So it looks like if we are going to get back to Italy next year, its going to have to be in August. I have spent lots of time there (1 1/2 years in Florence, off and on, 5 weeks in Rome and Umbria last summer), but have never been in August. Everything I have heard makes it sound like the worst time to go: heat, crowds, cost, etc. But I'm wondering if its maybe still better than not going at all? I was thinking of somwhere a bit off the beaten track, like maybe Piemonte, but we are travelling with small kids (ages 5 and 8) so we won't be doing a lot of mountain hiking or cycling or wine tasting. Maybe there is another spot on the quieter side but with good family activities? Would love the benefit of everyone's experience. Thanks so much.
I spent the last week in July in the Dolomites with my Uncle and his family. It was magical! The weather was usually warm and sunny during the day, with a cooling temporale (summer rain) most evenings. The mountain air was so fresh and clean, I felt like I was reborn after a week there.
The place where we were, Dobbiaco, had loads of Italian tourists, a few German tourists, but not too many others. Italians really love escaping to the mountains during July and August!
We were also travelling with kids - my cousin's son, Gilberto, is 5. We just tailored our walks so that they'd be easier, more like rambles, rather than full-on hikes. Actually, Gil kept up really really well! Outran us adults on several occasions! Plus he was so exhausted at night that he slept like a log.
Also, if you go to the mountains at that time of year it's usually the season for wild strawberries and blackberries (not to mention wild porcini mushrooms!) Gilberto had a lot of fun collecting all these fruits of the forest, which we then made up into a fruit salad for dessert.
I'd say definitely try out a mountain experience. Get the help of the local tourist office to know which are some easier walks for the kids, take a picnic lunch or eat hardy mountain food at a rifugio, and enjoy the scenery.
As I bet you guessed, Nicole, millions of Italians spend their time in Italy in August; so it can't be that bad.
Of course it's hot; although not really much hotter than July. If you don't like hot, go where it's cool! Many of the aforesaid Italians do, and the entire peninsula is one large mountain chain so that you can get your coolth with altitude within 100 miles, and very often much less, from anywhere. In particular, the Abruzzo is beautiful in deep summer; if the Italian proverb is "Hell is Terni in the summer and L' Aquila in the winter", well I wouldn't vouch for Terni being Heaven at any time of year, but L' Aquila is splendid in the summer.
I'm a bit at a loss for "family activities"? The minute you're thinking amusement parks and so on, in August, you're thinking crowds: so it's a trade-off you need to address. But when I was a kid, my parents took me all kinds of places without pandering to kiddie stuff, and I was rarely bored. The novelty of the travel in itself ought to keep the moppets amused. Mountains, of course, need not be hiked: they can be looked at from a car or even a bus excursion.
You will find crowds only in the crowded places; a moment's thought: not every place can be crowded! As you know, "Tuscany" in quotes is crowded; i.e., the 10% of Tuscany that is crowded, i.e., Florence, Siena, the Chianti area. But the rest of Tuscany by and large is not, and much of it is quite beautiful. And I've been to plenty of places in Italy where I was the only visitor, or at most one of only a handful of visitors. Some of my favorite places along your line of thinking: Chioggia (maybe a bit warm but plenty of swimming); Leonessa, Monteleone di Spoleto; inland Elba; Anghiari; Treia-Pollenza-Urbisaglia; Fabriano, Cantiano, Cagli. And I've only been to 2% of Italy (that is, 160 of the 8300 townships); others will have other favorites, among which, still along your line of thinking of course, the following come up repeatedly but without hordes of fellow visitors: Offida, Cingoli; the Trentino-Val d'Adige; Susa, Aosta; Stilo; Pentema and similar towns in Liguria; the Monte Amiata area of Tuscany; Sardinia — judiciously picking the less touristed areas — if your kids are swimmers; I'd mention a whole passel of places in Puglia 'cept that's getting hot.
We have been to Italy in the past in July/August. We didn't find it that bad. Of course we couldn't run for many hours as it was hot but still visited even Pompeii for the first time in August. We stayed in Sorrento that time and it wasn't that crowded except for the beach which is very small there. In general our experience was that AC in some places didn't work perfectly, but we just opened the windows at night and it was cool enough to sleep. One place that we found completely quiet was on Lago Maggiore, Verbania. We took the boat to visit other towns around the lake. It was not the nicest of the villages there, but we wanted to relax after a very busy tour, and it was just perfect. It was even cool at night and not hot at all during the day. The views were really nice and we felt completely in the nature.
