My husband and I were planning a 2 week vacation around Europe the first two weeks in August, spending a few days in both Florence and Rome. Going another time just isn't an option. However, from looking at travel guides, it looks like many restaurants are closed in August. Has anyone else had this experience? Will we be able to find things to do?

many restaurants and some stores will be closed buy there is still a lot to see, do and eat.
Make sure all hotels have AC and bring a hat.

Sure, some things will be closed for ferragosto, but with a gazillion Italians on holiday during that month, plenty of things will be open. They have to eat, too!

I have been to Venice twice, both times in August. I did not notice anything closed that I wanted to do.

We, too, must do our travels in summer. And we were in both cities in August and never noticed any holiday closures- the only place it happened was once in a tiny village in Tuscany, with a handwritten note taped to the door. I would advise to get reservations for any museums you have in mind, however, and also check the closures and hours for those-I had to give some thought and careful arranging to the itinerary in Florence since we were there Sun-Wed and Sunday and Monday seemed to be the most common days for museums to be closed.

Hi

I'm sure that there will still be places that are open for business My wife and I went to Rome in July a couple of years back and it is a great city. Here is a trip report with pictures and links http://gardkarlsen.com/rome_italy.htm . We also went to Venice a few years back and here is a similar trip report http://gardkarlsen.com/italy_venice.htm . Have a great trip.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Thank you guys so much for the encouragement--we're definitely going to go ahead with the trip and just research and make lots of reservations. Gard, thanks so much for the website. I'll be checking out your trip reports for other cities we're going to as well.

Hi J,

>...spending a few days in both Florence and Rome.<

A. You are skipping Venice?

B. Only a few days in Rome?

What's your itinerary?

We are skipping Venice this trip, unfortunately. We're flying into Paris, traveling from there to Switzerland and then to Florence and Rome. We only have two weeks to spend. My husband has been to Europe before, but this is my first trip, so we're trying to spend more time in the places he enjoyed before and hit my top priorities. So far, we only have a rough itinerary, but it's looking like Florence on August 8, 9, 10, and Rome on 11, 12, 13. We'll be flying back home on the 14th. I'm open to any and all suggestions!