We will be in Milan, Venice, Florece,Rome, Capri in January. What kind of weather can I expect so I know what to pack.

it's easier to tell you what you won't get. These include monsoons [though the rain may be heavy, temperatures inexcess of 30C and [probably] snow falls of over 2 metres. Otherwise, your guess is as good as ours.

Sorry if this is less helpful than you would like; the fact is the european weather is as unpredictable as that in...greenville, USA just to pick somewhere at random. Last November, here in Cornwall where it never snows, we had about a foot in 6 hours and everything ground to a halt.

It will not be very hot, though it may be warm enough to sit outside at midday, especially in Capri, it could well rain, and the chances are it will be quite cold and breezy.

But it's a lovely time to travel with few tourists [well, fewer] and all that walking will warm you up.

I believe it will be pretty cold in general.

Well - it's winter in a temperate climate (not sure where you're from). So you will get a variety of temperatures from coldish to chilly to maybe not so chilly. And the precipitation is more likely to be rain than snow - but it does snow, rarely, as far south as Rome.

I wouldn;t do Capri this time of year - since a lot of places will be closed (as in any beach resort out of season) and if the water is rough getting back and forth to the island (to see Pompeii, Positano, Amalfi etc) may be difficult. Most likely you can;t see the Blue Grotto - since that is accessible only when the sea is very calm - rare in the winter.

So pack a warm jacket, waterproof shoes or boots, layers including several sweaters and an umbrella. You can do a raincoat instead of the jacket as long as it has a warm lining (preferably zip out) and you can put a sweater underneath.

Waz in Florence a few years back in early Jan and the temps dipped to 15 degrees F - exceptionally cool but that was only at night - days were in the 40s but later i read they had snow and ice. Not so good for slurping gelato i guess.

Well our January trip was cancelled. I guess only a few of us hardy souls wanted to brave the elements in January. Now we are going in March. What will the weather be like at that time? Have to rethink the packing--had already bought new clothes for the January trip and now since we are going in March I am thinking I will need a whole new set of clothes????

See www.worldclimate.com and/or www.weatherbase.com - - like the weather in Greenville (IL), March can be very unpredictable, though the Mediterranean Sea provides considerably more protection from snow than the Mississippi River.

Best wishes,

Rex

Just when I thought I had this all figured out our trip got changed from January to March. Go figure--what about the weather then?

It will still be cool in March, but you may actually get to sit outside in a cafe on Capri! Unfortunately, it tends to be rainy that time of year in Milan, Venice and Florence. Still, you will have better weather than January. Have fun!

Rome can go from pretty cool, especially in the evenings, to nice, warm weather. I'd recommend packing lightweight layers. I was in Rome in March a few years ago and was actually a bit too warm in a blazer worn over a shirt and nice dress pants.

Buon Viaggio,
BC

January is pretty cold in all these places - I had snow last New Year in Florence, for instance. Even southern Italy is fairly cold at that time of year, but if the sunshines it can still be lovely - you can sit outside at a cafe, but you'll still need to keep your coat on.

I was there in January two years ago. Rain, rain, rain. It rained about 30% of the time.

I STILL tease my DH about the 10 E umbrella he bought in Rome!

According to Weather.com and Weatherbase the average high temperature in Rome is 55F in Jan and 59F in March, so your packing should be basically the same. You do have a better chance of some warm days in March, though, so bring along some light clothing. The old saw of dressing in layers applies here. You can always remove a jacket or sweater if you become too warm.