I am beginning to plan a third trip to Italy for me. Both previous trips were in the summer. I would like to return in more of the off season to avoid the worst of the crowds and hot weather (not a fan of hot weather and don't mind the cold!).


I am interested in getting the opinions of people who have traveled in the winter. I am thinking of possibly going in November/December. I understand there will be much less daylight but I think that's okay. We would not be heading north - no Lake Como or Dolomites or even Venice or Milan.

I am envisioning 2 / 2.5 weeks with 3 nights in Rome at the beginning or end, some nights in a couple Tuscan towns (I have not been to Montepulciano or Arezzo and would love to overnight there and San Gimignano where I only have daytripped to). I would love to spend a couple nights on the Amalfi Coast. What is it like this time of year? Of course, we wouldn't be swimming or laying on the beach but that's fine. Are restaurants open in the winter? Is it grey and rainy most of the time or could we still hope for beautiful scenery? I also would like to spend 2 or 3 nights in Matera.

I am wondering if anyone can give opinions/information on what those places are like in December. The plan is obviously subject to change and nothing is set in stone. I will likely eliminate some of the mentioned destinations so we aren't overly rushing around. The places I listed now are just kind of a wish list that I think would be a good blend of new things for me and my husband. Any opinions or experiences with travel to Italy this time of year? Thanks!

I've been to Italy once in November, twice in March and the other 10 times in July. So obviously I'm partial to summer. But I wouldn't not go in winter. In addition to the reduced hours of daylight (November/December being worse than March in that respect) there is the weather. Not just the temperature but the likelihood of rain/cloudy weather.



Consider the destination and what there is to do if the weather if rainy. For example, I was on the Amalfi Coast in March one year and while one day was drop dead gorgeous and I had a great time, several other days were total wash outs. And there isn't all that much to do there when it's pouring rain. Will you be happy in your hotel reading a book? I actually canceled one day there (and it was even too late to cancel the hotel reservation so I ended up paying for two hotels one night) and went to Rome a day early. In Rome there is plenty to do in bad weather - lots of museums, church interiors, shopping. In late November/December there will also be Christmas markets in cities. I loved Matera in July, not sure I'd feel the same if it was raining. However, if you have 3 nights there your chances of getting at least one sunny day are increased.



So I would consider basing in medium/large cities that you could do day trips to smaller towns from and then hope you get some nice days to do those day trips. Bologna has lots of covered streets, that's a great place in the rain and there are a lot of day trips possible from there. Or Florence. You mentioned not northern Italy and I agree the lakes and mountains would not be good destinations but you might consider the Veneto, Bologna, Milan, etc. And of course Rome is a good idea at that time of year.


The other thing about places like the Amalfi Coast is that lots of restaurants/hotels may be closed. Certainly not all of them, but it will be a different feel. One woman I know who runs a shop in Sorrento says she closes for the months of November-February except for a couple weeks around Christmas.

We loved our week in Milano starting in late November last year. Had a beautiful apartment, walked all over, went to museums, ate great winterish food....fabulous time. Lake Maggiore for four days afterward? Not so much, though we did have one sunny day when the boats were running, and it wasn't unpleasant to explore the town itself. You wouldn't find me on the Amalfi Coast or any other primarily resort area at that time of year - too many things closed down for the season.

We once owned a seasonal business in New England and spent many Novembers in Europe, mostly in Italy. A couple times, we stayed on until early December. We often heard that late fall is the rainy season in southern Italy/Sicily, but we always seemed to avoid much of that. A few snow flurries in Tuscany but November was mostly crisp fall days with some late foliage.. Fairly nice in Rome and mild in Amalfi and Sicily. Maybe average 65-70 degrees Amalfi, 60-65 Rome and 55-60 in Tuscany in November dropping by 5 degrees or so in early December. Not bad for even a couple like us from Florida. We never had a shortage of restaurants and shops. No tourists but busy enough. Good idea to stay away from the north unless you want to experience some early winter. Not so much fun when it's frigid in Venice but gorgeous in Bolzano and the mountains.

We’ve spent time in Florence, Milan and Venice at the beginning of December. The weather was really pretty good—a bit of rain, but far less than we’ve had during our Spring vacations. I wouldn’t hesitate to go at that time of year again (in fact we’re spending time in Turin, Venice and Verona this December).

Outside larger cities, the key date seems to be All Saints Day (November 1st). It a big holiday, restaurants and shops appear to stay open til then. But, almost immediately after that, most of them close for the winter. That's not to say we had trouble finding a restaurant.....there were still plenty of wonderful places to eat. But a lot of the shops were closed.

I've not been in December, but we did go in January and February. I think December might be the same. It was really really cold north of Rome. We stayed in larger cities, so I can't say what the more rural areas would be like. I would imagine they would be pretty shut down.

Early November in Chianti was just magical. The trees and vines were bright shades of yellow and red. It was like driving through an oil painting. Gorgeous!

Second half of December will be highs season and busy. You're basically looking at November until December 15th.

I love Venice in the winter. You still have some crowds during the day but at some point they all seem to disappear.

To a lesser extent the same thing with Rome. Rome is big enough with enough locals that it never really empties out. It'll be less crowded than mid summer but it won't be a ghost town.

I'd think twice about any of the smaller coastal towns. Places like Rome,Venice or Florence even at the lowest point of the year are setup for tourists. Everybody is opening and working.

<<I love Venice in the winter. You still have some crowds during the day but at some point they all seem to disappear.>>

Venice was absolutely heaving with tourists between Christmas and New Year 2 years ago. We were there along with 4 other Fodorites and it was wall-to-wall people along the main pathways. Almost impossible to get over any of the well-known bridges. In the less-known places, not so bad. Perhaps it's not that bad before and after the holidays, but I wouldn't go back again around Christmas. and I love the place.

That's the highest of high season. I'll be there Jan 7th this year and I bet it'll almost be lonely in the evening or early morning.

I can well believe that.