Italy to Austria in November

You should see the line of trucks going over the Brenner Pass 24-7-365. Yes. I suppose a very severe blizzard could shut the roads and rail lines for a short time, but that would be even less likely in November. Some passes do close in the winter, tertiary roads over very high passes. And check out the Christmas Markets in Verona, Trento, and Bolzano.

If you can give yourself 10 nights, you can probably due all three: Roma, Firenze and Venezia. With "a week" I would stick with two locations max. You can easily take the train. There'a night train from Roma to Vienna my niece and her kids took and enjoyed: they had a private sleeper for 4. In fact they liked it so much we plan to take it in early December!

Thank you both very much for your insights! These tips are extremely helpful!

I have not travelled from Italy to Vienna, but have done part of the route from Venice through Verona, Bolzano, Innsbruck, Munich and Salzburg a few times at this time of the year. I take the train, specifically a day train, so as to enjoy the scenery. Some favorite memories: meeting German-speaking visitors in Verona (down for the day?); snowy evening visit to the Bolzano Christmas market; a snowy, but brilliantly sunny, Sunday walk in Oberbozen; waiting on the train platform while the engines were switched at the Brenner pass (an elderly Austrian woman in a large fur coat took one of my favorite photos of me); college students commuting from sud-tirol to Innsbruck University in my train car, speaking a dialect I could not begin to grasp; Christmassy markets in Innsbruck, Munich, and Salzburg.

Of course, nature could pack a punch, but I would not be overly concerned. I would sit back and enjoy the trip - especially if you opt for a scenic alpine route.

That sounds great, Debbie. I meant to ask before about the Christmas market in Bolzano. If we're traveling by train to Innsbruck, it sounds like it's worth a stop in Bolzano. I assume that's an easy thing to do.