Autumn in Tuscany
 

We are two women (best) friends who have dreamed of leaving husbands and family just this once for an out of the ordinary 9 day trip alone to Italy. Unfortunately, the only time that we can both manage this once in a life time get away is November 5 - 13. I am really worried that all of the beauty of Tuscany will be lost due to the time of year. There is nothing I love more than green rolling hills, but November is not a green season. Can anyone tell me what we can expect in terms of weather and scenery at this time of year?
Thanks.
Looking forward to our trip.

No problem. It's green, even in winter, accented by many fall colors.

You could get lots of rain, but you could also get lovely Indian summer weather.

This okay with you?

http://goeurope.about.com/od/sanmini...to_truffle.htm

Don't worry! In autumn Tuscanydoes not loose its charme and beauty. You will even enjoy some wine and food festivals of local products, in a lovely environment...not crowded at all!

Something you might like is "Autumnia": 10-11 November 2008 in Figline Valdarno (FI): the old town centre gets plenty of stands selling typical products, as well as stands set up by local associations in order to recall ancient traditions or historical events.

This is just one of the many events you may attend...and you won't even mind the probable bad weather ;-)

Have fun!

Zeppole, you always have such wonderful ideas. Do you have any suggestions for October in Italy? Do you have any ideas for hostels?

Gingy, Do you have any special town/city in mind?
Gorgeous shot, zeppole!

That shot isn't mine. I just found it on the web by Googling "November Tuscany."

mhyde, it's not hard to have good ideas about things to do in Italy. The place is jammed with variety. Really, something for everybody.

I don't know anything about hostels. I see some website for them. Many people, of all ages stay in them and save buckets of money. I will say that my experience of inexpensive accommodations in Italy has been almost 100 percent positive. The only time I think it is a problem is in the very biggest cities, Milan in particular, and sometimes Rome.

October is a paradise in Italy for food lovers and I think also for people who like to walk and hike, because the heat and humidity is usually gone by then. Fewer tourists, too. I think the wine harvest is special for some people, and I think truffles arrive in le Marche. But in general, it's harvest time, and from Northern Italy to Sicily, you're going to find lots of food "feste".

I'm going to Napoli in October and spending a lot of time in Pompeii (and probably I'll hop over to Ischia). But it was a very hard call between that and Lazio. Everybody goes to Tuscany, but Lazio is deep in fascination, great wine and good food, and there's always Roma.

<i> I am really worried that all of the beauty of Tuscany will be lost due to the time of year. There is nothing I love more than green rolling hills....</i>

My twin sister and I arrived last year on November 1st. I can't imagine it's being more beautiful other times of the year!

You don't say where you'll be. We were in the Chianti/Siena area for our first 4 days. The fall colors there would put Vermont to shame. The Chianti region is heavily forested, unlike southern Tuscany. We kept pinching ourselves...it was like driving through a vivid oil painting. The entire region was brushed with that yellow/pink sunshine you get only in the fall. And the vineyards were painted bright gold, red and purple. Breathtakingly beautiful!

We then drove south to the Val d'Orcia (Pienza) for 6 days. They were harvesting olives and planting the fall crops. Though not green, the deeply furoughed fields made for an equally fascinating landscape...the view changes constantly as the sun moves across the sky.

I have a photo album of &quot;Autumn in Tuscany&quot;. Send me your email and I'll forward it to you.
jeannebab-AT-comcast-DOT-net

Weather-wise: it was mostly mild to chilly during the day, cold at night. (You'll see what we were wearing in the photos.)

Some other observations: There were no crowds once the All Saints weekend ended. Fall menus were filled with robust stews, artichokes, and other of our favorites. A few shops had closed in the smaller towns. We only had 2 or 3 days of off-and-on misty rain....mostly sunshine.

Lastly, given the chill in the air, we were glad to have chosen hotels with a spa where we soaked with a glass of wine before dinner!

The great difference, in my opinion, between October until its last Saturday and November is the changeover of the clock and so, suddenly, loose one hour of sunset light.
Then, obviously, November is colder than October.
Anyway, good enough for the typical fall food, first of all mushrooms and truffles and also castagne.

Vincenzo

Thanks to all of you. this has been very helpful and encouraging. We are making our reservations and intend to be in the Alpi Apuane and Garfagnana area for 4 nights, in the area around Montalcino for 3 nights and Cortona for 2. I can hardly wait.

Hi

I normally check http://www.weatherbase.com to get an impression what the weather will be like. My wife and I went to Tuscany last year and with a rental car we got to visit a few of the Tuscan hilltowns :-) Here is a trip report with pictures http://gardkarlsen.com/tuscany_italy_travelogue.htm . Have a great trip :-)

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

We were there 3 years ago in early November and the weather stunk. Saw Siena under a downpour and worst of all was the heavy fog which didn't seem to dissipate until early afternoon. I remember taking a number of drives which our guidebook raved about and seeing only 50 meters of so to either side of the road.

You'll need good layers, a raincoat and a good attitude !

Despite the weather, Tuscany didn't disappoint (other than the bread).

-Kevin

Gingy,

The Alpi Apuane is quite a different landscape than the &quot;green rolling hills&quot; of Tuscany around Montalcino and Chianti that I had guessed you were talking about when you asked about November weather.

Alps are mountains, and they will be much colder than the areas where grapes are grown. Although the weather may be sunny and even warm if you are lucky, nighttime will be much colder and I would be careful with early morning frosts if you are driving.

I think it's great you are going to a part of Tuscany most people don't visit and I'm not trying to discourage you, but you should prepare for a much more classically autumn feel, more about chestnuts than olive trees, in the Italian alps in November.