One of the most frequently asked questions about traveling to Italy is which season is the best to visit, and the answer may be something you might not expect.
The reality is that choosing the best time to visit Italy is like choosing who your favorite child is – simply impossible. With Italy’s rich history, vibrant culture, and stunning landscapes offering something unique all year long, it’s no wonder that visitors return year after year in search of new experiences beyond your typical destinations.
The secret lies in that Italy is truly a destination for all seasons. And the key to planning your dream Italian getaway is understanding what you want to experience in Italy and knowing what time of year will allow you to have those experiences. Whether you’re a skiing enthusiast, an avid wine lover, a history buff, or in search of seasonal culinary delights, Italy can be the perfect travel destination year-round. You just need to know what is the best time to visit Italy for you!
That’s why in this guide, we’re unveiling the seasonal treasures of Italy to help you decide on the best time to plan your trip to Italy.
AUTUMN
September – The Wine Harvest
Visiting Italy during the wine harvest season in September is an absolute treat for wine enthusiasts and even those who are new to the Italian wine scene. As summer starts to fade, the vineyards come alive as the grapevines are picked, setting the stage for a vibrant wine culture that spans the entire country.
But be aware, harvest season is busy season! Many small, local producers do not take visitors during the wine harvest. If you want to experience and support family-owned wineries, you must book well in advance and consider the possibility that last-minute cancellations could occur. This is because most small winemakers test the wine daily for sugar levels, and it is not always a predictable process of when the grapes are ripe for the picking. While you may see larger wineries open to the public year-round with a tourism staff, these wineries are often less concerned about quality and focus more on quantity, which usually ends up in being a more commercial experience and not one where you get to meet the local winemakers.
Want to experience authentic Italian wine culture and meet the winemakers on your September trip to Italy? Then having someone who knows how to plan wine experiences during the wine harvest is the best way for you to be able to sit back, relax and enjoy your September Italian vacation and that’s exactly where The Italian On Tour® steps in. We help you immerse yourself in the local wine scene and connect with the locals when you grab your seat on any one of our trips. Click here to discover your options!
Pro-Tip: Timing the peak of the vendemmia isn’t always a perfect science, depending on the heat of the summer and rain. Be sure to have a back-up plan in case a winery cancels your tasting.
October – FALL Food Festivals and the Olive Harvest
There are many wonderful reasons to plan your trip to Italy in October, with the number one being that it is the only time you can be assured to enjoy the once-a-year experience of seeing (and tasting) the olive harvest firsthand.
A time-honored culinary tradition, visiting Italy in October will allow you to taste freshly pressed olive oil called “Olio Nuovo” (New oil). The Olio Nuovo is highly sought after for its intense and peppery flavor notes that tend to fade as the oil ages, which is why getting to taste it fresh off the press when you join us on select tours in October is an unbeatable experience for your senses and a valid excuse for putting Italy at the top of your list for an October visit.
Now before you go and start asking for EVOO with your pane (bread), take note that olive oil is typically not served with bread (and definitely not balsamic vinegar – read more about Italian Dining Culture) at restaurants in Italy. With one caveat – showcasing the Olio Nuovo (new oil). An exception because the olive oil is fresh and many local farm-to-table restaurants that proudly produce their own oil want to share it with you. Instead, throughout the rest of the year, high quality olive oil is generally utilized in Italian cooking as a finishing flavor, commonly drizzled over sauteed greens, fresh tomatoes during the summer months, grilled meats, and salads.
October’s plentiful produce doesn’t just stop at olive oil. The bounty of autumn produce reignites the season of the sagre (outdoor food festivals) making it one of the best times for foodies to visit Italy. These fall food festivals are based around local specialties like porcini mushrooms, chestnuts, truffles, pumpkin, and local pasta dishes. It’s a time of celebration, where many rural communities come together to partake in the harvest with music, food, and, of course, wine! However, sussing out what sagre are worth it or not isn’t so straightforward as unfortunately “sagra” has become synonymous with “cheap eats”. Which means you risk the gamut of eating subpar food including counterfeit chestnuts and truffles.
That’s why we’ve personally tried, tasted and tested every single experience on your tour with us. Ensuring quality and authenticity. If it doesn’t meet our personal Stamp of Approval, it won’t be on your tour! Instead when you join us on select Italy tours in October you’ll skip the tourist traps, subpar service, or second rate Italian food and be guaranteed to experience authentic Southern Italian hospitality in one of Italy’s largest olive oil-producing regions, Abruzzo. Here you’ll have the opportunity to mingle with the locals, learn recipes, cook with and eat among four generations of Italians. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience of spending a traditional Italian Sunday lunch as if you have your very own Famiglia Italiana for the day! A heart warming experience that makes travel to Italy any time of year absolutely life-changing.
Pro-tip: Overall, October is an excellent time to visit Italy. You’ll experience mild temperatures and beautiful landscapes – but prepare and pack for possible showers with our packing guide!
November – Top Truffle Season and One-of-a-kind wine
Once-a-year wine events are not just limited to September which is peak Vendemmia season. Come to Le Marche, Italy in November and you’ll be delighted by the “Appassimento” – withering of the Vernaccia grapes which are produced in the area surrounding the small town of Serrapetrona. Made via a triple fermentation process, which you’ll learn more about and get to meet a small family-run winery when you join us on select tours, produces one of Le Marche’s DOCG wines called Vernaccia di Serrapetrona. A bubbly red wine that is made from the Vernaccia Nera grapes, which are limited to a total of 13 hectares (approximately 32 acres) of vineyards making it a very exclusive production that yields about 8,000 cases of wine per year.
