Italy’s medieval cities are small compared to what we are used to, hotels are often petite in the historic centers and the World’s requests to travel to the Art Cities ( that is Rome, Florence and Venice) area endless.

Most of the requests we receive are for the high season months of May, June, September, and October. These warmer months are the most crowded months of the year, the months where you will wait in line to see your bucket list sites such as the Uffizi Museum and Accademia museums in Florence.

We at The Italian Concierge recommend that to avoid an overcrowded visit, travel during the off season when you can enjoy Italy like the Italians do and with Italians.

The months from November- mid March are a joy to travel in Italy. You can witness Italians actually living La Dolce Vita and IF you time it right, there will be no line in front of you when you enter the Uffizi museum in Firenze. And you can almost touch Botticelli’s Birth Of Venus.

December 2019 and for the second year, I elected to visit Firenze, Venezia, ski in Madonna di Campiglio and end my trip in Verona prior to Christmas.

December 8 was the start of the festival of lights in Firenze, a public holiday to celebrate the Immaculate Conception but also to feature the lighting of the town center for the holidays. The entire town was out Sunday evening to dine, wander, socialize, stroll and to witness the beautiful display of the lights all over the city.

The famous fashion street of the Via Tornabuoni, now a pedestrian zone, has a canopy of white lights overhead and the shop windows are all dressed up for the occasion. There was a parade with drums and medieval costumes marching to meet the mayor in Piazza della Signoria for the lighting of the tree. On Monday, the city quieted down again and remained easy to navigate the remainder of the week.

Florence was festive, beautiful, with shops decorated in finery while the ristorante were happy to see us. Consider December 2020 for your Italian get away, I am sure you will be surprised how much more pleasant it is than traveling during the crowded months with warmer weather.