Visiting Italy in Winter

Winter activities areas (ski areas), as well as larger cities down on the flatlands, offer accommodations and things to do in winter. However, an Easter to October destination such Lake Como may blindside you, in December - January, in terms of weather, accommodations, ferry schedules, etc. If you have realistic expectations, Lake Como could work for you; or, you might want to bypass it on this trip and focus on the other destinations you listed (Venice, Milan, etc).

I am not worried about the "touristy" things to do, as much as just enjoying the ambience of each place in the Winter. Abviously there are local folks that live there, so I assume restaurants and shops are open in the Lake Como and Bergamo areas. I will be staying in Florence for Christmas and Venice for New Years

Re Lake Como in December - January, of course locals live there, but they sleep at home, not at hotels or B&B's.

Rick's book doesn't address the When to Go issue re Lake Como, probably because he assumes most of his readers will go during the season for Lake Como, which is basically Easter to October.

Here's what the Rough Guide to the Italian Lakes says:

"The season on the lakes runs from Easter to October. Outside these months you'll find that tourism shuts down: many hotels and restaurants close for the winter, ferry services are reduced or halted.... Skies are often grey, with chill winds sweeping down from the peaks."

You'll probably want to initially focus your Lake Como trip research on locating, and reserving, a place to sleep.

If you have realistic expectations, bring appropriate clothing (Lake Como is an outdoor place so appropriate clothing to deal with the wind and chill will be important), then Lake Como in January could work for you. At least they're won't be crowds.

In December, I would skip Lake Como. I made a day trip to Lake Como once on a trip at the end of November and it was just desolate ... cold and dreary. I had been there before in early October and it was lovely. I'd suggest that you save Lake Como for a time when the weather is nice.

Everything is open, except on Christmas day and New Year's Day, though many restaurants are open on Christmas as well. All this snow is not the norm, you don't need four wheel drive, I just got back from a brief two day trip in the Alps, the roads were clear though there was snow on the ground. Our front wheel drive Fiat was just fine......
The other good thing about this time of year are the sales, which start just after New Year's. As for avoiding places in the winter, Lake Como is always beautiful, just bundle up and know that a ferry ride may be colder than you would like. Italian cities are wonderful around Christmas and up to the January 6th for Epiphany, lights every where.

I'm not sure that I'd visit Lake Como in the winter. We were there in Sept & we became friendly with a store owner in Varenna who said that much of Varenna closes up in the Winter & that it's pretty deserted.

you do not need a 4WD, just a normal car with snow tires, the temperature of these days could bring a white Christmas

we too had planned to visit in late December. It doesn't sound like it's a good idea. We will be leaving the Verona area going across N. Italy to Lucern eventually. Any other suggestions for a stop over for a night before heading to Switzerland?

Because Jackie initially posted this in 2010, she probably made these decisions long ago.