Florence is the city to have your way in every street below the dome of the Duomo, in the Renaissance galleries, or in the evening when the Arno glitters in the light of the setting sun. Basking in golden light along the Ponte Vecchio or simply having a spring day trip to Florentine, you will find all you need to decide on the best day to make your trip wonderful.
Best Month: April-early June and September- October.
When: These seasons are the best time to visit, as the weather is perfect (~20-26degC), there is more daylight, there are fewer people, and the outdoor restaurants are exceptional.
Optimal Time to take photos: Golden hour of 6:30-8:30 PM in the spring and fall is the most interesting time of the year to take natural pictures.
Month-by-Month Breakdown
March is cooler but unpredictable due to the shift in the weather between winter and spring. The crowd levels are average so it is a good choice in case you want to avoid overcrowding that is considered to be in the season and you will also miss some of the best experience.
This is the month of April, when the city comes to life. It is warm and seasonal and flowers are in blossom. Crowds are medium, and the situation is almost perfect to do most activities.
May is a good season and actually there have been prolonged daylight hours, which is good to make the most out of your sightseeing. Make sure you expect busier streets as tourists as well as locals will jump into the opportunity of the perfect conditions.
June is summer heat and is a hot season and is full of life. The city is full of life, and activities, and summer events, but the crowds are significantly more massive.
July and August are very hot and crowded since it is in full tourist season. Although it is admittedly festal during summer, the heat in the middle of the day makes the activities in the afternoon uncomfortable. When it is hot and chaotic, visit another time or you are not going to flourish.
September is the month that offers the ideal autumn and a breath of fresh air. When the tourists leave crowds are manageable again but what makes this city retain its lively energy is the fact that it still retains its energy. This is a hidden treasure to the tourists.
October has cool and scenic weather with the foliage of the fall providing visual effect to the urban environment. The decreased number of tourists will guarantee reduced queues and a slower tempo, and this is another brilliant option.
It is cold and short days in November to February and there are no people on the streets. Go there only when you are cost conscious and can brave the colder weather and reduced daylight hours to go sightseeing.
Seasons
Each season makes Florence look another way, and the selection of the appropriate one can turn your one-day adventure into something pleasant.
Spring (March-May)
Spring decorates the beauties of Florence with soft pastels- imagine wisteria in blossom over Renaissance walls and people pouring out of cafes and taking their first espresso of spring. It is at this moment that the city gets back into its beat following the quietness of winter.
These are the months that provide the optimum weather, day light, and natural color. The climate is moderate of 15-20 degree and the sunlight is cool without being sunburning. It can be used best on long walks out of doors in the Oltrarno quarter, across the Ponte Vecchio, and to Piazzale Michelangelo.
Hint: It is high season, and the museum tickets and skip-the-line passes are to be booked at least 2-3 weeks before the planned trip. You have one day and you must not go wasting it in lines.
Summer (June-August)
Summers fall on Florence with resolute sunshine and vigor which may be drunkening or exhausting, there both. You will also have as much as 15 wonderful hours of daylight to maximise on itinerary time. The downside? The temperatures will increase up to 30-35 degree, the masses will rise to the level of shoulder to shoulder, the prices of tickets will skyrocket.
In case you insist on paying a visit in summer, adopt the pace that the local people have developed throughout centuries: begin the sightseeing early in the morning, before 8 AM, when streets are empty, and the Duomo is bathed in early sunlight.
Spare Piazzale Michelangelo to sunset coming at about 8 PM in the summer. You will see how the terracotta roofs will change to rose-gold with swallows flying to and fro.
Autumn (September-October)
Autumn is the kindest season of Florence, had Florence a spring. The summer mob has got back, the warmth has cooled to an ideal 18-24 degree.
In September and October, it is harvest time and Florence becomes a food lover paradise. Festivals on new crop are held in the streets and trattorias present their seasonal menus. On September 7, there is the Rificolona Festival, a light-hearted festival on which the locals and tourists go parading with paper lanterns of all colors and sizes all around the streets, a century-old tradition.
The lesser numbers of visitors imply that you can in fact breathe in the Uffizi Gallery, sit and unworriedly on a Renaissance church stair, and have real chats with shopkeepers.
Winter (November-February)
Winter offers a new form of the Florentine beauty: the silent streets that make your steps sound and the opportunity to view the city the way it is experienced by the Florentines. It hardly ever gets colder than 5 degree, and there is hardly any snow just sharp air and now and then it pours.
The days are not more than 9 hours long and this is just ideal when going in one day. The best place to sink into the Uffizi or Accademia and spend hours warming your hands with cappuccinos and dissolving masterpieces without the crowd is in winter.
In December are Christmas markets and festal decorations that make up a little, less-visited version of Florence.
