We will be spending 2 weeks in Florence in July ‘09 followed by a week in Venice at the end of July. While we would prefer fall or spring, we must visit in July because of a conference.

I would appreciate advice concerning how to best take advantage of these wonderful locations at this challenging time of year—things to avoid, best ways to approach the activities that shouldn’t be missed, best ways to deal with the heat & crowds, etc (we will have an apartment in Florence with air conditioning).

We tend to enjoy cultural sites, art, history, special art exhibits and classical concerts in churches. Thanks so much.

Curious

with 3 weeks, you may want to resist the temptation to do "all" of Italy and concentrate on locales that flow into each other, such as Florence, Bologna, Verona, and Venice. July will be hot and you should pace yourself.
If you agree, let me know and I'll send you a booklist that should add to your pleasures.

Do you have to stay in Florence the two weeks because of the conference? If not, I would take a week elsewhere.

Something very attractive is the opera at the arena in Verona. You can do an evening trip from Venice, but make sure you check the time of the last train back to Venice. I like this idea because it is something special that can only be done in the summer.

If you can get up early in the morning, you can get a lot done. You'll be happy to know that churches are cool in summer!

In Firenze, I would get up early and do all my outdoor sightseeing and shopping before 11am. I'd have a looooooong lunch. Probably a nap until 4 or 5pm. Shower. Join the passegiata (stroll around eating gelato). Then sit down and have a drink. Sometime around 8, head off to dinner. You might prefer a concert and dinner after.

If I didn't take a nap in the afternoon, I would head to a cool museum. Florence has more than a half dozen great ones, and of course the churches. I would try to see the Boboli gardens one morning.

Day trips? I would go to Bologna, which has miles and miles and miles of porticoes, so you can walk in the shade. And you can eat great food. And see the important city treasures in a day.

Lucca might be nice, especially if you like to ride bikes. Could be cooling.

In Firenze, there are actually public swimming pools you pay a small fee to get into. You might check it out with the tourist office.

You'll soon figure out how to get away from the crowds -- in Venice too. I would certainly a boat trip to the island of Torcello. (Skip the Lido unless you are a movie nut like me.) Don't miss the scuolae. Or the Accademia.

Find your spot in Venice where you know you won't tourists, and visit in the evenings with a bottle of wine.

have a great time

Thanks so much for these ideas. My husband has been to Florence before for another conference but time was short and he was working. Another year we were in the area but again it was July and we stayed in the hilltowns.

This time we are determined to have time in Florence and brave the crowds. As this seems to be the time of year we are able to get to this part of the world, we want to spend time at both these locations, actually staying a week also in Venice rather than rushing around, as you wisely advise. We will just have to adjust our schedule to do what can be done while here. Any books you can suggest would be great. Opera in Verona is a wonderful idea as are the suggestions for Bologna and Lucca. The suggestions for the way to pace life in Florence are great. Any further suggestions are welcome as well. Thanks very much.

Curious

As with others that have replied I would recommend visiting Bologna! It's only about an hour outside of Florence - not as crowded/touristy and personally I would stay there over Florence.. I love it there! Since you are going to be in Italy during July/Aug. I would also recommend Cinque Terre (but book NOW)... take advantage of the warm weather by spending a couple of days along the beautiful coast - you can take the train from Florence.

I spent a few weeks in July 04 in Florence and Venice, and again this past July in Padua and really like Italy in July. Sure there are some crowds but they are not that bad. Right in front of the Duomo, Pont Vecchio, etc will be crowded in the mid day, but mornings and evenings are wonderful, and just a few blocks away you have the streets to yourself. It may be hot mid day, but there's plenty of shade, and if your hotel is AC you can take a siesta mid afternoon for a few hours.

Venice is more challenging, I've been there three different July's and once it was horribly hot and humid but the other two times not bad. Same advice, go out early morning, do a few hour siesta mid day in your AC hotel room, and enjoy the long evenings. In fact, in both Florence and Venice July is considered a shoulder season with lower hotel rates than May, June, and Sept. According to people at the hotels, the crowds are worse in those months than in July. The crowds mid day in Venice can be horrible on the main route from Rialto to San Marco so do those areas in the less crowded hours. Even when they were shoulder to shoulder though the back streets were almost deserted. With a whole week you should have no trouble arranging your days.

While there is plenty to see in both towns, for three weeks I'd plan some day trips. From Florence I did Sienna (by bus), Lucca and Pisa (by train). From Venice you can easily do Padua, Verona, Vicenza and Bologna. AS I said, I stayed in Padua this past summer and did day trips, and I loved it.

The idea to try the opera in Verona will probably not work out unless you have a car or can spend the night. I tried but found the last train back to Padua (and Venice) left around 11pm, meaning you'd have to leave the opera in the middle, around 10. The next train was at 5am.

My photos of all these areas are at www.pbase.com/annforcier The areas we're discussing are in three different galleries.

Ask your concierge to make reservations for those museums requiring them. Big time saver.
Padua is nice day trip from Venice if you have the time. Also check the Padua site for reservations NOW for a chuch there whose name I have lost. Help from OP?

Boboli Gardens behind the PItti Palace in Florence are nice and have some shady areas.

I like very much the idea of being active early and late in the day, escaping the heat in the middle either indoors with airconditioning or in gardens, and getting to know some of the back streets to avoid crowds, as well as taking day trips to visit a few other towns. These all sound like excellent ideas.

We may actually be able to schedule 2 days in Padua at the very end that would allow us to see the Scrovegni Chapel with the double time appointment that I understand you can only get in the evenings.

Again, thank you for these ideas.

Curious

P.S. Dear Isabel, I was mesmerized by the stunning photos in the link you included to your trips not just to Venice and Florence but to other gorgeous places you've traveled. Other travelers will surely enjoy seeing these if they click on the link you provided. Thank you.

When you go to see David at the Accademia, go later in the afternoon (about 5pm), the bus groups will have gone by then and the queue will be short. We did this last June and only waited about 5 minutes to be allowed in. It would be awful to stand for ages in the July heat. The gallery doesn't close until about 7pm so you have plenty of time to see the very divine David.

As another poster said, Florence is gorgeous in the evenings as well as the beautiful evening light, the tour groups are gone and the city presents itself very differently from the middle of the day when it is hot and crowded.

On the same side of the Arno River as the Boboli Gardens there are some lovely walks (providing the weather isn't too hot) and you can make your way up towards a church (cathedral) called San Mineato, the views as you look back to Florence from here are beautiful.

You could also take a day trip to Siena or San Gimignano. Both are lovely.

Thank you for the tip about the Accademia being open so late, and the line being short at that time. Walk to San Mineato as well as Boboli Gardens appreciated.

i bought my ticket to see David online and didnt have to wait in a line.

same with tickets to st. marks in Venice.

http://www.tickitaly.com/tickets/acc...et-booking.php

http://www.tickitaly.com/galleries/m...nice-italy.php

Most helpful! Thanks.