I am looking to travel to Italy September 4th- 11th or 2nd - 8th and I am trying to figure out if that is a good time to go? I know it pretty much shuts down in August. Any advice for the best time in September to travel to Italy?

Italy doesn't shut down at all in August. I don't know why this idea persists. A lot of Italians take vacations in August, but most of them go to the seaside or mountains in Italy, and a lot of others stay home to serve all the tourists (including fellow Italians). Museums and archaeological sites are open in August, some with extra hours because of all the tourists. Small shopkeepers usually close their shops when they go on holiday, but this mostly affects residential areas where few tourists go. There are always plenty of other shops that remain open.

Without knowing exactly where you want to go, it's impossible to tell you what would be a good time to visit. Italy is a big country, with beaches, mountains, large cities, and lots of open countryside. The best time for a trip to Rome might be the worst time for a trip to the seaside.

Why is one of your date ranges one day shorter than the other. Why do you think one would be better than the other since they overlap a great deal?

Italy absolutely doesn't shut down in August, and as noted, your dates are hardly different from each other, so why would it make any difference? September is usually a nice time to be there, though.

September, better than August, IMHO.

Anytime in Sept is a great time to go to Italy or anywhere in Europe.

I apologize for lack of detail, I will be visiting Florence. Thank you all for your honest thoughts, my date ranges do not really have much difference other than trying to figure out for my job which would be better for me to leave so I guess ignore that. (that was only dealing with taking off from work) I am planning to go at the beginning of September. Again, thank you so much for your feedback.

-lani

I would not go in August on account of the heat. On my last trip to Italy I went in October. The weather was very pleasant.

Other trips have also been in cooler seasons.