• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Trips
    • Day Trips
    • Weekend Trips
    • Week Trips
    • Beyond Italy
  • Recipes
    • Course
    • Cuisine
    • Equipment & Gadgets
    • Seasonal
    • Special Diet
    • Specialty Italian Foods
    • Type
  • Podcast
    • Subscribe to the Podcast!
    • Food & Wine
    • Travel
    • Culture & Lifestyle
    • Style, Design, Invention
  • When in Rome
    • Food in Rome
    • What to See and Do
    • Holidays
  • Italian Cooking Classes
    • Culinary Team Building
    • Culinary Sustainability
    • Food Photography
    • One Day Gourmet
    • Pizza Making
    • Online Cooking Classes
    • Student Cooking Programs
  • About
  • Generic selectors
    Exact matches only
    Search in title
    Search in content
    Search in posts
    Search in pages

Flavor of Italy logo

You are here: Home / When in Rome / How to beat the crowds in Italy!

January 29, 2018

How to beat the crowds in Italy!

The best way to beat the heat and crowds in Italy is to follow the rhythm of Italians.
Here’s how!

Rome's Trevi fountain is gorgeous and a must-see. Here's how to avoid the crowds...

Rome’s Trevi fountain is gorgeous and a must-see. Here’s how to avoid the crowds…

1. Each day get up as early as you can, even at 5 or 6 AM. Get right out to walk around, look at monuments and take photographs. Super early in the morning the air is cool and most people are asleep so you can capture those special photographs you want and enjoy the piazze and monuments all to yourself.

2. Make sure that you book all your museum and gallery visits IN ADVANCE for midday. Plan to be inside with air-conditioning when the city is hot and crowded. 

The Duomo area in Florence is always packed, but it's empty in the early morning.

The Duomo area in Florence is always packed, but it’s empty in the early morning.

3. Have lunch around 12:30 PM or 1 PM. It’s easier to bear the heat, even outdoors, if you’re sitting still with a nice cool drink and some delicious food!

[do_widget id=getyourguide-widget-16]

4. After lunch take a siesta, even up to three hours long. This way you’re indoors during the hottest and most crowded part of the day, plus you rest up enough so that you can enjoy the cool evenings. Sound crazy? This is the way Italians live all summer long and it works! A sleep mask and ear plugs make a big difference! (I have used both the recommended sleep mask and earplugs for years and swear by them!)

5. If you want to see more museums, churches or art galleries in the afternoon then 5 PM or 6 PM is a good time to do it. It’s still very hot, but indoors you’ll enjoy some of the amazing sites in the comfort of air-conditioning. Often at that hour many tourists have already left the museums and galleries.

6. By the time you’ve made an afternoon visit to these indoor sites the day will start to cool down. Now it’s time to go to a great people-watcher spot in a gorgeous piazza for a drink.

[do_widget id=getyourguide-widget-17]

7. Around 8 PM or 8:30 PM sit down to dinner. There are always many wonderful choices, both indoors and outdoors.

8. From about 10 PM to midnight enjoy strolling around the city….this is when Italians are out and about. Be sure you have a gelato or other refreshing Italian treat, or a nightcap.

The Spanish Steps are packed all hours of the day.

The Spanish Steps are packed all hours of the day.

9. Plan to hit the sack and catch another five or six hours of sleep before you get up to enjoy the early morning, tourist free and cool temperatures of the city.

Note: Follow this travel lifestyle even in the winter! It’s a sure fire way to beat the crowds!

PIN THIS ON PINTEREST:

How to beat the heat and crowds in Italy!

I make a small commission on purchases made through links on my website. Prices are identical, but purchasing through my links helps support my work to bring you great recipes, culinary and travel information!

You may also be interested in:

Share On:

Filed Under: Travel Tips, What to See and Do, When in Rome

Reader Interactions

Please leave your comment here. Your feedback is important! Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Search in posts
Search in pages

About

For decades I've pursued my passion for Italian food and culture through bespoke food tours, hands-on cooking classes, travel tips, walking tours, day trips and weeklong food holidays at charming spots throughout Italy. Continue Reading...

Follow Flavor of Italy

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Latest Additions

  • Le Marche – Podcast Episode 51
  • Puglia Stories – Podcast Episode 50
  • The Valtènesi in the Lake Garda wine region, the Conti Thun winery and two local grapes – Podcast Episode 49
  • Six surprising Trevi Fountain facts you didn’t know – Podcast Episode 48
  • Miso Caramel Sauce
  • Taralli, delicious snack food from the Puglia region
  • Chewing the Fat – Podcast Episodes 46 and 47

Footer

Flavor of Italy
Food & Travel Guide

Via Stazzo Quadro, 15b - 00060 Roma (Riano)

Email: flavorofitaly@gmail.com

  • Home
  • Trips
  • Recipes
  • When in Rome
  • Italian Cooking Classes
  • Privacy Policy

© 2005–2021 Flavor of Italy

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok