When to go
The best time to visit the main Italian cities is the
spring: from mid-April to late May, temperatures are pleasant, the days are quite long, the sun often shines and nature is in bloom, though sometimes it can rain. In early spring, from March to mid-April, the weather can be sunny and mild, but also cold and wet: it's a fairly unstable period.
Another good period is
the beginning of autumn, in the first half of September. Between mid-September and mid-October, the temperatures are pleasantly warm, but it can rain, especially in the north and center of the country. November is typically a rainy month throughout Italy, even though the sun still shines quite often in the south.
Summer, from June to August, is often sunny, but it can be very hot, especially in July and August. However, visitors flock to cities like Rome and Florence even in this period. In any case, it is better to warn those who don't like the heat.
July and August are the best months for a
beach holiday in northern and central Italy, and also September in the south. In June, the weather is often nice and the days are the longest of the year, but as mentioned, the sea can still be a bit cool.
Summer is a good period to visit the
Alpine area and to go hiking in the mountains.
In February and the first half of March, there is almost always enough snow for a
ski holiday, and the days are longer than in December.
What to pack
In
winter: in Milan, the Po Valley and the Apennines: bring warm clothes, such as a sweater, a down jacket, a hat, gloves, a scarf, and a raincoat or umbrella. In the center, in Florence and Rome: bring warm clothes, such as a sweater, a coat, and a raincoat or umbrella. In Palermo and the Sicilian coast: clothes for spring and autumn, a sweater, a jacket and a raincoat. In the Alps: bring mountain clothing.
In
summer: in the north, Milan and Venice: bring light clothing, a T-shirt, a sweatshirt or sweater, a light jacket, and a raincoat or umbrella. In the center, in Florence and Rome: bring light clothing, a sun hat, a sweatshirt for cool evenings especially in June, and possibly an umbrella. In the south, light clothing, a sun hat, a sweatshirt for the evening especially in June.
In the mountains, bring a sweater, a jacket, hiking shoes, a raincoat, sunscreen and sunglasses.
Back to the climate of
Italy