Italy in December?

That's OK, Venice will be freezing in December. Take plenty of warm clothes.

I have been to Venice the first week of January and the weather was ok - c 6 degrees daytime, blue skies and dry, but it can be much colder and wetter.

August will obviously be hotter and very busy. If by December you mean over Christmas, then this will also be busy bu5 not as bad as August.

I’ve taken the now discontinued 1 week Best of Florence tour over Christmas. It was great. No crowds, holiday flavor, pleasant weather. 10 trips to Italy, none later than May or earlier than late September. I swore off those summer trips after melting at Disney World for too many summers!

I took the RS Venice in 7 Days the end of November. That spoiled me. I also took the Venice, Florence, Rome tour in December. While Venice is cold, to me that is far preferable to the heat and mosquitoes and crowds of summer. Depending on the time you have allotted, you can venture to Verona and even to the Dolomites for some alpine-influenced winter atmosphere. Both Venice and Florence will have festive holiday lights up. December works for me.

December is our favorite month in Venice. We”vet spent almost 3 weeks there during 3 December trips and usually had good weather. Only one day of steady rain Ina ll those trips, but fog (atmospheric!) and some overcast. It is a marvelous time to be there. Dec 8 they turn on the holiday lights but crowds are light.

We have been to Florence in January and the crowds were non-existent. I suspect only Christ,as week would be crowded. Ditto Rome. Lived there for almost 5 years and winter was great! Some days were downright warm and it rarely rained in December, and when it did it was not all day like it is where we live now.

You will want boots, hats, gloves, scarves, and warm coats or jackets. Beats having merciless sun beating down on you!

August is unbearably hot. Florence also has mosquito problems sitting in a narrow plain that used to be a swamp until the late XIX century. Crowds at major tourist venues is another issue to consider.

December will have none of the above problems, but the weather is cold and damp (low 30s at night and high 40s/low 50s at midday) and days are short (dark by 5pm).

Personally, if the objective is to visit history and art (museums, churches, historic palaces), then December might be a better choice, because of the thinner crowds.

We report the facts, you decide. We are like the fair and balanced FoxNews.

I used this website to look at daily conditions in Venice in December for the last 4 years. Highs and lows were single digits (Celsius), so highs in mid-40s, lows in mid-30s, every year. The highest high was 10C - around 50F. You can check Florence for yourself. BTW people eat gelato in December too. The best gelateria (so I'm told) in Venice also sells really good hot chocolate, Gelateria Nico near Zattere.

I would never go to Italy in August.