I want to choose between 2 apartments in Rome.
They both have good points, but, only one has airconditioning(the smaller apartment of course)

Is airconditioning needed in June?( we'll be there 10th -14th June)

The larger apartment(without airconditioning) is double the size for 10 euros more. They both are close to train station, one in a shopping centre and one near food markets.

You'll probably get a lot of varying opinions on this and mine is based not so much on the possibility of heat in Rome at that time as it is on the more than "possibility" of humidity which is the one thing that A/C eliminates.

I've heard about "cross ventilation" and "it gets cooler at night" and all the "we survived" tales whcih say nothing about stickiness.

I vote for A/C but you might get fortunate and truly not need it.

I guess it depends on how much time you plan to spend there in the hours from 11 am to 11 pm... and where you live, along with how much you are used to temperatures of 80+ F indoors.

The website weatherbase.com if often useful for questions like this, as they will give how mny days above such-and-such for a given month... but for Rome for June, I don't think you can find the answer you really want - - for example... how often above 80 in June (the average high is 77, the average evening low 61). I would interpret that as 50% chance that the apartment will be well above 80 indoors, from 3 to 10 pm at least one of your four days/nights.

Outdoor street noise is relevant also (if you choose to have windows open at night to help you sleep).

Keeo in mind that airconditioning in Europe will, in many cases, not produce indoor temps down to 72 F during the heat of the day.

You might search here and/or the internet for "PortaBreeze" - - a line of portable, battery-powered, personal fans - - a big aid in getting to sleep when it seems too hot.

Best wishes,

Rex

We were in Rome in 2004 during the last week in June. It was extremely hot. We showered and changed clothes twice a day. It was a relief to come back to the hotel in the afternoon and relax in the A/C before going back out for the evening. I don't know if this is typical or if it was a heat wave. Also, you will be there a couple of weeks earlier... It's a tough decision you have to make. I don't know how the area around the train station is. We were near the Pantheon and it was a lovely area.

Don't know if this helps nor confuses your situation - we were in Rome the first week of May. Our hotel didn't have it's A/C on and we had trouble sleeping at night because it was so warm. We're from Texas and can tolerate heat very, very well. When we opened the windows, a street musician playing the Eagles hit "Hotel California" over & over & over eventually lulled me to sleep. That said, I'm returning the same week staying at the same hotel this May.

My daughter and I were in Rome for 4 days last June, and the temperature was about 100 degrees (they were having an unusual heat wave coming up from Africa). The greatest thing about our hotel was the air conditionaing. We were so wilted at the end of the day that I don't think we could have gone out in the evenings without being refreshed a little by the air conditioning. I know it's a personal preference, but if you get unlucky with the weather like we did, air conditioning makes a big difference.

<< My daughter and I were in Rome for 4 days last June, and the temperature was about 100 degrees (they were having an unusual heat wave coming up from Africa). >>

Because they offer a lot of data, I have tended to trust weatherbase.com - - but your anecdote makes me wonder how correct is their information. They show 93 F as the highest temperature EVER recorded in June. But that's odd - - take a look at June 14, 2003 on the website www.wunderground.com - - it looks like it hit 100 F.

Wunderground shows info for any given month for the last several years. Here is June 2005:

http://www.wunderground.com/weathers...raphspan=month

and here is June 14, 2003:

http://www.wunderground.com/weathers...&year=2003

While it looks as if mnapoli is exaggerating a little bit (high 93? 95?), apparently there were very high temps on June 28 in 2005.

During the first fifteen days of the month last year, the high was under 80 more often than above. But of course, any given year will vary from the next to some degree, as the charts of 2004, 2003, etc show quite plainly.

I was there in March '01 and I wish I had A/C. it was hot (80ish during the day). Evenings it cooled, but the noise level with windows open was bad. Hotels don't turn on A/C until May or June, but I wish we had it then. So in June, I most definitely would want it.

It depends where they're taking the temperature, also. For example, many cities take the temperature at the airport, a place that has a somewhat different temperature than elsewhere. I don't know where it's taken in Rome for weather statistics, but it makes sense that city center temps might be higher.

