Italy News and Advice
Italy is an incredibly popular country for tourists and is visited year around. The country occupies quite a long geographical space so while it can be cold and wet in the north, the southern part of the country will remain sunny and warm. So, if you are planning to do a tour of the whole country—pack accordingly. During the summer months, however, the entire country is sunny and hot.
January: Two of the best places to be on New Year’s Eve are Rome or Venice. Here the cities really go all out with celebration. Piazza de Popolo in Rome has music, entertainers and an amazing fireworks show. While in Venice all of the restaurants have massive feasts and Piazza San Marco has massive fireworks and live music. The weather can be cold, however, so pack warm!
February: It can still be pretty cold in much of the country but the warmth does come. This is perhaps the best and worst time to visit Venice. Best because it is the month of Carnevale, perhaps the largest festival in Italy. Worst because it is so overwhelmingly crowded because of Cernevale you will have to book hotels months and months in advance.
March: If you love wine this is a great time to visit Rovescala in Lombardy. Here each weekend this month there will be parades, food, wine and other vendors in the streets. The weather gets absolutely gorgeous.
April is a good time to travel throughout Italy because the weather is moderate and it still isn’t quite high season yet so there tend to be slightly less people. Plus, Easter in Italy boasts massive festivals and celebrations throughout the country.
May is the beginning of high tourist season in Italy. The weather is great and people come from all over the world to see all the fabulous sights, so book your accommodations early. But there are loads of spring festivals to enjoy no matter where you go.
June is a fun month in Italy filled with summer festivals, outdoor musical concerts and national holidays. In Florence, one of the most interesting festivals occurs—San Giovanni Feast Day. It is celebrated the Sunday after June 24 and includes a medieval tournament, which kids will love! After night falls on the Arno River, there is a parade of rowboats carrying lit candles followed by fireworks.
July: If you liked the latest James Bond movie then you will love July in Siena where the famous Il Palio horserace occurs in arguably the most beautiful square in all of Italy. The weather is hot so dress accordingly.
August is a beautiful but hot and crowded time to be in Italy. If you head up to Tuscany for the Tuscan Sun Festival you might lose some of the crowds. Plus you can enjoy 9 days of live music, wine, and great food in Cortona.
September is when the crazy hot weather starts to cool down a bit and establishments without air conditioning decide to open their doors once more. It is also time for film festivals in Italy, most notably the Venice Film Festival.
October in Italy is a great time to visit. It may rain occasionally but it is never too cold. Plus, the crowds start to die down (even though locals in Florence will tell you that it never dies down.) Fall is a great time to experience all of the food festivals in Italy, especially Truffle Festivals if you are a mushroom lover.
November: This is a great month to visit Italy. The weather may not be quite as ideal as summer or spring, but the crowds are much less. November is also home of All Saints Day and All Souls Day festivals, which is especially fun in Florence.
December is the beginning of winter in Italy but weather can be unpredictable depending on where you are in the country so being layers. There are loads of Christmas festivals and celebrations going on throughout the month.