Is October a good time to visit Tuscany?

Hello WNC, I'll be there in October so we'll find out!

Mostly kidding, I was in Tuscany last September and it was beautiful, but can still be warm. October will be a little cooler, have a slightly higher chance of rain, but will still be in season - hopefully with fewer crowds. If you're looking for a real "shoulder season" I think you'll need to think more about November than October.

Here is a good overview of temperatures in different months. As you can see the highs drop pretty rapidly from September through November: https://www.discovertuscany.com/tuscany-weather/average-temperatures-tuscany.html
The flat areas like Lucca and Florence will be a few degrees warner than hillier areas like Arezzo or Siena but nothing worth changing your plans over.

One consideration is that September and early October host many festivals and sagras (local celebration usually of a single product) so if you really want to dig into something you might plan your trip around an event.

Have a great trip, whenever you decide to go,
=Tod

It’s always a good time to visit Tuscany.
Generally October is still warm during the day with max temperatures in the high 70s, which however drop to the low/mid 50s at night.
Statistically October is the second rainiest month after November, although rains traditionally start coming copiously in the latter part of the month and early November. Of the 10 most disastrous floods that affected Florence in the past 1000 years, 6 occurred between October and November (2 were in the first 2 days of December). So the chance of rain in autumn is real.
Obviously nobody can predict what will happen this next October. It could be the driest October in history.

I've been to Tuscany twice - both times in October. Weather was perfect both years - sunny and warm (but not hot) and cool in the evenings. One visit was for 8 days and we had no rain the whole time. The other was just for 3 days but still no rain. It all depends on whether it's a wet Autumn or a dry Autumn - kind of the luck of the draw. If I was to plan another trip to Tuscany it would be in early October again.

I've been to Tuscany 6 times, and one of those times was in early November. We stayed with family in Lucca. I'd look outside and see angry clouds and lots of lightening in the distance, so bundle up, but then go out and it was mostly grey but 18C and we were dressed WAY too warmly. We had a sunny day in Florence that was picture-postcard idyllic (jeans, sweater). I don't remember actually having to use an umbrella, and we had little kids then, so if rain was an issue, I'd remember that.

What I did note was that it was dark a lot more (used to going in May, June, July), so days are shorter. Check when they go off daylight savings. You might still be okay in October.

Also, beds were frigid when we crawled in, but then heated up in minutes. Because it wasn't actually cold. There was just a weird cold aura. And also stone buildings.

If someone asked me to go to Tuscany in October I could have my bag packed in 15 minutes.

Oh, also, I had the Botticelli room in the Uffizi pretty much to myself.