How bad is Italy in June?

Old Sep 30th, 2011, 05:12 PM
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How bad is Italy in June?

I'm planning a family trip (me, husband, 3 kids ages 13, 11, 8) to Italy next June. It will be a 10-12 days and we will go to Rome and Venice with a possible brief stop in Florence. I know August is a really bad time to be in Italy, but how is it in mid-late June? Since the kids are with us, going in the off season isn't an option.
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Old Sep 30th, 2011, 05:14 PM
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The weather should be pretty nice in Italy in June. You may get a heat wave towards the end of the month.
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Old Sep 30th, 2011, 05:25 PM
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Well what do you mean by 'bad'?

How do you feel about sunshine and blue skies every single day? Long days? Warm evenings where people gather in piazzas and around fountains, street performs entertaining and a generally festive atmosphere? Watching the evening passageata? Flowers in window boxes and spilling over trellises and balconies and cascading down the sides of buildings? Eating at outdoor cafes? Gelato? Museums, churches and other sites open long hours?

I LOVE Italy in the summer.

Yes it can be hot - but usually quite bearable in the shade, plenty of places (and most hotels) have AC, and that's what the siesta was invented for. Yes it can be crowded - but 'high' season now stretches from May though at least the end of September so unless you want to go in November - when major sites are still pretty crowded plus you have to deal with it getting dark at 5pm and the possibility of rain and cold temps and lots of sites have reduced hours.

By the way, if you check hotel prices you'll see in many places, including Rome and Venice, June prices are higher than July. Several locals have told me that May, June and September are actually the worst times in terms of crowds. August is crowded at beach areas but not others so much.
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Old Sep 30th, 2011, 05:53 PM
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By "bad" I mean heat and crowds. Of course, bad is relevant. I'll take a hot crowded day in Rome over a cool ordinary one at home any time! My travel options are mid-late June or mid-late August. Everything I've read suggests that you should avoid Italy in August at all costs. Maybe not. My concern is the kids. They are pretty good travelers- we've taken them to Chicago and New York and spent many days sightseeing. I'm just concerned that too much heat plus crowds could put them over the edge.
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Old Sep 30th, 2011, 05:56 PM
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Make sure your hotels have A/C.

I've been in late March, April and early May. Personally,I find it already too warm by May. But that's just me. And that is just Rome. Venice in June should be lovely.

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

Buon viaggio!
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Old Sep 30th, 2011, 06:36 PM
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This June, third week, there were lots of crowds at the most popular places everywhere but thats true all summer. You'd have to go in the offseason to change that.

The weather was beautiful! Although it was hot standing outside Accademia in the afternoon sun.

Make sure you all walk alot in comfy shoes to prepare. Your feet will be well used!
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Old Sep 30th, 2011, 10:56 PM
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It may have no bearing on your decision, but the schools here close in the middle of June.

There's then somewhat of a lull, with most families waiting until July or August to take their vacations. Relatively few arrive from other European countries quite that early either, so resorts and beaches are still quiet... especially those favoured by Italians - as is the case here on Ischia:

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/122604639

- whereas, in the cities, visitor numbers can be surprisingly constant throughout the summer ...

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/126202609

For travelling, exploring and general street-tramping, June is going to be more comfortable than August - although years do vary, and some Junes can also be pretty hot and sticky!

August does have its advantages, such as a delightful quietness in the capital with business shut down and much of the population away...

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/romeaug08

... and often you'll find good deals in the most central of hotels there - places that, during the rest of the year, you might have considered unaffordable.... but for which, as AC'd bolt holes, you'd be thankful!

I guess that there's one other problem with coming here in June, finding something else to do later that summer - but, either way, you'll love it!

Peter
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Old Oct 1st, 2011, 05:02 AM
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It is never bad in Italy.
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Old Oct 1st, 2011, 06:02 AM
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If your only two choices are late June and late August, you should pick late June. No one can tell you that you won't get a heat wave. There is a heat wave in Europe right now that no one predicted for October.

No one can predict whether the brief stop you make in Florence will also coincide with the brief stop 14 busloads of tourists are led into the Duomo at the same moment, or 3 cruise ships have parked in Livorno and disgorged 6,000 people into the San Lorenzo market.

If you would like to avoid the heat and crowds of summer in Italy and still see marvelous sights, it is not hard to do. Italy is more than Rome, Florence and Venice, and I doubt your kids will care if they are looking at a Roman ruin in Aosta rather than Rome. (They might enjoy it more). But if you want to go to the mass-market mega-tourist destinations once summer has begun and school is out in America, you need to plan a trip for your kids that includes abundant time in the hotel pool or at the sea, hanging out by fountains or taking boat rides and night-time tours as opposed to the standard cultural overload that they probably are too young to fully appreciate anyway.

