Hi all, my husband and I are considering visiting Cortona in early November. Should we be concerned about rain? We are planning to stay there the first week of November. Thank you.
Posted by
Washington DC
29195 posts
According to Wikipedia, November is the wettest month of the year in Arezzo, with 4.76 inches of rain, which falls on one out of every three days, on average; I'm guessing statistics for Cortona might be similar, but I don't know for sure.
It would be prudent to assume there will be some rain, but whether it will be a problem for you depends partly on what sort of activities you plan.
I assume you will have a rental car for side trips; Cortona's pretty small for a week-long stay if you don't plan to see more of Tuscany. The town is on top of a hill, and the nearest train station is down below in Camucia. There is some bus service between Cortina and the train station, I believe, but I wouldn't want to have ro take a bus to the train station for a bunch of day trips.
You might want to pay a bit more than average attention to parking arrangements, since you might encounter rain as you walk back and forth between your lodgings and the place where your car is parked.
Posted by
Easton, MD
19 posts
Be sure to check to see when the "season" ends. We were there in 2022 and I wanted to reserve our hotel room for an additional night (Nov 6 or 7 ish) and the hotel informed me that they were closing for the season. I really don't know if the restaurants and shops are affected by the season. It was rainy, showers rather than storms. Not terribly cold. A lovely place to visit.
Posted by
Gulf Coast, usa
1227 posts
We have been in Cortona around Thanksgiving time and it was quite lovely, and our weather was nice. We did have a rental car the first time, so parking was plentiful at that time of year. You have to walk from designated parking areas to your hotel. As mentioned, there is also a bus at the bottom of the hill where the train station is. You can buy tickets at the little shop next door to the station and wait inside with a hot or cold beverage if you wish. I agree that a week is a long time in Cortona if you are want to do a lot of sight seeing. The first trip we stayed at a Monestary (Monestero San Silvestro) at the bottom of the hill. We had a three bedroom apartment with a small kitchen, and lovely views. The other time we stayed at La Vita e Bella, and very charming place but I think it may be closed. There are lots of wonderful places to stay in Cortona. When we stayed in the village, we took a shuttle down to the base to the train station and took the train to Chiusi where we rented a car for the day and visited Montepulciano and Pienza. The car rental is an easy walk from the train station in Chiusi. A couple of the days we just absorbed all Cortona offered and had fun sitting in the square, listening to music, visiting the shops, did some laundry, and ate at some great restaurants. You can also take the train to other places for day trips like Arrezo and Assisi. Cortona is a very interesting and beautiful place. I have a great PDF guide - if you PM me your email I will send it to you.