I will let you know when I get back. I am going the first week in August to France. I cannot imagine it being any more hot or humid than Virginia in the summer. We are going to be 94 F on Saturday, 95 on Sunday and 96 on Monday, and the humidity will be sky high, and I cant imagine France being that hot. Of course, I have never been there so I really don't know. I am about to find out

namtrag - one BIG difference, when it is 95 in VA you <u>can</u> go inside an air conditioned bldg if need be. No such option (well, almost none) in France/Europe.

Don't get me wrong - I go to Europe in the summer - but a/c makes a huge difference . . . .

For Germany, August will be a perfect month. Best chance to catch good weather, less traffic on the Autobahn, no crowds.

Switzerland is terrific in August, too. (If you leave out August 2005, that is.)

School starts mid August.

Weather in France can vary so much that it makes it difficult (for me anyway) to pack.

First half of August in Bavaria is mostly okay, in the 2nd half temperatures usually drop.

We will be traveling to Germany, Switzerland and France in August ... and have found that the hotels are cheaper!

I would recommend Scandinavia in August: Scandinavians have already taken their vacations in July and at the end of June (Midsummer is a big thing there), the weather is more stable, pleasantly warm (70s, sometimes upper 60s), the gardens are at their prime... however if you venture to northern Norway some of the mountain overpasses close already in the middle of August. I was once caught in a sudden snowstorm in early September and it was in southern Norway. The big, plump pillows of snow looked so unreal on fresh, green birch leaves.

Just to flip this around a little bit...I think August is a bad time to visit the US, yet many take a holiday there that month. Florida in hurricane season anyone? Monsoon rains or wildfires out west? How about the heat and humidity of the northeast? Living in Texas I have to agree with Missypie. I am looking forward to my August trip to Paris, especially since I am neither childless nor retired and must travel in the summer or winter anyway!

Time is more important than the weather! Hot; wear less. Cold; wear more. AC is expensive and expensive to run; Europeans opt for simpler comfort means. Years ago, Chicagoans slept on roofs or travelled to Northern Wisconsin. If physical comfort is a priority...October.

We live travelling in spring and fall, with October being our favorite, since weather is still nice enough in most places, and all the family groups are out of the picture. We never leave vacation in summer, since we don't enjoy hot or humid weather, and the crowds that occur in the summer months. I imagine it's worse in Europe than in the US during the summer since most vacation at the same time, the land mass is much smaller and supports more people than the US, and a lot of places don't offer air conditioning. We have also heard of a lot of closures in August due to the continental vacation ritual. Cities should be open and running. Guess it depends on your tolerance of the problems mentioned by others in this post.

Keep in mind that there's a big difference between living in a hot, humid area and being a tourist in a hot, humid area. It's much easier to deal with heat and humidity as a resident than as a tourist.

But, as pointed out many times on this forum, if you must visit hot, humid places at their weather-worst, there are ways to ease the impact of the heat and humidity.

&gt;It's much easier to deal with heat and humidity as a resident than as a tourist.
Why would that be?

Wow- the concensus seems to be anywhere but southern Italy- just where we're headed in August.
It's a matter of a good airfare for me. Crazy to brave the Amalfi coast for the first time? The Veneto? Is that the most humid area? I'm getting very nervous! We don't have much heat or humidity where I live in the SF Bay Area. The perfect summer destination if you don't like heat!

logos999-

just guessing, but I think Rufus meant that perhaps a person who resides in a place with hot/humid weather is usually living in a house and/or working in an office with air conditioning.

A tourist is out and about most of the day, often outdoors and therefore more uncomfortable than the person who's working comfortably in their office.

The bay area always seems freezing cold in the summer to me....bring on the heat and humidity!

We spent 3 weeks in Paris last August. We found more to see and places to eat than we had time for (even though some restaurants were closed), fine weather and less crowds in terms of transportation, etc. It was an absolutely fine time to be there.

We had three nights in Madrid in late August 2005, and the temperature got up as high as 100F or so. But it was not so bad, because we had a lovely 4* hotel with great air conditioning. And the hotel was for a cheap price as well.

London and Amsterdam were fine in August 2005 in all respects.

I wouldn't want to visit somewhere like Rome or Paris in August without staying in a nice, airy, air-conditioned room. I am fine with a closet-size space in the winter, spring, or fall, but I'd find that unbearable on a hot, humid day and night.

we live in Italy, and we always go on vacation in august because, as mentioned before, that's the month that most businesses close and Italians can take their vacations. I think a really nice benefit of going to Italy in August (instead of, say, October) is that you get to visit the beaches. I would say that it's better, and less crowded, to go in June or July, but August is still summer. and still perfect beach weather.

Also, many cities have begun to take initiatives to make people stay within the city, rather than all taking that mass August exodus. I know Bologna has activities now for summer, and the town I live in, Macerata, is actually the MOST fun in August, when opera season, town markets, and jazz concerts in the squares take over an otherwise non-touristy, non-populated town.

The main problem for us is that many shops and restaurants take their ferie (vacation) in august, and therefore some of our favorite restaurants remain closed. Still, as cities become more popular August destinations (in comparison to, say, beaches and mountain towns), more restaurants in our town, at least, are taking their 2 weeks vacation a bit later--around late September.

Anyway, this year there is a good chance WE'LL be in Venice in August too--never been during that month, but hopefully it will be nice!

&gt;chepar
Right, I think this interpretation only applies to people from the US.