Larry

I plan on going to Italy in March. I will be in the northern half only. Is the weather OK? I'm trying to avoid huge crowds...good idea?

Dayle

Larry, we were in Italy a few years ago in March for a Dolomite ski trip. After a week skiing, we did a whirlwind visit to Venice, Florence, the Amalfi Coast & Rome in 9 days. The weather in Venice was quite damp and cool. We wore coast, but didn't need hats or gloves. Of course further south was much warmer & in Rome on Palm Sunday, it was about 70F and beautiful. Because we were visiting the week before Easter, Florence was full of student tour groups and Rome was busy as always. Venice was near deserted. We missed the Cistine Chapel because it was closed on Palm Sunday - bad planning on our part. I would go back off-season in a flash! Buon viaggio!

Dayle

Obviously, I'm not awake yet! We wore Coats and I can't spell this AM. Note: the European countries change to Day light savings earlier than the US. (If you are American). We were completely unaware of this and ended up at the airport 3 hours early for our return flight!

Mariarosa

Hi Larry! I agree with Dayle's assessment of Italy in March. I was in Rome, Florence and Venice in March of '94 and in the Dolomites (skiing), Venice, Ferrara, Verona, etc., March of 2000. The North can be cold that time of the year, but not as cold as New York. Temperatures were around 40-60 Farenheit in the day time. It also rained a few days and snowed in the mountains a couple of days (great for skiing). Other days it could be sunny or cloudy. Rome was warmer. I would say temperatures there were about 10 degrees warmer than in the North, and it was more sunny. <BR> <BR>You won't see "huge" crowds in March, but in high tourist areas in major cities (like St. Mark's in Venice) you will definitely see tourist crowds. It's not as bad as the summer, but they are still there. I also noticed a significant increase in the number of tourists in Venice from 1994 to 2000. <BR> <BR>Hey Dayle, where did you ski in the Dolomites? Where did you stay? What did you think of the Amalfi Coast in March? Was it dead?

Dayle

Mariarosa, we were on a group trip with 500 skiers from the western US. Stayed in Cortina and skied all around from there - Paso di Falzzarego (SP?), Sella Ronda route, Kronplatz and around Cortina a couple days. Loved it and had a great time! <BR> <BR>Trip to Amalfi was to visit boyfriend's family. We stayed in Praiano, just south of Positano. We were the only tourists in town. Food was fabulous, especially the cousin's calamari. Definitely not beach weather, but not cold.