We (family of 2 adults and 1 teen) are planning our first trip to ItalyLago Orta (1 day), Varenna (3 days), Castlerotto (3 days), and then we had planned 2 nights in Venice, and 1 night in Verona before heading south to Siena (2 nights), CT (2 nights), Tuscany (6 days )& Florence (2 days). I've been hearing how hot, crowded and touristy Venice is in July and am getting cold feet. I'm wondering if we should change gears and extend our time in the Alpe Di Suisi/ Bolzano/Cortina/Trento area and plan on Venice on another trip, perhaps in Springtime. Any imput and/or suggestions to help us decide would be greatly appreciated! In general, we enjoy smaller towns/villages, & nature although we do enjoy cities in short doses. We will have a car(had planned to park it outside Venice). I've heard that Venice is not to be missed but am concerned that going in July will be Venice as it's worst. <BR><BR>Christy

Don't know how you can avoid crowds in Venice these days as tourists seem to come at all times. But, you CAN avoid the worst of the crowds, even in July/August, by avoiding the SanMarco & Rialto Bridge areas while the daytrippers (from the monstrous cruise ships and the buses!) are there. With a bit of advance reading, or perhaps a walking tour guide, you can visit magical parts of Venice few tourists see. And, you can concentrate on what interests your family. Then, in the late afternoon/early evening, you can explore San Marco and the dueling bands of Quadri & Florian, etc. Early mornings also are a wonderful time to explore Venice. Just don't be afraid to meander away from the proverbial beaten path in Venice. Getting "lost" is half of the fun. I'd recommend staying in an area like Dorsoduro. Close to what you'd want to see but not in the midst of the crowds.

Don't skip Venice. As the previous writer said, you can avoid most of the crowds just by staying away from San Marco Square and the Rialto Bridge areas, which are where the large tour groups go. The rest of Venice is beautiful and relatively peaceful.

Christy,<BR><BR>In addition to the advice from previous posters, stay away from Venice on weekends, if you can.<BR><BR>john h.

Christy,<BR>Claire is right on with her advice. Most of the places you are visiting will be crowded and hot in the day time. Florence around the Duomo is as bad as San Marco square. In Venice if you are 5 blocks away from San Marcos you would hardly know you were in one of the most touristed cities in the world. At night Venice empties out considerably. I was in Italy in July and visited many of the places you're going. Florence, Venice and Siena were very hot. Venice and Siena clear out at night, Florence doesn't.

I went to Venice and Florence last July -- and it was hot, and not nearly as crowded as I had expected. Prepare for the worst and it won't seem that bad. <BR><BR>In Venice, I did get out relatively early (by 8:30AM) and St. Marks was empty -- I even got photos with only about 3 people in them. The only crowds I fought were in St. Marks later in the day and at the Rialto. <BR><BR>In Florence the Duomo area is always crowded (just as Betsy said), and the Ponto Vecchio is THICK with people by 11AM -- but I did get out early there too and it was empty.<BR><BR>Was it absolutely wonderfully perfect in July? Nope, it was hot and crowded -- if the heat and crowds scare you you'd better cancel Florence too -- but I wouldn't have NOT gone just because of it. <BR><BR>You never know when (or IF) you'll go back. So, go, relax, sit out the most crowded parts of the day and enjoy. And you can go BACK to Venice on another trip compare!

we went to similar places during our trip to italy. we loved varenna, castelrotto, the cinque terre and siena! excellent choices! (by any chance, are you reading rick steves???) we were in italy in early june so i can tell you that at that time the weather was perfect in varenna and castelrotto (but very cool early AM and at a night). it was the HOTTEST and most humid in florence. venice was hot, too, but i really don't remember being uncomfortable. maybe because we fell in love with venice the minute we stepped out of the train station to a view of the grand canal! if at all possible, do not miss venice! it is incredible.