Is Florence in July too hot or bearable?

I usually check this site https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/italy/firenze/historic?month=7&year=2022

I was there when things opened up July 2021 when one had to show proof of vaccination to enter and then show a negative test to fly back, factors that made it less crowded more enjoyable. Given that this is no longer required, I would not go in July 2023, it will be too crowded human traffic jams which makes the heat worse. Moreover, you have to be mindful to carry money in a place where it is not easy for someone in a crowd to surreptitiously take it from you. The beaches will be crowded also in August with others on the Continent that tend to vacation that month of year. The most enjoyable time to go any is early May right after Easter/Spring Break and right before the kids get out of school. I use to work for Virgin Atlantic and the transatlantic flight loads were less in early May and the weather is not so hot and the prices for accomodations lower. Why put yourself to crowds, hot weather and high prices? Have you seen the prices to fly and for accomodations in Florence in July 2023? I was also in Cinque Terre (on the coast) in July 2017 it was too crowded in the day to enjoy.

I go to Florence every year in June/July (and I lived there for 27 years, including July). I survived, in spite of being spoiled by the cool SF Bay summer temperatures.

July in Florence is hot, but if you are from LA you have nothing to worry about. Go to Burbank or anywhere in the San Fernando Valley and there you have your taste of July in Florence. Florence is not much muggier than the Valley, it's not like Florida or Texas.

Just make sure your accommodations have air conditioning and avoid the top floor (near the roof). If it's too hot stay inside between 1pm and 5pm, or just go to Fiesole, on top of the hill, where it's a bit breezier and cooler. You can also go to a public pool (unless your hotel has one).

Weather wise May/June is probably better, because it's not as hot, but if July is the only time you can go, then go. Crowds are the same from April through October. I was in Florence till this past Sunday and downtown was already a zoo. You can't get away from that unless you go in winter.

My friend was in Florence just last May and it was 93-95 degrees and she was miserable our summers can be quite humid, so it’s nothing we aren’t used to, I read somewhere the Topography of Florence makes it hotter. I think I’d be miserable and choose someplace else in the country. It’s also compact and going to be packed.

It’ll be hot. No question about it. I’ve been to Florence during this time. Churches, Uffizi, museums will be pleasant but the streets will be warm. The heat, however, will help you justify eating unusually large quantities of gelato.

Thank you everyone for your comments. Would places close to Florence like for example Greve in Chianti be any cooler? Also do the buses in/around Florence have air conditioning?

If that's when you can go, so be it. We spent three weeks in summer last year and we were able to manage the heat by going out early and late. Also, my big hat was a lifesaver! I brought a packable Prana one, but every street vendor sells them.

I would suggest a hotel in Florence with a pool, if you can swing it.

Greve is not much cooler. It is surrounded by countryside but still rather low in altitude. Also if you stay outside of a city like Florence you will probably need a car to get around efficiently. Just find a hotel with AC. If with a pool even better but hotels with pools in the city center are almost none (and those very few are expensive). But I can suggest some outside the city center at a short distance from the city center (Florence is not that big and you are never over 20 min from downtown)

The problem with heat in Italy for Americans is that air-conditioning is not consistent nor as cool as we are used to. In the hotel you will probably be fine, but get on a bus and it may or may not be air-conditioned, and if there is A/C it is not going to be that great. I find grocery stores some of the best places to escape the heat, but in most other shops and businesses that are "air conditioned" you are going to be just slightly less hot, not cool :) And unlike in the US where we go from the house to our cars with the A/C blasting, in Italy you will be out walking in the heat and looking for the shady side of the street. Living in Rome I found the summer heat just about broke me. I now completely understand why Italians flee to the coast and mountains in summer.

I live east of LA and have been to florence and other non coastal cities in Italy several times in July/August (not since 2016). I do not recall it being noticeably hotter than home. If July were my only option to go this year, I wouldn’t skip going based on weather. A/C is a must though when I’m searching hotels!

This comment is a concerning - "get on a bus and it may or may not be air-conditioned." So is it basically a lottery whether the bus will have an air conditioning?

To the OP, yes, Italy is nothing if not inconsistent. In my experience in Rome, odds were less than 50/50 that I would encounter an air-conditioned bus. Some museums are also cooler than others, or it varies by floor.

Why do you worry about buses? You are going to Florence where the city center is so small you will need no buses.

I have been to Italy several times, including July. Yes, it is hot in Italy in the Summer, but I am from South Georgia and it was no hotter than what I am used to.

geovagriffith, those of us from the southeastern US have a different definition of "hot". The first time we went to Europe was in August and our tour director(British) kept complaining about how hot it was in Rome-it was 89. We were highly amused.

Florence vs LA

https://weatherspark.com/compare/y/1705~69010/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Los-Angeles-and-Florence

Mister E, that is a cool feature by weatherspark but Los Angeles (within the city limits) is huge and microclimates vary enormously between the LAX area or Wilshire (where it’s cooler), Downtown, North East LA near Pasadena, or Northridge and surrounding in the Valley. So it really depends which weather station that website is using. In my experience, having worked with Blue Cross in Woodland Hills for years, the Valley is just as hot and miserable as Florence in July. San Bernardino and Riverside even worse. But I agree with the comment above that you will feel the heat more in Florence because you will spend more time outdoors whereas while at home in LA one goes from a house with blasting AC to a car with blasting AC, therefore you are less exposed to the heat. Also some hotels and restaurants keep their AC thermostat very high, and it doesn’t kick in if the inside temperature is under 77F (pretty high by our standards). The reason why they do that is probably due to the cost of electricity. In my house in Italy, ENEL (the main energy utility in Italy) charges me €0.55 to €0.60 per KWh (all excise tax and distribution fees included). That is more than double what I pay in California, which already has the highest electricity rates in the country.

There are a hundred variables. All its good for is a gut feeling. But you are right about the AC. European AC is not the same. The question itself is well intended and I understand the concern, but also impossible to define (I live in South Texas and Europe, anyplace in Europe, in July is cooler). My electricity in Hungary is $0.136 so I can not imagine your pain.

When we went to Florence in June of 2005, we heard it was the hottest June in Florence, or at least that part of Italy, in 50 years. Somewhere around 100. My most vivid memories of that time are the heat, lots of people, and David. Of course being from Seattle, my definition of hot is also based on geography, as other contributors have written. Though we are getting much hotter summer climate change summers than we used to.

I obsessed about weather when I plan... but oddly... been drenched in Venice and survive 100 deg heat in Spain May 2017, all have been fun regardless.

We were in Florence last year end of May (last week). It was warmer than I ever remember it from prior visits. It was crowded too.

For me, all that matters is where I sleep... it has AC.
If July was the only time I could go, I would do it.

It's funny, the responses were just what I expected. Some say it's hot but bearable, some say it's too hot, some say you might not get good airconditioning, etc.

Even our Supreme leader, Rick Steves, says he avoids Europe south of the Alps in Summer. He says anything above 82 degrees is too hot for him. (But he is from Seattle where it rarely reaches 82 degrees.)

It really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. It's what you think. I lived in LA for 20 years so I'll put it this way. How do you like places like the Inland Empire, SFV, and downtown during the summer? Would you like to be outside all day? Could you manage in a hotel where the A/C might not be as cool as you are used to it? Or perhaps gets shut off during the day while you are out to save cost?

FrankII, is why I just post the weather data.

Its a personal thing. Sort of when I see a beautiful woman and I think, naaaaaaaa too beautiful for me.