Best time to visit Italy?

[Deleted]

I'm thinking mostly in terms of weather but if there is anything else like festivals and such you would suggest I am open for anything.

I would like to go with H to Italy and I was thinking perhaps an anniversary trip (May) but if there is a better time to visit I am not set on May.

[tricolore]

My favorite two months are May (also our anniversary, so maybe I'm bias) and September. Weather's usually moderate in most places (although early Sept can still be roasty in the south).

I would highly recommend avoiding any beach town in August. Actually, even inland, August is pretty brutal (Rome just bakes, Venice smells, etc).

Nov-Feb is the rainy season, so it's not great for beach going, but it's a really nice time to visit museums (less crowded). My BFF comes every Dec/Jan and really likes visiting then b/c she hates crowds and isn't really a sun person.
GL!

[dutchgirl678]

I would vote for September-October. It's lovely warm and if you're on the coast the Mediterranean is such a nice temperature. I've been to Rome and Florence in August and it was brutally hot (100 degrees).

[keweenawlove]

I've been twice in May. I can't compare it to anything else but both times were really nice. It was fairly warm but not too hot. It was also somewhat less crowded than I heard the summer can get.

[Susie]

We went the first two weeks of October, and it was lovely. Still pretty hot in some places (I noticed it especially Cinque Terre and Rome), but not unbearable, and mostly very pleasant. It only rained once in two weeks, and crowds were really very manageable.

[Deleted]

Oct- nov
april- may

[travelingjen]

My favorite month in general to travel to Europe is September; the kids are back in school and the weather is still great! I've been to Italy in both August and September. August was way too hot but September was perfect; just one cloudy/rainy day out of 14!

[Deleted]

We went to Milan and Venice in May and the weather was nice. For the most part, it was warm and sunny but not too hot which made sightseeing pleasant. We did get rain 1 1/2 days but that could happen anywhere.

[slug*bug]

We've done Aug. (Florence...ugh. Brutal.), Nov. (Venice: really, really wet), Dec (Florence/Siena for Christmas) and Feb (Rome.)

Of all of them, my favorite was Feb.: Rome was totally manageable b/c there were fewer tourists that time of year and the weather really mild. (We went running and I was comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt: the most we needed for sightseeing was a light jacket.)

I think the pp's suggestions of Sept/Oct and Apr/May are good, too.

[perkyderky]

We went the first time in May. I LOVED May, the weather was perfection, and since both DH and I are avid cyclists/cycling fans, we were able to "day trip" to one of the Giro d'Italia stage ends, which made the trip even better to us both. (Like the sprinkles on top of an already awesome sundae that had two cherries.) Some folks might not enjoy it, and it might add to some crowding in certain cities, but it could also be a LOT of fun if you happened to cross paths with the Giro. That trip we started north and it got warmer as we got further south--started at Lake Como, then went to Venice, then San Marino (technically a different country), Florence, and finally Rome.

We're actually going back in a few weeks (July) and I anticipate it being very hot, and fairly crowded. We're going to Sorrento and Florence this time.

[phillyrunner]

I've been there in April and June. I really enjoyed April because it was slightly chilly, but beautiful every day. I personally prefer to sightsee when it is isn't too hot out. In June it was sunny every day and hot!

[wanderlustmom]

I've been to Italy in both April, May and August. I'd recommend both April and May and I think September and October would be great as well. I didn't like August.

[ChiKate]

We went to Rome, Florence and Venice in mid-October and the weather was ideal. In general, I prefer traveling anywhere Sept-Oct.

[pittpurple]

It depends on what you are there to do. I'm hoping to take a babymoon in Italy and sit around on a beach for a week so I'm thinking August/September. I've been in Rome in November and it rained constantly but we had all the museums to ourselves which was great. Generally we travel in the shoulder season - April/May/September/October no matter where we're going - usually decent weather and not too hot for sightseeing.

[laurelle]

July and August in Italy are very, very hot, and August is really the worse month to visit because Italians holiday in August and resort areas would be very crowded.

[Deleted]

We went in May and it was beautiful - warm and sunny but not too hot. We only had one day of rain in Milan. Venice was packed.