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While summer is the most common time of year for Americans to travel to Europe, fall is another country that has exploded in popularity.
If you missed this year’s “European Summer” trend, which brought record numbers of visitors to this country, you still have time to plan a fall trip to this destination—and you might just end up saving money and having it too a better holiday.
Italy is one of the most popular international destinations for Americans this fall. Normally most popular in summer, autumn is becoming an increasingly popular time to visit.
Here’s why autumn is the best time to plan a trip to this beautiful European country:
1. Less crowds
Summer in Italy is the high season, with the months of July and August seeing the biggest crowds. However, in September and October it cools down considerably (both literally and figuratively).
If you want to visit Italy without fighting your way through the crowds, autumn is a great time to travel.
During the summer months, things can get out of hand, especially in the major tourist hotspots. Italy’s Portofino went so far as to impose a €270 fine on tourists who block a popular pedestrian walkway to take selfies.
But during the fall, you won’t have to wait in a huge line at popular tourist attractions like the Colosseum in Rome or St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. You won’t find yourself wandering through the crowds at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence or searching in vain for an open spot on the beach in Positano.
Instead, you can enjoy fewer crowds and a slower pace of travel during the fall. Many popular places are devoid of crowds during the fall, as it is still an underrated time to travel to Italy.
2. Better weather
Another benefit of visiting Italy in the fall is the milder weather.
Unfortunately, Italy has suffered from extreme heat waves in recent summers.
In July, temperatures reached a record high of 48°C in parts of Sardinia and Sicily, the latter of which suffered from debilitating and devastating fires caused by the extreme heat.
In the rest of the country, temperatures regularly exceeded 38° C this summer. Such extreme heat takes the fun out of exploring Italy.
It’s difficult to enjoy sights at the Colosseum or the Roman Forum under the blazing sun, and it makes other outdoor activities like hiking in the Cinque Terre unpleasant and borderline dangerous.
That’s why autumn is such a good time to visit Italy. In the southern part of the country the weather cools down considerably, but it is still warm enough for a beach holiday in a destination such as Sardinia or the Amalfi Coast.
In the northern part of the country, autumn also brings pleasant, cooler weather to destinations like Venice, which can be unbearable in summer.
3. Cheaper prices
Finally, cheaper prices in autumn attract more and more travelers to Italy.
From early June to late August, travelers can expect higher prices for hotels in Italy. Not to mention, flights are also much more expensive.
With flight prices up more than 25% in 2023, many travelers found the cost of a trip to Italy this summer too high. However, flights in the months of September, October and November are usually significantly cheaper than flights in the summer.
You can also save a fortune on hotels in Italy during autumn, especially in coastal destinations such as the Amalfi Coast, Ischia or Cinque Terre, where autumn marks the start of the tourism downturn.
Although autumn is becoming increasingly popular to visit Italy, you can still reap these benefits now, even if it remains somewhat underestimated.
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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com
