Is there such a thing as the best time of year to see Italy. We have been twice before, once in May (which was lovely) and once in October which was also great! The only thing I know is that we don't want to go in August because of the heat. Is there such a thing as the "best month to go"?<BR><BR>Thanks!....Zoe

Hi Zoe!<BR><BR>I think you have already done the best months! <BR><BR>Where are you planning to go this time around?

Dayle,<BR><BR>I went to Venice for the weekend 2 years ago in May and then last year in October we were on a cruise that visited in Naples (Sorrento/Capri), Rome and Florence. We LOVE Italy! We would like to see as much of it as possible and we'll do most of it by car. We plan to visit Lake Como, Cinque Terre/Portofino, I'd like to sqeeze Venice in again for a day or two, Umbria/Tuscany, Rome, the Amalfi Coast and back to Sorrento & Capri. I know that many on this board would be horrified by our pace but we're not people who linger in one place for weeks at a time so I think this is doable in 18-20 days. There are several regions listed here so would April/May or September/October be the better choice?

Zoe, For your northern destinations I would suggest after Sep 15 and before<BR>Oct 15. April is still cool in the Lakes. We have done 9 trips to Italy and they have either been April or Oct.<BR>And, we are going back to Venice this Oct. If you do decide on the spring then start south first. Given 18 days you can do 6 destinations well, but I see Tuscany and Umbria as 2 destinations. Good luck and holler if you need help.

Hi again Zoe!<BR><BR>Bob's advice is always good! We were at Lago Maggiore in mid-May & it was perfect temp-wise. <BR><BR>If you want to do a search for my Italy 2000 trip, try "Guilty & Ashamed" in the text box. This trip was 19 days, plus travel to/from Los Angeles. It might give you some ideas. We didn't go as far as Amalfi/Capri on this trip. I've been there & would love to go back. Gorgeous!<BR><BR>Happy planning!

as always i think that less is more. I would do 3 weeks in October and into November as you are in peak truffle and mushrooms season. If you can be in Italy for the first week in November, I would highly reccomend a week in Marche for Aqualagna's truffle festival plus all the great things you can do visiting Urbino, Pergola (for the Bronze Dorati which are bronze sculptures fromthe Imperial era that survived because they were gilded), the grottoes at Frassasi and just generally wandering around this beautiful and untouristed area. I would base in Cagli. Be sure to devote a day to seeing Ravenna, a 2-3 hour drive from Cagli. There is a wonderful farmhouse for rent called Torre del Sasso in Cagli. It is a huge farmhouse with two apartments each with numerous rooms. There is a second building with 2-2 bedroom apartments. Beautiful grounds far enough from the highway as to be fairly quiet.<BR><BR>http://utenti.lycos.it/torresasso/index.htm<BR>This is the URL and Mario is your host. I hope you speak Italian German or French as Mario just doesn't speak English. You will probably be the only English speaking folk in the town. <BR><BR><BR>Cagli has some nice restaurants and great bars and pastry shops. Acqualagna has superb restaurants the best being La Ginestra. We had 2 dinfferent truffle menues plus a bottle of the superb Capo di Stato Black Label from Venegazzu all for about 200,000L which was under $100 in those days. Il furlo was also wonderful. <BR><BR>here is the commune's website<BR><BR>http://www.comune.acqualagna.ps.it/<BR><BR>You could put a week in Marche between a week in Toscana and a week in Venice. Or split a week between Rome and Florence to start and then get a rental car and do Cagli and Venice with a overnight in Ravenna on the way from one to the other.