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    Touring Italy in August? Is everything really 'closed'?

    Hey guys, I am now planning to tour France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy and Monaco in August 2007. I have 2 questions where I would really appreciate your advice:

    1) I have heard that in August, many places in Italy are simply closed for 2-3 weeks. How bad is the situation? Does this affect shops, restaurants in smaller towns and villages only? I hope other Rennteamers who live in Italy or who travel there regularly can kindly give me some advice on this.

    2) If I travel in August, how bad is the traffic on the major motorways? I know it is in the middle of the school holidays which doesn't help. Is it always gridlocked every August? Unfortunately, I can only travel during the school holidays and August is the only month I can go. Am I making a mistake?

    As ever, your advice on this is much appreciated. Thanks!

    Re: Touring Italy in August? Is everything really 'closed'?

    if you go in the big italian cities you will not have problems

    Re: Touring Italy in August? Is everything really 'closed'?

    August is not the best month to come here..

    there is a lot of people on holidays,a lot of shop etc. closed due to holidays,and a lot of traffic on the road...

    But if you can't take another month...don't worry

    Re: Touring Italy in August? Is everything really 'closed'?

    My gf is a teacher and we too only can travel in summer. We've travelled Italy this summer and last summer during the month of August.

    Started off in Munich and drove down to Garda, Tuscany, Rome, Amalfi, and back all the way up to Munich again, all during the entire month of August.

    We never hit ANY traffic. As long as you are not driving to a beach town near beofre or after Fer Agosto August 15th or so. you wont have traffic trouble, or at least we never did.

    The Brenner Pass highway is a bit dicey as far as speed goes - its not very wide, but once you hit the Garda cut off, you can basically cruise at 160 or 170 very easily - even thought the limit is only 130 - making for very quick travel times.

    We went to Verona, Venice, Bassano Del Grappa, Garda in the north, and they will be fairly busy with tourists especially Venice. Venice is actually a joke in the summer, you might as well be at an amusement park in the US, because thats how many Americans are there. I would never go back to Venice during the summer, but you may have no choice. All the other places in the north that I listed are busy, but not crazy busy with American tourists.

    If you head down further into Tuscany you wont find it any worse. Florence and Sienna will be busy. Not sure how adventurous you are but, if you are going to Tuscany, staying in Chianti either in Castelina, Radda, or Greve would be a nice choice. All three little towns are between Florence and Siena which are easily acessible on a day trip and you have the serenity of staying in the country.

    Overall I wouldnt worry about travelling there in August, UNLESS you are thinking about going to a beach town - the beach towns will be absolutely nuts.

    As far as stores go, Rome would be a huge waste of time if you want to shop.

    First off most of the independent stores are closed AND the brand shops like Gucci and Versace, Feragamo, etc open up basically whenever they feel like it.

    Re: Touring Italy in August? Is everything really 'closed'?

    I don't know about Italy, but I can tell you about France. Everything is closed in Paris in August, but it shouldn't be an issue in more tourist-friendly locales (e.g. the Riviera), where your biggest problem would be to find some room

    On the other hand, do not, I repeat do NOT set foot on the A8-A7-A6 (Riviera to Paris) and A1 (Paris to Lille) motorways on week-ends, especially the first, third (Aug. 15th) and last week-end of the month.

    Re: Touring Italy in August? Is everything really 'closed'?

    Quote:
    easy_rider911 said:
    Hey guys, I am now planning to tour France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy and Monaco in August 2007. I have 2 questions where I would really appreciate your advice:

    1) I have heard that in August, many places in Italy are simply closed for 2-3 weeks. How bad is the situation? Does this affect shops, restaurants in smaller towns and villages only? I hope other Rennteamers who live in Italy or who travel there regularly can kindly give me some advice on this.

    2) If I travel in August, how bad is the traffic on the major motorways? I know it is in the middle of the school holidays which doesn't help. Is it always gridlocked every August? Unfortunately, I can only travel during the school holidays and August is the only month I can go. Am I making a mistake?

    As ever, your advice on this is much appreciated. Thanks!



    I can't comment on the rest of Italy but I would strongly advise anybody against visiting Rome in August, I just made that mistake myself and while I still had a great time I would never visit during August again.

    The place comes to a virtual standstill with the only places open being the usual tourist spots which I try and avoid when travelling.

    The Amalfi Coast and its surrounding areas, now thats a different story !

    Just my 0.02 cents

    Re: Touring Italy in August? Is everything really 'closed'?

    The italian beach and ski resorts are the places to visit during August. All the major cities shutdown, and people leave to the mountains and coasts.

    Re: Touring Italy in August? Is everything really 'closed'?

    Many shops in Italy are just closed mid day only and then re open later afternoon, shopping center too etc, shouldnt effect your trip too much. Rimini the Adriatic side is just filled with people in August, wow!! Lots of open shops and restaurants, some do just completely shut down though !

    Re: Touring Italy in August? Is everything really 'closed'?

    We used to have a house in Italy. August is both great and horrible. If you like watching people at the beach, it is th best time of the year, otherwise September is a much better time to see the country. Everything is open and there is much less traffic, restraunts are more accessible and the weather is still great.

    Re: Touring Italy in August? Is everything really 'closed'?

    I went to Italia back in the fall of 2002 and absolutely loved it. If I could, I would live there part of the year. Maybe someday..

     
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