Best Time to Travel

ITALY

All seasons are good for travelling in Italy. From the flowers of the Ligurian Riviera to the Alpine snows, from the golden wheat fields of Apulia to the autumn sunsets in Rome, there is a never ending succession of lights and colours as the sky and the sea, the mlakes and the mountains, the islands and volcanos offer an ever-changing spectacle.

The busiest tourist season in from June to September, but during the other months the savvy traveler will find that Italy has much to offer – everything, indeed!

Spring (March to May)
Spring comes early in Italy and it is the ideal time for holidays in locations such as Florence, the Gulf of Naples, the Sorrento Peninsula, the Amalfi Coast, Sicily and Rome. Flowers bloom and the tourist crowds have yet to arrive. Temperatures are very comfortable, although it can be a little rainy. By May skies are clear and the sun is warm. In the countryside the fields are a spectacle of red poppies, right yellow broom and violet lupins. Days are getting longer and  daylight saving time (+1 hour) is in force from the end of March right through to the end of September.

Summer (June to August)
There are numerous beach resorts all along the ligurian and Adriatic Rivieras and magnificent beaches on the Tyrrhenian, Adriatic and Ionian shores and in Sardinia. At this time of year vacations in the mountains and lakes district are particularly attractive. This is the busiest time of year in Italy with schools on holiday, all of Europe and America on summer holiday. Many offices and factories in Europe close during August bringing masses of tourists into Italy. It is a good month to avoid! You can expect long lines for museums and tourist attractions, restaurants are crowded and service can be slow. If you are planning to go to Italy in summer, it is advisable to plan well in advance and make your bookings even one year ahead. It can also be extremely hot during July and August although evening temperatures are usually quite comfortable.

Autumn (September to November)
This is a beautiful time to be in Italy and can be extremely enjoyable on the lakes of Lombardy, in Rome, on Italy’s beautiful islands and for visiting Italy’s many thermal spas. The temperatures are most pleasant up to the end of October. The countryside is beautiful with vineyards offering expanses of yellow and red hues as harvest begins in late September. Tourism falls off in these months allowing you to fully enjoy activities such as hiking. Days become a little shorter leaving 8 to 9 hours a day for sightseeing, though the weather usually remains dry up to the end of October. Rome is especially enjoyable in October!

Winter (December to February)
This is, of course, the winter sports season with sports centres to be found in the Alps and central Appenines. Winters are especially delightful and quite mild on the Ligurian and Neapolitan coasts and in Sicily. This is also the best time to visit the art cities and avoid the crowds and the heat of summer. The northern cities such as Milan and Bologna can be a little cold, and you can also experience plenty of rain and snow.

FRANCE

France has the benefit of a temperate, rather agreeable climate.                    
Spring offers the best weather to visitors, with beach tourism picking up in May. Temperatures aren't too bad in autumn, although the short days mean limited sunlight and the cold starts to make itself felt towards the end of the season, even along the Côte d'Azur. Winter means playing in the snow in France's Alps and Pyrenees, though the Christmas school holidays send hordes of tadpoles in uniform scurrying for the slopes. Mid-July through to the end of August is when most city dwellers take their annual five weeks' vacation to the coasts and mountains, and the half-desolate cities tend to shut down a bit accordingly. The same happens during February and March.


Continental France is divided into four climatic zones:
•    Oceanic and humid climate with often cool summers to the west of a line from Bayonne to Lille;

•    Semi-continental climate with harsh winters and hot summers in Alsace, Lorraine, along the Rhône corridor and in the mountainous massifs (Alps, Pyrenees and Massif Central);         

•    Intermediate climate with cold winters and hot summers in the north, and in the Paris and central regions;                     

•    Mediterranean climate with mild winters and very hot summers in the south of France.        

 
The weather across the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region can be quite varied, so the information which follows is intended only to give you an idea of what to expect. The department of the Var and the western part of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence are often a few degrees hotter than the eastern regions. The mountains, of course, get much cooler at night, and are more prone to summer storms in the afternoons.

Spring
Springtime temperatures are usually shirt-sleeve warm during the day and cool enough for light jackets at night. Weather often changes day-by-day, with a mixture of clear, sunny days interspersed with two or three days of partial clouds and some rain. When the rain does come, it comes in torrents, but usually briefly.

The Mistral wind blows mostly in the spring. The Mistral comes down the Rhone Valley and then arrives here as a west wind, attenuated by the mountains. The advantage of the Mistral is that it blows away the haze; if you're in the hills or mountains Beyond the coast, you can see forever.

There's a story that the old Napoleonic law excused "crimes of passion" committed when the Mistral had been blowing for over three days. If you see the tiny mountain villages of ten or twenty stone houses and imagine what it would have been like isolated there a hundred years ago during a days-long Mistral, you can understand how this story could be true.

Mountainous regions are often clear and sunny during the first half of the day, but watch out for the clouds that arrive suddenly in the afternoon. Temperatures in the mountains drop to near freezing at night, even during the sunniest of days. Starting a day of hiking at 6 or 7 AM calls for long pants, with a change to shorts as the morning warms up.

Summer
Summers are hot. But this isn't a day-and-night heat of the Southern United States. Even on the coast here it cools off at night. The air is often hazy, especially in the mornings. As the morning warms up, the haze burns off somewhat, especially as you get higher up into the hills.

In the mountains it is always cool at night, even in mid summer. In exposed areas or very high passes, the nights get cold enough to be uncomfortable if you're sleeping out.

The inland temperatures can easily be ten degrees cooler than on the coast. Be careful in the mountains during the summer days. The thin air and cool mountain breezes can mask the fact that you might be getting a real sunburn.

Autumn (Fall)
The forests here are mostly evergreen (even most of the oak are non-deciduous) so the Autumn colors are somewhat subdued for such a heavily forested region.

This is the stormy season for the Beyond region, and mountain storms can be fierce, so prepare well for your outdoor activities. There aren't constant storms, however. Autumn days are usually clear and brisk, an excellent time to see the sites without the summer haze, and with fewer people.


Winter
Winters are mild right along the Mediterranean coast. Back in the countryside is another story, however.

Snow.
Within just a few kilometers of the coast, the land goes up quickly to 600-1000 m, even before rising up into the Alpine regions, and that means snow during the middle of most winters. Higher into the Alps, from around 1500 m on up to 3000 m, the snow starts earlier and ends later. If you are planning to go on late winter (or even early spring) hikes in the Parc du Mercantour, for example, expect to find snow.

Except for occasional stormy days, the winter weather can be brilliant: there is no haze, and the sun often shines brightly in clear, blue skies.