Italy in September

I was in Italy last September for about three weeks. I was in Florence for a couple days before spending about 10 days biking at Lake Garda and then at Cesenatico on the coast. After the biking I went to Pompeii and Rome. Temps were pleasant, evenings cooled off but not extremely so-- still t-shirt weather. There was one day at Cesenatico where a massive storm blew in-- there was an international professional bike race that day that had to be cancelled b/c of branches and trees down. (The UAE Emirates cycling team was eating dinner in the hotel dining room the night before.) There was also a big storm the morning I left Rome-- we were delayed 45 minutes departing for ZRH. I will say neither storm was typical for the season.

Tourist levels were moderate. I did have timed entry tickets for the sights I wanted to see in Florence, Pompeii, and Rome. There were lots of people around the Trevi Fountain, for example, but not so you couldn't move around easily. Ditto Spanish Steps, a bunch of people but still not overly crowded.

We lived in Rome for almost 5 years and I would rate September as an extension of summer. Days are better than August and nights become pleasant, but overall move your trip later in the month if you can, maybe mid-Sept to mid-Oct. Start in the north and work your way south. There will always be crowds in the cities so make reservations for tours and sites to help navigate the hordes who don’t plan ahead. Those are the people in line in the sun: the ones who didn’t plan.

One year, before we moved there, we spent 4 weeks with 4 bases of a week each: Venice, Umbria (specifically Spello), Sorrento, and Rome. It was a great itinerary with open jaw into Milan and out of Rome. Just a thought.

It’s hard to predict. Last week my uncle (who was shirtless at home at 10pm while whatsappvideoing with me) told me it was unbearably hot again after a few days of relief a week earlier. He lives in Pistoia (Tuscany). A few days earlier after some storms, it was cool. So be ready for anything, but unless you go to the Alps, it won’t snow.

Hello Sarah,

I spent 3 weeks in Tuscany and northern Italy last year. In general the weather was good - storms threatened on the coast but it never rained in a way that affected our plans. But it's hard to say - this year they're still in 80s right now in Florence and Bologna in mid September.

The crowds were only bad in Florence but last year was also a pent up travel year so I don't know if it is representative. Even Venice at the end of the month was busy but St Mark's square wasn't packed. Milan was busy but there were other things like racing going on so that's anytime people are in.

A lot of the tourism in the north is from Germany and Austria so in Verona even when there are tourists you're not hearing English which - at least to me - feels like a different kind of tourism. With the exception of making the mistake of trying to use the street outside "Juliet's Balcony" on a Saturday I didn't notice crowds in Verona - it just felt like a cosmopolitan city.

Even a month is not enough to see all of Italy so I would pick your targets and see those places rather than try and cram in a grand tour. You might also think about north to south which might keep the temperature more even since you'll be going south as - in theory - it cools down. As opposed to visiting the warmer south and then moving north as the temperatures drop.

Of course as I say that it's cooler in Rome right now than Bologna so... do what you feel.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

Just got back from 2.5 weeks in Northern Italy: Milan, Turin and Lake Maggiore. Hot and humid with an inversion over Lago Maggiore the entire week we were there. Milan was much more crowded than it was 20 years ago - LOL! But we had skip the line tickets for the Last Supper and the Duomo so didn't need to stand in line. Turin was just the base for wine tasting for which we had appointments. Stresa on Lago Maggiore was a zoo making it almost impossible to walk along the promenade. The lines for the ferries were long and if you didn't have a ticket by the time the boat was scheduled to leave you were out of luck. I was very happy to leave Stresa and head north to Cannero Riviera.

We are heading to Varenna very soon and this is the second complaint I've heard about the ferry lines in Como. Can you purchase them ahead of time? If so, how much ahead of time? Do the ferry passes/tickets allow you to hop on and hop off? Not sure how this all works. Any advice is very much appreciated.

We’re here in Sicily now; started in Milan the first of the month (Sept). It’s blazing hot here. (90 degrees) and the museums are ac to 80. If I were planning my trip again, I’d move it later at least 2 weeks. I don’t think this weather is going to get cooler.

I bought all tickets before I left the states: museums, sights, train tickets, everything. So no lines, but you still have to walk to these places. Today was a light day, and we still walked 12000 steps.

if you want to stay in RS hotels close to the sights, you’ll need to reserve 3-6 months ahead.

Have fun planning.

@debbiefucoloro: my comments regarding the ferry referred to Lago Maggiore. I was not on Lake Como. On Lago Maggiore you could buy your tickets in the morning, for example, for an afternoon ferry. If you were buying a round trip ticket you would specify what time you were coming back. And you could buy a multiple stop ticket. But with the exception of the Borromean Island stops it wasn't a "hop on hop off". You bought for specific places and times. I don't know for sure whether you could get on at a time different from what you booked. One other thing to note. If the ticket booth is busy you can't expect to just walk up 2 minutes before departure and expect the ferry to wait for you to buy your ticket. We were cautioned to arrive at least 20 minutes before departure if we needed to buy a ticket.

I have been in Italy in September a couple of times, and it was hot, but you never know. We have climate change. We have normal fluctuating conditions. Just go for it.

I think you would have better luck from the last week of September on.

Just returned last night. Hot, humid and crowded in Rome making walking very hard especially with endless taxis nearly hitting you. Sorrento was much more enjoyable with lovely evenings. Florence also very hot and overwhelmed by students and others and best to see the plazas in the late evenings. We went to museums in the afternoon only reserving the Uffizi. Lake Garda in early September was perfect.