My wife and I are traveling to Venice in mid-May and then plan on spending a few days at Lake Como and Lake Maggiore in the third week of May. We have been to Venice a couple of times, but never before to the lakes. My first question is whether any Fodorites have visited the lakes during this time period. In doing our preliminary research for this trip, we apparently failed to check the weather, assuming it would be pleasantly warm Italian late-Spring weather. However, the lakes are evidently in a more elevated region than we expected and the average high temperatures are only in the high 50s. Is it warm and dry enough to comfortably sit at an outdoor cafe, to go boating on the lakes and so on? Also, we have reserved rooms at the Villa Cipressi in Varenna and the Villa Aminta in Stresa. Any opinions on those hotels and/or recommendations for restaurants in the area would be greatly appreciated.

TTT

Mid May will be fine. I would expect mid 60s highs and 50 lows---good sweater weather. The Villa Aminta is fabulous. Have fun in my favorite region of Italy.

I was there last May. The weather was absolutely beautiful during the day, perfect for sitting in cafes or strolling through town. But unless it's unseasonably warm, bring a jacket for boat rides and for evenings. (Lake Como is known for its brisk evening winds, not all the time, but often enough...when I was there, the days were gorgeous but at night the winds kicked up so strongly that the staff at the Hotel Florence scurried around to close all the inside and outside shutters on the rooms.

We visited in late May a couple of years ago. The weather was wonderful during the day and evening; fine enough to dine outside. On the lake itself was cooler, especially in the early morning or later in the evenings (ferry rides).

A great time to be there since it was uncrowded and so very peaceful.