s Conference Season Peaks
September opens with a flood of European anaesthesia meetings. The weather is perfect, the racing calendar is full, and you can realistically hit multiple events in one trip.
Top Conferences
ESRA Annual Congress — Geneva, Switzerland, Sep 9–12 The European Society of Regional Anaesthesia’s flagship meeting. Geneva in early September is crisp and walkable, and you’re 90 minutes from Alpine trails. See all anaesthesia events for the full autumn calendar.
Association of Anaesthetists Annual Congress — Liverpool, UK, Sep 16–18 The UK’s biggest anaesthesia gathering. Liverpool punches well above its weight for food and culture, and it’s a short train from Manchester Airport.
Amsterdam Airway Festival — Amsterdam, Netherlands, Sep 24–26 A niche favourite. Complex airway management in one of Europe’s best-connected cities. The name “festival” isn’t just branding — hands-on workshops, sim sessions, and a famously collegial crowd.
EACTAIC Annual Congress — Thessaloniki, Greece, Sep 23–25 Cardiothoracic and vascular anaesthesia. Thessaloniki is Greece’s food capital, and late September temperatures hover around 26°C.
ESPA Congress — Madrid, Spain, Sep 24–26 Paediatric anaesthesiology. Madrid in late September: still warm, tapas bars in full swing, and the Prado is uncrowded.
Best Sports Pairings
| Conference | Sports Event | Date | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESRA Geneva (Sep 9–12) | Marathon du Médoc, France | Sep 5 | Run through Bordeaux vineyards before the conference. Drive/train to Geneva over 2 days. |
| ESRA Geneva (Sep 9–12) | Jungfrau Marathon, Switzerland | Sep 5 | Iconic Alpine marathon. Same deal — run first, conference after. |
| Amsterdam Airway (Sep 24–26) | Berlin Marathon | Sep 27 | World Marathon Major. Amsterdam→Berlin is a 6-hour train. Conference ends Friday, race Sunday. |
| Liverpool Congress (Sep 16–18) | HYROX Maastricht | Sep 17 | Tight — conference Wednesday, HYROX Thursday. Better for support crew than racing yourself. |
| ESPA Madrid (Sep 24–26) | Warsaw Marathon | Sep 27 | 3.5-hour flight. Conference ends Friday, marathon Sunday. |
Browse all September combos with full distance and gap scoring.
October: The Big Three
October brings three of the year’s heaviest hitters. If you only travel for one conference this year, pick one of these.
ASA/NZSA Combined Scientific Congress — Hunter Valley, Australia, Oct 8–11 The Australian and New Zealand anaesthesia societies meeting jointly. Hunter Valley is wine country, two hours from Sydney. Spring in the Southern Hemisphere means wildflowers and 20°C days.
ESICM LIVES 2026 — Lisbon, Portugal, Oct 10–14 Europe’s premier intensive care congress. Lisbon in October is golden light, empty beaches, and pastéis de nata without the summer queues. The Lisbon Marathon (Oct 10) is the same weekend — run Saturday, the conference starts Sunday.
ANESTHESIOLOGY 2026 — San Diego, USA, Oct 16–20 The American Society of Anesthesiologists’ annual meeting. 15,000+ attendees. San Diego in October delivers 22°C, Pacific sunsets, and some of the best Mexican food north of the border. See North America events.
IASP World Congress — Bangkok, Thailand, Oct 26–30 The International Association for the Study of Pain’s global meeting. Bangkok at the tail end of rainy season — occasional showers, but hotel prices are low and the city is electric. Check Asia-Pacific events for regional alternatives.
Best Sports Pairings
| Conference | Sports Event | Date | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESICM Lisbon (Oct 10–14) | Lisbon Marathon | Oct 10 | Same city, same weekend. Run Saturday, conference starts Sunday. |
| ESICM Lisbon (Oct 10–14) | HYROX Valencia | Oct 15 | Post-conference HYROX — 5-hour drive down the coast. |
| ASA/NZSA Hunter Valley (Oct 8–11) | Melbourne Marathon | Oct 11 | 1.5-hour flight. Spring marathon season in Australia. |
| ANESTHESIOLOGY San Diego (Oct 16–20) | Chicago Marathon | Oct 11 | World Major. Run Chicago, fly to San Diego. 4-hour flight, 5-day gap. |
November: Deep Autumn, Deeper Value
November thins out but what remains is worth the trip. Flights are at their cheapest, and you’ll have smaller conferences with more facetime.