With google searches you can locate information about the public pool in Rome (near the Colosseum) and the better beach breaks and boat rides around Venice. Seeing frescoes in some of Rome's lesser known (and cool) churches but no less elaborately decorated than the Vatican museums might be kinder to your kids than going on a forced march through a tourist crush to see "famous" rather than underappreciated art work.
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Old Oct 1st, 2011, 06:05 AM
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PS: I wanted to add that every report I hear out of Florence is that the tourist crush has become unbearable, nearly year round. Weather there can be unpleasantly muggy and hot after June 22, so you might leave that as a possible stop "en route" -- not book a night there -- so you can make a judgment call once you are in Italy about weather, crowd size and the level of interest of your kids in seeing an art city.
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Old Oct 1st, 2011, 06:50 AM
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We've been to Rome when it was very hot in June (almost 100) and to Venice in august when it was rainy and cold, relatively speaking. But I agree that you will have a better chance of cooler weather in June. Wee took our kids many years to Europe and so have always traveled with them in the height of tourist season. There are ways, though, to help minimize the effects of the heat and crowds:

Get out early-this will be hard for your teenager but everyone understood the need for the early am arrival at St. Peter's when we came back outside and saw the throngs of people.

Go back to your hotel after lunch for rest, to avoid the heat of the day-great time to catch up on sleep, let the kids read, listen to music, NOT talk to each other (a nice break for all!)

Go back out as late as possible to see one last sight and then dinner as late as possible. There is a reason that the real restaurants don't start serving till after 7 or 8.

Take real sitting breaks at cafes while you have something cold to drink, do a real sit down lunch to recharge and Cool off, eat gelato every day, twice a day.

Consider a few days out of the city, many places in Tuscany have pools and my kids loved the Tuscan countryside, smaller towns, coming back to our b&b for a swim in the afternoon. We also specifically booked a night on the coast so we could take a church break and swim in the medeterrean instead.


We did not manage to do all of the above every single day of each trip, but I did try very hard to not make it a death march each and every day, trudging from crowded site to crowded site.
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Old Oct 1st, 2011, 06:51 AM
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Oh yes- even with the worst of heat and crowds, Italy is our favorite country and I would rather "suffer" in august than not go at all!
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Old Oct 1st, 2011, 08:23 AM
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Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm not a novice when it comes to traveling with kids and making it work for everyone, so I wasn't planning a forced march through museum after museum. If you really get kids involved in the planning process, it's amazing how much they get out of a trip. My husband and I did a no kids trip to Rome a few years ago, and it was sad to see how many parents were dragging around bored obnoxious kids. Believe me, I have no intention of doing that.

The thing to remember about the "mega-tourist" cities is that the tourists go their for a reason. You can only see The School of Athens if you are brave enough to fight the crowds at the Vatican. Being in the Forum is incredible, and I don't have the words to describe what it felt like being of one of a handful of people in the Pantheon. My take on bringing kids there is that it is all about the preparation. My kids will be reading books about ancient and Renaissance Rome, watching moview and videos, and involved in the planning process. That and lots of gelato should keep everyone happy.

I really appreciate the tip about avoiding Florence. We may try a few days somewhere else. Maybe find someplace near Siena with a pool. I know Siena isn't exactly an undiscovered location, but it's got to be a little less crazy than Florence, right?
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Old Oct 1st, 2011, 10:44 AM
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My suggestion is to look for an apartment, as a hotel room for 5 will be expensive and a little harder to find. We rented an apartment in Rome for 5 this past April and LOVED it. It is now the only way to go in my mind. Again, make sure that you find one with A/C.
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Old Oct 1st, 2011, 11:46 AM
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>How bad is Italy in June? <

A lot better than home.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2011, 02:16 PM
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My first few trips to Italy I did not go to Florence because of things people said like what has just been said here - hotter than anywhere else, more crowded, totally un-enjoyable because of those things. Well, when I finally did go (it was in July) I loved it. Yes it was crowded on the Pont Vecchio and in front of the Duomo - but most of the churches, piazzas, streets just a few steps off the main 'tourist route' (Duomo to Pont Vecchio) - they were delightfully uncrowded. If there are things you want to see in Florence then go to Florence. Don't be scared of the crowds and heat. As you yourself just said, there's a reason touristy places are crowded.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2011, 04:48 PM
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Thanks for that point of view Isabel. When I was in Venice I was amazed that as soon as you got off the Rialto Bridge-San Marco Piazza route, it was like we had Venice to ourselves. I couldn't believe that so many people never ventured beyond the obvious destinations. It's good to know that it is true in other places as well.
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