logos999,

I kind of agree with you about the heat/humidity. I've lived in Florida for 30+ years and haven't gotten "used" to the heat and humidity yet! There's nothing like getting into an air conditioned(?) car that's been sitting in the Florida sun for more than 15 minutes and have it take 20 minutes to get below surface-of-the-sun temperature.

In Florida's case, I think the tourists handle it better than I do.

logos--mostly applies to people from countries with good air conditioning, but it also applies to other countries as well.

Locals usually are experienced in making lifestlye adjustments to help them through hot and humid periods--closing down in the heat of the afternoon, staying indoors with little physical activity.

Tourists will often feel that they must press on no matter the weather as their time is limited--and they have a point. It was really hot in Amsterdam when we were there last week--so we could have sat in the shade and had some cool drinks through the afteroon, but how many chances would we have to see the Van Gogh Museum? So we went to the museum instead.

>closing down in the heat of the afternoon, staying indoors with little physical activity.
What about the thing called work? Wonder what my boss would say ;-), commuting, doing the laundry, shopping, housework etc..., while tourists can stay in one place relaxing and enjoying themselves. Not at all obvious to me why locals have it "better" and can avoid hot weather.

logos999: I think the main point is someone from the very hot/humid parts of the United States (Florida, the Eastern seaboard, Texas, etc.) or from plain old hot places (like Arizona and Nevada) are generally very spoiled. We have a/c'd homes, a/c'd offices, a/c'd stores/malls, very well a/c'd cars. And not the often under powered a/c in many places in Europe - but full powered forced air units that blow a gale and practically freeze your tail off.

So many people in the States basically are in cold air all summer - except for construction workers, and those sorts of outdoor jobs. They dash from their a/c'd house to the a/c'd car to the a/c'd Macy's down the street, or to their a/c'd office.

And except when they are on vacation or out by the pool or maybe playing softball - many are just not out in the heat so much.

But on holiday in Europe we either don't have a/c in the hotel or if we do it might not be as efficient as we're used to. And many sites are not a/c'd or are out of doors.

That is why it is easier for some of us to cope w/ August heat at home than when on holiday

I agree with janisj.

I just read an article by some important health agency in Italy the other day. The article stated it was "not healthy" for people to go from cool a/c rooms out into the hot summer weather and so most places only have the a/c set so that it is about 4 or 5 degrees cooler than the temperture outside.

Not what we are use to in the states.

I often get very cold in a/c places including supermarkets here where I live (Sacramento Valley). There is too much of an extreme between the outdoors and the indoor a/c places.

But in Italy at least August can be brutal IMO between the heat and humidty. The only time in my life I almost passed out was in Florence although that was during a very hot and humid late June rather than August.

Being in the mountains, such as the Dolomites is extremely delightful. But I can't handle the cities in August. But we are all different of course.

bulldawgz, only you can decide which will be the best time for you to travel. Only you know how you can handle extreme heat and humidity which you will probably have in August. Best wishes to you regarding your decision.

>freeze your tail off.
We're having this 10 months a year, no A/C needed. The 2 warmer months people actually enjoy a little warmer weather. It's over so quickly, why would you want to "freeze you tail off" during that period. It's not even really hot and humid in summer compared to places like Singapore, Southern China, Australia or Miami. It's in fact very moderatly warm, nothing compared to the 40+C degrees found in most of the arab states in summer. I've spent two weeks in Italy in august every year for more than a decade and loved it, not a thought about needing A/C. A getaway from the rain for a few days... It must be Americans who hate summer ;-)

Like I said before, it can't be any hotter there than in the Southeast US. I have hosted French teenagers a couple of times, and they came for 3 weeks in July. They had never felt heat like this, occasionally, perhaps, but not day after day. I am looking forward to going to France in August to get away from the heat here in Virginia. A lot of times we don't even get under 80 as our low in August.

revisiting the heat issue: it is supposed to be 96 in Paris today. When we go in about 10 days, it's supposed to be mid 80's high, mid 60's low.

The difference is there heat index according to the Weather Channel website is 92, actual temp is 96. Here in Va, actual is 97, heat index is 107.

I am not saying it would be comfortable in Paris today, but it looks like they have much lower humidity than we do.

Believe me, Paris can be just as humid as anywhere in Virginia where I am also baking at the moment

We leave in a bit over a week for our trip to Germany, Switzerland and France and I've been keeping an eye out on the weather over there. I too live in Northern Virginia and am baking in the heat.

We can only hope that it breaks a little before we all go. The normal high in Paris in Aug according to the Weather Channel is the mid to upper 70's

Enjoy your trip. I'll return to my contention that the United States, heck North America, this time of year has variable and generally unfavorable weather conditions. We too are looking forward to our visti to France next month. One thing I have learned living in Texas is when it comes to weather, as with the stock market, experiencing the average is the exception rather than the rule.

ALL Europeans have the month of August off for vacationing, and usually travel to somewhere where it's warm. All of the beaches and areas with nice climates will be saturated by European Families. Labor Day should be a good bet, and will probably be less-expensive if you plan for Sept - Oct., rather than Augusttrying to go early. Stay-away from August if you can. It will be a crowded nightmare for the month of August! Try out Spain in the fall! It's beautiful, and Bordeaux is the bordering town to Northrn Spain. You could go on to San Sebastian Spain after you visit Bordeaux, France. Check it out, and have a great trip!

amy

One important thing to remember. It's terribly HOT & Humid in August in France & Italy. I was in France one August, and thought I was going to die of the stinch! Remember not too many Europeans wear deodorant, nor do they shower daily, and with air conditioning not being a European priority, you're going to get a "WHIF-Full" anywhere you go. It's nicer in the fall, kids are back in school, and you won't run into family vacationers before starts. Do the Fall Route most definitely!

Oh, give us a break about the deodorant. Most tourists do not smell like roses.

August 2006 was the coldest August in more than 20 years in France. In any case, August is one of the best times to visit Paris, and it is the second cheapest month for hotels after February.

Amy smells like a troll to me

"ALL Europeans have the month of August off for vacationing"

Nonsense. Complete and utter hogwash.

I don't know that many people are against European August travel in an absolute sense. But August does have some disadvantages that some other months do not have. As do January and February.

August disadvantages:

It tends to be a hotter month than most. You can take some actions to reduce the impact, but generally it is more likely to be unpleasantly warm and humid than in May or June in much of Europe.

Many residents do have a portion of the month off increasing the number of European tourists.

Of course, we do a lot of our travel in the late June to mid-August timeframe as Mrs. Fly is a schoolteacher. So sometimes we just have to deal with it if there's a place we really want to visit.

Update: After 'watching' the weather for many months and nothing that the weather over in Europe was hot, hot, hot (june/july '06) my husband and I anticipated a very warm trip for our upcoming trip at the end of July/ beginning of August '06.

Wrong. In Germany and Switzerland it was very chilly and rainy ... so much so that I had to buy a warm, long sleeve pullover and wore pants just about everyday (I threw those pants out after the trip).

One sad thing about travel in August is that many cities do not have operatic or orchestral or theatrical performances, at least not on the scale that they do in other months.