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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Italy in August

105 replies

Welbru · 16/07/2021 14:18

Would I be totally mad to visit a city in central Italy in August. I know it will be hotter than ideal and that Italians flock to the coast and mountains to avoid the heat, but I can't move my holiday and I can have a cheap room there at that time as someone I know will have a place there.

I'm not a siesta type person - can't sleep in the afternoon so getting up early and staying up late because I'm sleeping in the afternoon isn't really an option. I'd be happy to sit and rest rather than sightsee all the time, but I won't have a pool.

I don't have excellent tolerance for extreme temperatures, but I'm better with heat than the cold. I do tend to feel a bit uncomfortable if it's in the 30s and I haven't had time to acclimatise though.

YABU- no, go somewhere cooler
YANBU - go anyway

OP posts:
cluecu · 16/07/2021 19:23

I went to Rome, Naples and Sorrento in late August/early Sept and yes it was very hot but we were happy to take lots of pitstops for a drink between walks and there are loads of water taps in Rome. It wouldn't put me off at all as the bars, shops etc are all well equipped for it. Just make sure you have a hat when shade isn't possible Smile

Original poster
Welbru · 16/07/2021 19:26

"The accommodation is more likely to have tiled floors, thick walls and shutters to keep closed all day?"

Tiled floors definitely.

OP posts:
Original poster
Welbru · 16/07/2021 19:30

@miltonj

I went to Milan in July, a few years ago. I don't recall it being any hotter than Spain, Greece, Portugal etc at that time of year. I'm moving to Italy later on this year, and now worried that the heat will overwhelm me!
Those places are hot in August though. Spain depends where. The north can be cool, then it's hot on the plateau and in the south. Portugal I suppose is fine if you're on the coast.
OP posts:
Original poster
Welbru · 16/07/2021 19:30

@cluecu

I went to Rome, Naples and Sorrento in late August/early Sept and yes it was very hot but we were happy to take lots of pitstops for a drink between walks and there are loads of water taps in Rome. It wouldn't put me off at all as the bars, shops etc are all well equipped for it. Just make sure you have a hat when shade isn't possible Smile
Thanks. Yes, I'll have a hat if I go and will take it easy.
OP posts:
Original poster
Welbru · 16/07/2021 19:35

" It didn’t help I had all the wrong clothes as my husband told me we were going to Milton Keynes. He wanted Rome to be a surprise. It was. I told him to never do that again."

Oh dear!

OP posts:
Laquila · 16/07/2021 21:56

I wouldn't even consider going of my accommodation didn't have aircon. Not a cat in hell's chance! I remember lying in a tent at a campsite near the Italian lakes in August (at midnight!!), completely naked in an attempt to cool down, and being hotter than the face of the sun 😱

Laquila · 16/07/2021 22:01

Oh God I've just seen it doesn't have aircon and that you're thinking of a fan - for the love of God, please don't!! 😁

Lifeandlemons · 16/07/2021 22:03

I've visited Rome in august. Passed out and vomited at the coliseum due to heat. Never again. It was horrific.

PandolfoPetrucci · 16/07/2021 23:11

If you're in Umbria and staying in a hilltop town it will be better than many places, but that's still severely relative. I live in an especially flat, hot, humid part of Northern Italy (famously sweltering even by Italian standards) and August is survivable, but it really is a matter of getting through it. Up and out early, curtains closed all day, run the air con as much as financially reasonable, cold showers and restricted activity. I wouldn't live anywhere else in the world, so it's a price worth paying. But for a holiday? Unless you were going right up into the Alps or staying on one of the breezier islands, I wouldn't advise it. Especially if you don't want to get up early or sleep in the afternoons!

Simbacatisback · 16/07/2021 23:23

I went to Rome and Venice last summer
Amazing-coliseum with 30 people, deserted Venice

Davros · 17/07/2021 00:11

We went to Ischia in august a few years ago. Lovely hotel with nice pool. Never again, it was so hot it spoilt everything and the whole place was basically closed in the afternoons. We had been going to Austria fir some years and I got bored and wanted to try somewhere else. We were straight back to Austria the following year

ElliottSmithsfingers · 17/07/2021 07:56

In more normal times, Italy is full to bursting point with tourists during summer. They don't all (or even mostly) come from Africa! Spain, Greece and Portugal are similarly hot and they are also very popular tourist destinations. So they can't be that unbearable? Yes it will be hot (it's summer) but totally fine unless you hit a heatwave (35+ degrees), which only tends to last a couple of days. Lots of drama llamas on this thread!

TheTurn0fTheScrew · 17/07/2021 08:04

we went to Tuscany in August a couple of years ago. The weather was fine. Warm, not scorchio. Some rain as well - most of the day for one day but otherwise just a sharp shower and then back to sun.

We visited Florence for the day. I am a city person and used to crowds but it was next level, to the extent that it wasn't really enjoyable. For some of the main attractions including the Uffizi and the Duomo you had to book around a month earlier to get in. We'd booked the Duomo and the Palazzo Vecchio from the UK.

Original poster
Welbru · 17/07/2021 11:20

"In more normal times, Italy is full to bursting point with tourists during summer. "

Having done a bit of reading, August seems to be low season in Italian cities because the locals head for the mountains and coast. The place being quieter is good, everything being closed is not.

"Spain, Greece and Portugal are similarly hot"

The north of Spain, outside the plateau isn't. I wouldn't go to Madrid, for example, in August. At least I wouldn't plan to.
This holiday's a bit different because it's an option I could take rather than me thinking 'mmm, where should I go'.

" it will be hot (it's summer) but totally fine unless you hit a heatwave (35+ degrees), which only tends to last a couple of days. "

As I said, the average high is 30 and the forecast for the next two weeks was showing 35 as a max only, which I can cope with when I've had time to acclimatise. If it's 35 average then it will be miserable so there's a lot resting on luck I think.

OP posts:
Original poster
Welbru · 17/07/2021 11:21

"Especially if you don't want to get up early or sleep in the afternoons!"

It's not that I don't want to sleep in the afternoons, it's that I normally can't.

OP posts:
Original poster
Welbru · 17/07/2021 11:22

Quite mixed comments. I'm still unsure...

OP posts:
Davros · 17/07/2021 11:26

Go to Austria, that's my advice! Moderate weather, mountains, lakes, friendly people, well organised country with a strong identity ...

Sgtmajormummy · 17/07/2021 11:37

My first thought was “If it’s Florence, say no” because it can be soooo hot, like 40 degrees Celsius with no breeze. Heatstroke and dehydration are a real risk for those Brits who conk out at 30.
Umbria is more ventilated and hilly so if you seek out the shade in the hottest part of the day, drink lots and douse yourself regularly with cold water on pulse points you should be OK.
DON’T use a sunhat unless you want to stand out as a tourist. They’re only for the beach.
And visiting Italy at the moment is a privilege with so few tourists. You’ll be able to really appreciate Assisi without the crowds of tour bus pilgrims. Perugia is lovely (escalators help you climb up to the city) Orvieto was okay IMO.

Zerogravity · 17/07/2021 11:45

DON’T use a sunhat unless you want to stand out as a tourist.

Does it matter? If you are wondering around sightseeing it is obvious you are a tourist anyway and I don't really think it matters if people see you as a tourist or not. I wear my hat all the time!

InglouriousBasterd · 17/07/2021 11:55

I’ve been to Umbria - Perugia - and also Florence / Siena region in August and although it was hot, it was quite dry heat if I remember rightly. I’m terrible in heat and really suffer in London in August, but haven’t in Italy.

Sgtmajormummy · 17/07/2021 12:01

This is the sort of beach sunhat I’m poo-pooing. Grin
If you’re interested in blending in, a cotton bucket hat with a wider brim is better IME.

Zerogravity · 17/07/2021 12:04

I have a hat like that. Grin IME you can tell who the tourists are anyway with or without hats!

wishawish91 · 17/07/2021 12:11

We have a family home on Lake Como and have been in June, July and August. Some days are unbearably hot BUT we have aircon and a pool.

Lots of swimming in the cold lake too.

bloodyhell19 · 17/07/2021 12:16

I lived in Central Italy. I can guarantee in August it will be hot, humid and you will have thunderstorms. Very "heavy" weather and it's relentless. I would not under any circumstances hole myself up in an apartment without Aircon or access to a pool, especially if you are not used to it.

Nonmaquillee · 17/07/2021 12:19

You’d be crazy. City and no pool, and you don’t like heat above 30 degrees - sounds hellish. There’s a reason why Italians try to get to the coast and mountains in the summer.