November isn’t just the best time of year to visit Italy for the unique wine events, it is also the peak of the winter truffle hunting season. An unforgettable experience to have on your trip to Italy, complete with culinary delights and memorable moments that can take you from foraging deep in the countryside, high-end dining to putting down your best bet at the local truffle markets. In fact, one of the largest truffle markets is located in Acqualagna in the Le Marche region, the region that you can visit on select tours with us.
Pro-Tip: Looking for an authentic truffle hunt? Avoid any tours or truffle hunts that denote that it is a “simulation”. Although this doesn’t guarantee that it won’t be a simulation (as in the truffles are planted and the dogs already know where they are), it is a step in the right direction to avoid getting ripped off.
WINTER
DECEMBER & JANUARY – Christmas Markets & The Holiday Season
Italy is magical around Christmas time, with the perfect blend of festive traditions, quaint Christmas markets, and various winter activities. But one day for celebrating Christmas just won’t do – Christmas in Italy kicks off on December 8th, the Immacolata, and goes all the way to January 6th, Epifania. Italians go all out with a month of festivities, big feasts, Christmas markets, nativity scenes and delicious goodies you’ll only find at this time of year.
Christmas Markets typically run from mid-November to late December/early January, with the most famous Christmas markets being hosted in Italy’s Northern cities, which are located near the Italian Alps, such as Bolzano. You’ll find handmade artisan goods, culinary delicacies, and more amongst the brightly lit booths and festive decor, making for a charming Italian experience.
FEBRUARY/MARCH – Carnevale & Easter
Italian Carnevale is a vibrant and colorful celebration that takes place in February during the weeks leading up to Lent. This season is marked by a festive atmosphere where the streets and piazzas come alive with parades, music, and more. Personally, I like to compare it to the Italian adult version of Halloween that lasts for up to a month!
SPRING & SUMMER
APRIL/MAY – Flowers, Strawberries, Asparagus, and More!
April and May in Italy offer delightful weather with comfortable temperatures, where the gardens and parks come alive with vibrant spring blooms. The first months of spring also mark the strawberry season in Italy, and when you visit a local family-run farm on our tours that visit Abruzzo you have the opportunity to pick them straight off the strawberry bushes. A seasonal flavorful that is absolutely unbeatable!
JUNE/JULY/AUGUST – Peak Season
Summer is the peak tourist season in Italy, with warm and sunny weather, and long beach days attracting Italy lovers from all over the globe despite the high seasonal prices. Many first-time travelers dream of a classic Italian summer filled with lazy days at the beach, Caprese salad, and spritz o’clock by the seaside. But are all too often disappointed by the amount of time wasted in line-ups and lack of service, due to many establishments being bogged down with high volume in Italy’s most frequented destinations.
While it is possible to enjoy La Dolce Vita: Summer edition, Rome, Venice, and Florence have become overrun with tourists with the number of visitors often exceeding the number of locals that live there. Unfortunately this leads to many first-time visitors choosing hot and sweaty big bus tours which end up feeling more like a high school field trip than the once-in-a-lifetime trip to Italy they’ve dreamed about. Keep in mind that not only will you compete with North American summer vacationers but also local Italians and Europeans on their school break who tend to be attracted to checking off the big city sites.
Now this isn’t to try to scare you off from a summer Italian vacation. Summer can be the best time to visit Italy, you just need to know how to plan it the right way. Good news is you can still escape the crowds and get to enjoy the top time of year to visit Italy for tomatoes if you choose to go slow and enjoy a relaxed style of summer travel in Italy, where you get to unpack once and immerse yourself in the rhythm of local life.
Instead, when you book a tour with The Italian On Tour®, you’ll avoid the summer crowds while still taking in the tradition of Aperitivo time as the sun goes down (there’s a reason #goldenhour exists), the freshest picks of the season, and dining al fresco with unbeatable seaside views. Our tours have dates throughout late spring/early summer, from the last days of summer in September to the beginning of the olive harvest and truffle season in October!
As you can see Italy is truly a country of seasons. The “best time” to visit will depend on the experience you’d prefer to have. Whether that’s truffle hunting or Carnevale festivities, the olive or wine harvest, you can’t go wrong! And no matter what season, yes even summer, there is always the chance that you may encounter some afternoon showers. So don’t let a little rain determine what time of year you go, just be prepared and be open to trying new things in order to get the best of the season.
With one big caveat – no matter what month you choose to travel to Italy in, a trip to the Bel Paese is best experienced with a trusted local guide who will grant you a backstage pass to all the exclusive experiences that most tourists won’t get – and also have a back-up plan for when the weather isn’t behaving, the winery closes on short notice or life quite simply throws you a curve ball which leaves you completely stressed out ending up in you needing a vacation from your vacation (and nobody wants that!). The easy solution? Let us take care of you and help you finally experience the real Italy that so many travelers that travel to Italy numerous times never get to experience in their lifetime. Secretly you know traveling to Italy is about so much more than seeing the sights; it’s about diving deeper, connecting with locals, and experiencing the everyday Italian La Dolce Vita lifestyle. Click here to finally have the life-changing Italian vacation you’ve always dreamed of!
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