ESAIC Patient Safety and Quality Masterclass — Zagreb, Croatia, Nov 2 Intensive, small-group format. Zagreb in November means Christmas markets are starting, mulled wine is €2, and the city is walkable without summer crowds.
DAS Annual Scientific Meeting — Newport, UK, Nov 11 The Difficult Airway Society’s meeting. Newport is a compact Welsh city — easy logistics, low cost, and the conference draws airway enthusiasts from across Europe.
RCOA Anaesthesia Research Meeting — Southampton, UK, Nov 26 Research-focused, smaller crowd. Good for networking if you’re building an academic CV.
Best Sports Pairings
| Conference | Sports Event | Date | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESAIC Zagreb (Nov 2) | French Riviera Marathon Nice–Cannes | Nov 8 | Run the Mediterranean coast a week later. Zagreb→Nice is a 1.5-hour flight. |
| ESAIC Zagreb (Nov 2) | Garda Trentino Half Marathon | Nov 8 | Italian lakes in autumn. Zagreb→Verona is 5 hours by car through Slovenia. |
| DAS Newport (Nov 11) | HYROX London Fall | Dec 2 | 3-week gap — bookend your CME leave with a fitness goal. |
How to Plan an Autumn CPD Trip (Without Losing Your Mind)
1. Start with the conference
Pick 2-3 that interest you. CpdRoute’s specialty pages list every conference tagged by relevance, with source-level confidence ratings so you know which came from the society’s own calendar.
2. Layer in the sport
Our combo engine auto-matches conferences with nearby races, HYROX events, and half marathons. Each combo page shows the gap in days, approximate flight distance, and a combined score — browse them from any specialty page.
3. Book leave strategically
Many autumn conferences run Wednesday–Friday or Thursday–Saturday. If you race the weekend before and conference midweek, you can pack both into one week of leave. Some combos (like Berlin Marathon + Amsterdam Airway) work on a 7-day window with a single Friday–Friday block.
4. Check the fine print
- Schengen visas: Most European conferences are in Schengen countries. If you’re non-EU, plan for visa processing time (typically 2–4 weeks for most nationalities).
- Race registration: The big autumn marathons (Berlin, Chicago) sell out months ahead. Register early.
- Conference early-bird rates: Most expire 2–3 months before the event. Set calendar reminders.
FAQ
Q: What’s the biggest anaesthesia conference this autumn? ANESTHESIOLOGY 2026 in San Diego (Oct 16–20). 15,000+ attendees, the ASA’s flagship event.
Q: Can I run Berlin Marathon and attend ESRA Geneva in the same trip? Yes. Berlin Marathon is Sep 27, ESRA Geneva is Sep 9–12. The timing works better the other way around: conference first, then train to Berlin (6 hours, scenic route) and race. Or flip it — the Jungfrau Marathon (Sep 5) + ESRA Geneva (Sep 9) is a tighter pairing.
Q: Are there conferences outside Europe and North America? Yes — IASP World Congress in Bangkok (Oct 26–30) and the MSNACC Regional Airway Meeting in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (Sep 25–27). Check Asia-Pacific events.
Q: How do I know these conferences are legit? We source from society calendars (RA-UK, ESRA, ASA, ANZCA, ESAIC) and validate URLs. Source-tiered confidence ratings are shown on every event.
Q: What if I’m not an anaesthetist? CpdRoute is expanding to additional specialties. Currently the strongest data is in anaesthesia, pain medicine, and critical care. More coming.
CpdRoute helps medical professionals plan CME travel around events they actually want to attend. Browse the full autumn calendar or explore conference+sport combos.