We are planning a trip to Italy next year and would like suggestions as to the best time to go. We hope to visit Venice, Florence, Lucca, Sienna, the Cinque Terre, and maybe the northern Lakes. We live in a hot climate and would like to be there when it is not hot. We also love seeing flowers in bloom. We can travel any time of year. Suggestions?
Posted by
Sydney
275 posts
Spring (March to May) is a good time to visit Northern Italy. It's not too hot or too cold at that time. I also come from a pretty warm climate and I have found Italy around that time to be quite pleasant. I have only been to the cities so I cannot tell you about flowers in bloom.
Posted by
partout
71 posts
I agree with Ted, March to May is the best time. Nov to Feb is rainy, and the rest of the year its either crowded and/or hot.
Posted by
Lake Forest, CA, USA
1633 posts
This year we enjoyed late September and into October. We did get some light showers, however, overall it was very pleasant. Warm during the day and very cool at night. Didn't have any hot, humid weather, like you have in Houston.
Posted by
Naperville, IL, USA
296 posts
My experiences have been that May and September are the two best months. The weather is cooler and tourism is slower.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32213 posts
Chris, My suggestion would be to travel in either the spring shoulder season (May/June) or the Fall shoulder season (Sept./Oct.). The weather should be reasonably good then, although it's always a good idea to prepare for rain. It could still be warm at that time of year, but not as hot as July/August. Of course, there are never any guarantees with the weather and it can vary from year-to-year. I was in Rome and Tuscany in May this year, and it was unseasonably "chilly". On a previous visit, I was in the Cinque Terre in late September and it was unseasonably HOT. Cheers!
Posted by
Philadelphia
655 posts
Easter 2011 will be April 24. If you are traveling in the general direction south to north (enjoying the arrival of spring), anytime after Easter into May would be good. The lake area around the second/third week of May was beautiful.
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
We went in second half of October to early November and really loved it. Next time, I'll plan to go the same time of year. The weather was warm in the days, but never miserably hot. Nights were cool. We experienced some very light rain, nothing that would keep us indoors (or even enough to use an umbrella). CT had received some heavy rain the week before we arrived so I suppose that's the biggest potential hazard. We saw some aqua alta in Venice but it was litterally a few puddles in St. Marks square, nothing that couldn't easily be walked around (they had the planking out in the morning but I don't think they ever put it up).