Northern Italy in November
 

We are considering a trip to Northern Italy in early November. Flying into Milan or Venice and traveling by train to the other, probably a total of 10 days or so. What can we expect weather wise, etc? We understand there may be high water in Venice on occasion.

It depends on the year, some are warmer or less rainy than others. In general, however, it's cold (50F-ish) and wet and it gets dark early. Harvests are over, grape leaves have dropped, tourism is at a minimum, no weddings (being the month of the dead), the winter is at hand...even Venice is less crowded.

Yes, high water is a possibility but not that big a deal. Venice is prepared and you can buy cute little disposable high-water boots from the street vendors for 10 euros.

The possibility of acqua alta in Venice is greatest at the new and full phases of the moon. In Venice in November 2012, these will occur 11/13 at 11:08 p.m. (new) and 11/28 at 3:46 p.m. (full). If your visit is between those dates and the weather is nice, you likely won't experience acqua alta. If you are there on those dates, it might only affect your plans on the afternoon of Nov. 28th and only if you are in/near the lowest points of the city, like Piazza San Marco. Unless it is flooding of truly epic proportions, it's business as usual.

The chance to get high water is pretty low - and IF you have it, it will be a special experience for you (don't worry, they have causeways).

And, yes, it will be chilly and might be rainy, but at least the crowds are gone.

People get married in Italy throughout the year, including November. Commemorations of the deceased are over by Nov 2. Tourists just don't notice as many weddings because the weddings are not planned to be outdoors.

Many things are harvested in northern Italy in November -- in particular wine.

Winter begins in Italy on Dec. 22. The first part of November is the middle of Autumn.

Thanks all. We are flying into Venice in early November, staying in Vincenza 2 days, Venice 4 or 5 days, maybe Verona for a day and Milan for 3 or 4 days. Then flying home from Venice. Planning on using train travel.

How about weather in the Dolomites?

Especially driving?

This would be the week of Thanksgiving?

Aren't you able to fly into either Milan or Venice then home from the other city? This will save lots of backtracking and free up time for you.

scrb11, the OP of this thread asked about Milan and Venice, and the person will be traveling by train. Your questions are different entirely, so start your own thread with an appropriate title if you want anyone to see/answer them.

Sorry didn't mean to hijack, but since there seemed to be people already here familiar with the region and time of the year ...

Hi Jean - I will actually be in Italy during the week of the 13th and roundtrip train tickets are just 36 euros from Florence for a day trip and we're thinking of grabbing them now to take advantage of the great rates! I was in Venice for Carnival in 2007 and it wasn't cold at all so I'm hopeful. Seeing how the moon date is the 13th, would it be best to go before or after, and if so by how many days? We could go the 11th ore the 12th or is that too risky? Appreciate the advice all!

In November, I would stay away from staying around the San Marco area because it is a very low point in Venice and get's a lot of flooding. Many areas get very little or hardly any flooding at all.

Thanks! We would just be taking the train to Venice for a day between 11/11 and 11/15 from Florence. Just trying to figure out if it makes sense to do this rather than a day trip to Rome. I love Venice but have only been for Carnivale.