I know that France pretty much shuts down in August. I was told that Italians did the same. Can someone let me know? Anything about Italy in August that we should know? Thanks

A big Yes.

Yes, August is the favorite month for holiday in Italy and most of continental Europe, at least western Europe. <BR><BR>About Italy in August, it's hot and the beaches are wall to wall people but the view can be excellent. If heat is not a problem and your hotel has good A/C that is working (very important), the crowd in cities are pretty managable. <BR><BR>There should be no problem finding services.

A resounding YES. The border crossing to Yugoslavia (Croatia) was a miles long parking lot. Every Italian was in line to go to the great Dalmatian beaches.

The tourist stuff will be open.

We were in Southern Italy last August. We saw the biggest traffic jam I've ever seen anywhere the first Saturday of August as thousands were escaping to the beaches in the &quot;toe and heel&quot;. When we took the ferry to Dubrovnik from Bari on August 11, you can't imagine the number of Italians who booked passage only for the overnight trip and camped out on every inch of the decks, the lounges, and even on the steps. I shutter to think what would have happened if there had been a fire or other emergency on the ship. We spend several days in Lecce and a nice &quot;business-type&quot; hotel and it was literally deserted, which didn't really bother us, but most of the good restaurants were also closed.<BR><BR>We've been in Rome, Venice, and Florence before during those times and only saw crowds. Getting away from the tourist areas and seeing the &quot;working&quot; areas showed us how deserted it can be, but it didn't really bother us.

Rufus etc.:<BR><BR>The reason for the tourist stuff is open is that we (the Italians) go there too, so expect enhanced crowds.

Yes, most Italians take their holidays in August. If you are going to a beach holiday it will be packed but the cities are quieter. We have been to Florence, Venice and Rome in August and its not too busy. Some small shops and restaurants are closed but on the whole most places are open (contrary to what it says in some of the tourist books). We visited Capri in August and it was packed with lots of Italinas.