Has anyone done Florence, Venice and around
Tuscany in January? I know it will be quite
cool, but uncomfortable. I did Southern
Germany last Jan. and it can't get much colder than that.

Will be in Germany for New Year's and
want to check out the area.

thanks, Morttvl

Let me clarify that, I want
to check out Tuscany in Jan
after doing New Year's in Germany

Hi Morttvl
I will be in Tuscany too in January - and wondering the same thing, I'm not sure really what to expect. Also I will be in Southern Germany/Austria in late December to early January - how cold was it when you were there? What did you wear to keep warm?
Manda

I have been to all of those spots during January. LAst January it was a bit cold and windy in southern Tuscany. (We stayed in Montepulciano). We were fine with wool winter jackets and wool sweaters underneath. Florence was not as cold..we wore the jackets but did not need sweaters underneath. We had one day of rain; the rest of the week was lovely weather for walking around. A few years back we spent a week during January in Venice..again, wool jacket was fine and hats were useful as well as gloves. We llike traveling so much during January that we will return to Rome again this coming January. As I remember, we had more cold in Rome at night in January than we did in either Venice or Florence. I should add that we walk a long way at night to go to various restaurants..if you do not need or want to venture very far the cold will be even less of an issue.

Hi Morttvl,

Last winter we spent the last week of January and the first week of February in Florence and Venice.

While Venice is typically cooler than Florence, during our stay it was 10 degrees warmer. We had temps in the 40's (fahrenheit)and cloudy in Florence. 50's and sunny in Venice.

I suggest layering. It worked out quite well for us. Layering with a comfortable warm jacket will be perfect. I did wear my scarf in Florence.

Remember comfortable and well broken-in shoes! Feel free to click on my name if you have interest in my trip report to these areas.

We loved it so much, have a lovely journey.

It can easily be snowing in the higher parts of Tuscany in January, sometimes to the extent of blocking the roads. However, I find the short days the main constraint. Starting out early means it's black and at the end of the day you're groping around in the dark again. At midday if the sun comes out, you get both a wonderful clear day and noticeable warmth.