When to Go

Holidays by Destination Europe Italy General When to Go 

This depends on which part of the country you are visiting and what you plan to do.

There are marked differences in the temperatures between the northern foothills of the Alps, a meteorological area which includes for example Turin and has a climate similar to the Swiss and Austrian Alps; the Po valley and northern Italian plain which runs as far south as Bologna and Ravenna and which is particularly flat with hot summers, nearly as sunny as those further south (and renowned among Italians for mosquitoes), but colder than Paris or London in midwinter; and the rest of the peninsula which grows ever warmer the further south you go.

That said, higher areas like the Abruzzi mountains are of course cooler though coastal regions are typically mild in winter and hot in summer, cooled right on the coast by sea breezes. Weather can be very changeable in autumn winter and spring, less so in summer

Most of the country can be affected by a wind known as the sirocco which is warm and humid and blows from north Africa.

If you want to do much sightseeing avoid July and August when the weather makes it hard work and all the main sites are heaving with visitors. Late spring and early autumn are preferable for this and if you want to swim the water may still be warm enough for this as late as October though in October, as in much of the rest of southern Europe, there may be rain, particularly in the north.

If you are looking for relaxation midsummer will see the resorts at their most buzzy with all services on offer. The main Italian bank holiday is 15th August, a time to avoid driving as there are generally a number of motorway pile-ups, and accommodation prices will be particularly high.