I think the whole "August phobia" is way over done. Sure, you'll have some crowds at the sea, but the countryside is spacious and most of the cities are less crowded. And if things continue the way they did this past summer and 2004, the weather was far from scorching - especially the first two weeks of the month.
Italy in August is fine as long as you avoid the coast as this is where all the Italians go. Areas of Tuscany that are lovely and not crowded in August include The Casentino Valley and in particular the medieval town of Poppi with its castle, (the kids will love to visit)or look at the Mugello and places like Londa, if you stay here at a place in the hills, about 500mtrs you tend to enjoy a nice breeze in August and cooler nights, I live at 500mtrs in a small village and have small children, August is no problem, just make sure you stay where there is a pool available if possible. Places like Florence no longer have busy and quiet periods, September and October are just as busy if not busier then August with hundreds od coach trips invading the city with groups snaking through the streets, this is in fact less of a problem in August. With regards to the weather this year September was better and generally hotter than August as was June. For me the Casentino or Mugello give you a real taste of Italy and good value prices. An example of this was that we organised a wedding for clients in Greve in Chianti this summer, I had to meet the couple to discuss a few things and we sat inside (not out) in a bar in Greve in Chianti 2 beers and 2 wines cost 17.00 euros. The same in Rufina or Londa north east of Florence where I live costs 7.00 euros and you can sit outside at no extra cost. My advise stay in 'real italy' and just visit the more touristy areas such as 'Chiantishire' Siena etc. Have a nice holiday
Also think Italy in August is fine with the understanding that the beaches are going to be packed. If you will be driving a major consideration should be the queues going out of the major cities the beginning of August; vice versa at the end of the month.
With kids, think about going to Lago di Garda. There's a whole range of towns to choose from, and lots of chances to take boats to other towns and eat ice cream and even go to an Italian amusement park. Verona is not far away. The Dolomiti are close. Lemons grow under glass. Lots of places for kids to play, including parks with swingsets.
Another place I'd consider is somewhere in the Piemonte mountains near Torino. Your kids might enjoy Torino for day trips. It has chocolate, movies, mummies and an auto museum and trams. I suspect a lot of the facilties that in winter are ski resorts are open in summer with pools and other amenities for kids.
In northern Italy, rain is as likely to be an issue as heat in August. Most of Piemonte is 'off the beaten path' for a reason.
It is less humid in Southern Italy so the heat is much more bearable. The beaches will be crowded but as with most things it depends where you travel to. In general it is less crowded everywhere after the 20th. If you are independent travelers and you don't want to put your towel on top of your neighbors head to Puglia, Sicily or the west coast of Sardinia.
While there is a risk of rain, Trentino Alto Adige, is very child friendly. Not all of the hikes are Via Ferrata. And while it may not be off the beaten path for Italians it is not crawling with English speakers.
The lakes are nice. However unless you rent a house with a yard you will be in the car, on a train or boat everyday visiting a similar destination. At least from a child's perspective.
But if what you are looking for is a surrogate for Tuscany head to the hill towns in the southern part of the Marche or northern area of Abruzzo. You may just find what you are looking for.
Thanks, everyone, for all the advice. I had been thinking about the north and the lakes and am glad to hear that it may be the perfect option for us (except for the rain and humidity which would be tough for us Southern Californians!). Any further thoughts, keep sending them on! Nicole
I spent the whole of August in Rome holding down the fort at my job (we have lots of foreign clients who are still working in August unlike Italians so someone had to be there - and who better than the crazy foreigner? ). I actually really enjoyed it but it takes a bit of a mental adjustment. If you are in an Italian city then you just can't expect things to be open or anyone to be working. Even buying a coffee in Rome after Aug.15 is tough! On the bright side, however, you have the city to yourself. There is no traffic (at one point I found myself walking down the middle of Via delle Quattro Fontane not a care in the world!) and no crowds and the buildings and squares are just as beautiful. We were also lucky this year that August was quite cool in Rome.
That said - all those people in the city have escaped to the beach and mountains so it may be quite crowded and expensive at any kind of tourist resort during August. Still, Italy is a big country...and you can always come to Rome (or any other city) to escape the crowds and get some solitude.
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). I actually really enjoyed it but it takes a bit of a mental adjustment. If you are in an Italian city then you just can't expect things to be open or anyone to be working. Even buying a coffee in Rome after Aug.15 is tough! On the bright side, however, you have the city to yourself. There is no traffic (at one point I found myself walking down the middle of Via delle Quattro Fontane not a care in the world!) and no crowds and the buildings and squares are just as beautiful. We were also lucky this year that August was quite cool in Rome.