WillTravel has it right. The temperature can vary several degrees within a relatively small area--it varies depending on where the official temperature is recorded, and where you happen to be on that day.

I travel to Rome every week from March to December for work and I would NEVER stay at any hotel in Rome that did not have air conditioning at any time of the year. The humidity,heat,noise,etc. makes having air conditioning a must to enjoy your stay.I have had it extremely warm in March and even in November so I would put myself in the one with a/c!

Rufus, Will:

I'm sure that this is true. My point is less about what the actual highs were... and more about whether I have previously put too much trust in weatherbase.com - - and why it seems so at odds with wunderground.com

A statistic offered on weatherbase for many cities - - is number of days above 90 F (or sometimes expressed as greater than 30 C which is 86 C) - - they list Rome as having <i><b>two</b></i> days per month above 90 F in <i><u>July</u></i> and that seems quite inconsistent with what everyone always says (I have personally never been anywhere in Italy in July nor August - - or at least not since 1969, when I was 15 years old; I don't precisely remember the dates of that trip).

If their data are at Civitavecchia, for example - - and 20 days a month &quot;at 89&quot; don't show up in their statistics - - then I'm sure you're right... city <i><u>sidewalk</u></i> temps in Rome will surely be 90 or higher!

As a follow-on..if you want to get wound all around the wheel about whether or not this or that weather site is accurate that is fine with me but I still say it isn't the temperature in Rome that will make you want A/C, it is the humidity.

&lt;&lt; I still say it isn't the temperature in Rome that will make you want A/C, it is the humidity. &gt;&gt;

As someone who lived two years in Sacramento (with routine summer temperatures above 95, and humidity readings below 20), I will agree that there is legendary support for believing in &quot;humiditure&quot; (or its absence). Residents of central California are famous (and famously mocked) for saying &quot;oh, but it's a dry heat!&quot;

They still don't go without turning their air conditioning on!

Are there any places in Europe where temperatures above 90 F <i><u>don't</u></i> &quot;feel all that hot&quot;?

I really don't care what some weather service reported, it was very, very, very hot! I have never dripped sweat all over my T-shirt before, and it was a common occurance when we were in Rome (it was also madly hot in London and Paris when were there during that trip!). It made sightseeing quite an ordeal, and we never passed a water fountain that we didn't use! Our clothes were drenched with sweat every day, and I was really glad I brought Woolite to wash everything out each night!

I ask myself this question: would I live in an apartment at home that did not have air conditioning if I had the choice? The answer is no.

And when I do opt not to use my ac at home, I have several large and very efficient fans.

I do not live in a warm climate, but I do not like to be hot and sticky and uncomfortable. I like to be cool.

My father, OTOH, lives in the tropics and never turns on the ac. He likes to be very warm at all times.

So it is really up to you.

GET THE AIR CONDITIONING! We were there last June and it was Africa hot - like almost 100 degrees. Hot, hot, hot.
Same for Florence, Tuscan hill towns, and the Amalfi Coast. Hot, I tell you.

Air-conditioning is important. You may not need to use it, but I'd rather have it than know it's not there for me to use if I need it.

Buon Viaggio,
BC

Where are you from? How much heat are you used to and can you tolerate? How often and when do you use your AC at home? Can you sleep if you're sweating or will you toss and turn all night.

(We're from NYC, run our AC non-stop from May to Oct - we do have a hot apartment - and would never consider Rome without AC except in the winter.)

ginder, my daughter and SIL were in Rome for the month of June 2005 staying in my SIL's house in NE Rome. The house has very thick walls but does not have a/c. They got about 3 hours sleep per night due to the heat and humidity. As others have said, they showered and changed clothes 2 to 3 times during their waking hours. Their clothes were wringing wet from the heat and humidity. I would not consider staying in Rome during the hot weather without a/c. And we all live in the Sacramento Valley where we often get temps around 105degrees so it is not as though we are not use to hot weather.