My husband and I have booked a trip to Italy from September 4th until October 4th, hoping to avoid some crowds and intense heat.

We are traveling with another couple for the first week of the trip, and then solo and possibly meeting up with them again for the last several days before heading home. We will have a car for the entire trip, if needed. We have been to Italy many times, and have visited the main tourist cities and some out-of-the-way places. We love beautiful scenery, exploring villages, good food & wine, and history. We are looking for recommendations on towns and villages to not miss, restaurants and wineries to visit, as well as any festivals going on, if any.

Our current itinerary is:

Fly into Turin on 9/5/25.

La Morra in Piemonte - base for 8 nights.
I'd love any ideas on what not to miss in this area. The couple we are traveling with has some knowledge of this area, but it may have changed since the last time they were there, so we would love input.

Porto Ceresio - Lake Lugano - base for 6 nights.
My husband and I will then drive to Lake Lugano for 6 nights. We have never been to this lake (have been to Lake Como), and it looks lovely. Again, any ideas from people who have been there and what they have loved about this area are appreciated!

Porto Santo Stefano - Grosseto base for 9 nights. Is this too long in this area? As you can tell, we do not enjoy hopping from place to place and prefer to have a base and explore nearby areas on day trips. We have been to Tuscany many times, but never in this area. My husband is hoping to golf maybe a day or two while we are in this area. Other suggestions are welcome from those who know this area.

Our final 5 nights are still unbooked, but we would LOVE recommendations. We are open to going south or inland, and we fly out of FCO.

Thanks to everyone in this group who always have such great ideas and recommendations ~

If you want to avoid the intense heat it might be worth going south and of course all the local tourists will have gone by mid September. Puglia and Lecce would be good.

Not sure this will avoid intense heat. I was in Lecce and Puglia last October and it was still in the 90sF/32C. I think closer OP is to mountains, the less intense it is likely to be.

OP, I cannot comment on your plans as I have not been to this region but for averages, a good resource is weatherspark.com

For your time on Lake Maggiore, consider visiting Isola Bella: Gorgeous! I enjoyed time in the Ticino; you might also consider visiting Locarno, Lugano, and some of the many delights of that part of Switzerland.

Well, apart from the subject I'm not allowed to mention, years vary, I find 30C is nice enough and in Puglia it will be 25-30C depending on weather.

I don't like 38+ and that is what you get in Puglia in July and August plus you get the hordes.

Falling on your sword aside, I still fail to see why suggesting Puglia is helpful to the OP when they clearly have different ideas on where to spend their time in Italy, which is clearly in the opposite direction.

Maybe you can provide some suggestions if you have them for their current itinerary?

Thanks Kja - is it easy to get around the lake via Ferry? That is what I'm hoping!

Bilboburgler -
Thank you. We have been to Puglia, and it's not in our plans this trip. But it is beautiful!!

I stayed it Ascona (part of Locarno); getting to Isola Bella by ferry was very easy. I don't know about the Italian side -- sorry! I'm sure a good guidebook would cover it.

Check out Chapters Ten - Thirteen in link below of our 2018 trip report (lots of photos). Our base was La Morra, so should give you some good ideas. Sadly, our favorite restaurant Bovio closed down. There is a new restaurant there. You could be our Fodor's guinea pig.

Turin is a great city, too.

https://travelswithmaitaitom.com/italy-2018/

@ Travel Nerd "We are open to going south or inland, and we fly out of FCO."

A few crazy ideas to open up your thinking

1) There is a new cycle way from Turin east (basically to Padua), if you are up for it and ebikes you will meet the real Italy, enjoy lots of fresh air, see very few crowds, have a great appetite in the evening.
2) Just to the west of Padua is a small hill range (Colli Euganei) with cooling breezes, vinyards and little hotels and between the two is a lovely gold course connected to a spa. The little towns in that area are wonderful and again suffer little tourist attack (apart from Padua) and all are within easy drive. Most visitors drive pass this little area but it is wonderful base.

For Piemonte ideas, you may want to see my trip report from last May Northern Italy May 2024 : Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria

Apologies for the vagueness of this but I thought I’d read that ferries between north and south of lake Maggiore are curtailed this year. You may wish to investigate further.

I loved your trip report and will use it for inspiration 😊

My husband would definitely be interested in the golf course. Thanks for your ideas!

I am loving your trip report... thanks for sharing

PORTO CERESIO is not the nicest place along Lake Lugano. All depends on where exactly your accommodation is situated, however.
Public transport:
Ferries to Lugano (Switzerland) at 11.20, 13,10, 16.10, 17.55. All ferries stop at Brusino, from where you can go by gondola to viewpoint Serpiano (Switzerland) and at Paradiso from where you can go by rope railway to viewpoint Monte San Salvatore.
Bus to Ponte Tresa every 1-2 hrs from 6.05am until 7.05 pm. Connecting buses from there to Luino/Lake Maggiore and to the scenic small villages in the Upper Malcantone.
Bus to Capolago (Switzerland) - every hr from 5.35 until 20.35. Capolago is the starting point of the cog wheel railway to Monte Generoso with views over all lakes and from Mont Blanc - Matterhorn up to Piz Bernina and Ortles
Trains from Capolago to Lugano and to Chiasso/Como about every 20 min,
Trains to Milan every hr

If you have a car, you can easily visit the Unesco sites and all the other gems in the Swiss Canton of Ticino

We will have a car, and also look forward to taking some ferries around. What area on Lake Lugano do you recommend, if not Porto Ceresio? This is the place we booked, maybe you can tell me about this area. It gets good reviews.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4996442...D-oKgxUe5zKDg7

Don't worry. If you have a car, you can go wherever you like
https://www.komoot.com/guide/635520/...-porto-ceresio
https://www.ticinotopten.ch/en/

Most visited places iin the greater area:
Lugano, Morcote, Gandria, Castles of Bellinzona, Locarno, Ascona, Cannobio, Melide, Varese Sacro Monte, Battistero at Riva San Vitale, Monte Generoso, WW1 forifications above Porto Ceresio (easier access via Serpiano), Carona, Ponte Capriasca (Last Supper), Monte San Salvatore, Monte Bre, Monte Lema, Tamaro fun park, Alpe Foppa (church of Botta), Monte Tamaro, Tamaro - Monte Lema Trail, Cardada, Trarego, Monte Mottarone, Arcumeggia (painted houses), Sasso del Ferro,
Sanctuaries of Locarno Madonna del Sasso, Re, Santa Caterina del Sasso, Sacro Monte, Saronno, Boleto Madonna del Sasso, Varallo;
Rope Bridge Monte Carasso, Islands of Isola Bella , Isola Madre, Isola dei Pescatori, San Giulio (Orta), Brissago,
Smuggler Museum Cantine di Gandria, Umbrella Museum Gignese
etc. etc.

neckervd Thank you for the attachment. Lots of good information there!