In a nutshell, the cooler weather is better for visiting Italian cities and the south of the country, and the beaches and the northern regions are the perfect places to be on sweltering August days when your gelato melts almost as soon as you’ve bought it! In this article, you’ll learn the pros and cons of visiting Italy in each of its seasons.
Italy is a country for all seasons. It is long and narrow with mountain ranges and long coastlines. Its weather is a “Mediterranean climate” but the north of the country has snow and fog and is much different from the south in the winter.
Summer: June, July, August
The peak tourist season in Italy is during the summer months of July and August when the weather is hot and dry and when much of Italy is also on holiday.
This is also the busiest and most expensive time to visit, with Venice overrun with day trippers and tour groups, the beaches are crowded, accommodations are at their most expensive, and queueing in the heat to see attractions like the Colosseum and Pompeii is no fun at all.
Rome, Florence, and Bologna are three of the most visited cities in Italy, and in summer they can see temperatures over 40 C (104 F).
Shoulder Seasons: April-June, September-October
If you prefer to avoid the crowds and save some money, plan your trip to Italy for the shoulder season from late April, May, and the first few days of June. Or from mid-September through October which is my favorite time of all.
During this time, the weather is warm and pleasant, but there are fewer tourists and prices are more reasonable.
Each time I plan my own trip outside of the summer months, I start in the south in the Spring shoulder season and from the north in the Fall (Autumn) season.
Winter – December, January February
The north of the country is not as pleasant during winter with the possibility of the Acqua Alta, or high tides flooding central Venice. It’s also probable you’ll be surrounded by fog in Milan at this time.
In winter there is snow in the mountains and a lot of rain. This is the time of the year when there are the biggest differences in temperature in Italy.
I love this little line in the otherwise dry Wikipedia description of winter in Italy:
[O]n some winter days it can be−2 °C (28 °F) and snowing in Milan, while it is 8 °C (46.4 °F) in Rome and 20 °C (68 °F) in Palermo.
Wikipedia
I think this is a great example of how the temperatures in Italy are very different in winter, whereas the whole country can be baking hot in summer!
