Italy before Christmas or After?
 

FYI Air France is running a spectacular deal for travel 11/1/05 to 3/31/06. I can get round trip LAX-Rome with stopover in Paris for $667! I expect weather will not be good during any of this period but thought that pre-Christmas festivities/decorations and being off-season might compensate nicely. Am I correct in my assumptions or should I schedule closer to end of the promotion?

We were in Rome over the Thanksgiving week this past November. Weather was in the mid 50's to low 60's. It rained a couple evenings but was beautiful the rest of the time. I don't think you can go wrong with any time spent in Rome but the end of November was great.

Spent Christmas 2003 in Rome and Christmas 2004 in Venice. Cold. Cold. (40's and 30's at night)
But didn't care! It was so neat to experience San Marco Square with pigeons all over the place (including us) one day and water up to our knees the next! Acqua Alta was fun...until my daughter's plastic boots leaked! The next day with better boots...such an unforgettable adventure. Totally amazed that even Rome (read...Vatican City and Christmas Day Mass) was not the least bit crowded. Both cities are not-to-be-missed!

we were in Paris just before Christmas in '04. Although it rained on us one day we also got snowed on the other! What fun. It was extremely cold but we all had silk long-johns, wool over coats, hats and gloves and were outside all day. The decorations around the Arc were really beautiful at night.

One consideration is the hours of daylight. It is lighter longer at the end of March than in November and allows for more sightseeing during the daylight hours. As for weather, early November is often very nice as is late March. I would stay away from late January.