Tuscany in August

[paul_sharratt]

Has anyone traveled to Tuscany in the summer (July, August). Can you

compare it to other times of the year. Does anyone have an opinion

as to the best time to travel to Tuscany, i.e. lush and green,

harvest time, olive picking time, etc. Thank you.

[affen_kot]

i live a few hours away from there and spend some time there every summer. august is a fine time, especially in the northwest portion of tuscany with its rolling hills and 'funeral trees.' hot as hell, but the sun-baked rooftops and golden red dirt of the countryside makes for great photos. the wine harvest in the montepulciano area of tuscany (great light wine by the way) starts about the first week of september, so you should be there in time to see the fat, ripe vinyards in full bloom - which, like most things in italy, makes for good photos too.

 

The Montepulciano Arts Festival and the Bravio Wine Barrel Race are around the time that you'll be there. I'm sure you could find those online if you googled them.

 

Have a great time!

[darren m green]

Personally I find summer in Tuscany far too crowded with the tourists. I much prefer late

March to early April, far less tourists, better rates for accommadition and of course the

temperatures are no where near as hellish. Whatever time of year you visit Tuscany

however you will not fail to find an abundance of fantastic photo oportunities.

[paul_french1]

I was there last October...weather was fantastic and the crowds were light...

[david_henderson]

Like others, photographically I much prefer spring and autumn,

especially the former. In the area I prefer photographically- south

of Siena, April has lovely soft velvety greens and leaves

emerging and May stronger colour but many wildflowers,

especially poppies. As the summer progresses the cereals

ripen to a rich gold ( what you see in spring as grass is actually

crops) and there's scarcely any green to be seen. They cut the

cereals in July usually leaving striped fields of cream and gold. It

is usually hot in July/August- and it is much busier. Towns like

San Gimignano, Siena , Volterra can get pretty full; parking a car

gets difficult, restaurants booked up and so on. In the autumn

there's a lot of ploughed earth of varying colours, a wine harvest

in the Chianti area and a little colour in the trees.

 

It's a lovely part of the world and whilst I've been there myself in

July I'd suggest that whilst it's better than never going there, its

the worst time of year. Some hotels/restaurants close

November-Easter .

 

You might want to look at www.photography001.com where

there's a Tuscany gallery.

[rachelle_m.]

I'd like to expand on Paul's question, since I'll be in Tuscany in September.

I know a lot depends on the weather, but is it possible to follow a bit of a schedule in terms of following the grape harvest? (-- is usually first, followed by --, etc). Does anyone know if its possible to go to a farm and photograph/participate in the harvest?

 

I'll be travelling solo, and likely without a car. Is it realistic to think that I can get some decent photos by walking out (for a few kilometers) into the countryside from a hilltown? Or does one really need a car for that?

 

Finally, are there any films that "lend" themselves better to the Tuscan landscape in summer/autumn? I'm usually a Fuji girl myself, but was thinking that some warmer Kodak film would be more appropriate at that time of year.

 

PS - David, I checked out your website and the photos are amazing -- a great inspiration for my trip!

[jay_.]

The last time I was in Tuscany was in late August and early September. In fact I was there when 9/11 happened and had to prolong my stay because they weren't allowing flights back into the US. There were still quite a few tourists but not as many as in earlier summer. Better to travel after school starts, at least you're not up to my navel in peoples' wild, uncontrolled litters of kids. And once the American tourist hordes have thinned out it's a bit easier to compose shots without those Wal-mart-attired fannypack-wearing cellulite-bulging lovelies. Though you will still end up with a few scenes reminiscent of the stampeding crowds of asians as Godzilla eats his way through Tokyo in those 60's B-movies.

[john_brewton]

Tuscany is beautiful from April through October. However, for July and August I would never go to Florence or any of the more famous destinations. Crowded, crowded, crowded. If you want to fight the hordes of tourists - the Japanese and Germans are the most obnoxious and rudest(even the Italians say so), they remind me of the way Americans used to be. Now most Americans keep a lower profile, except the high school students of course.

 

If you must go in July-August, try to stay out in the countryside and go down those roads less traveled. Off the beaten path you will discover the real Tuscany and friendly people.

Happy snaps.

[micheleberti]

august is not the best period to go... I suggest you to come in spring. Here some of my photographs: <a href="http://www.tuscanlandscapes.it">www.tuscanlanscapes.it</a>; you will find also some links to regional tourism information agencies