Tuscany Weather

WHEN TO GO

Tuscany is a year-round destination. If art is your priority, come in winter, when reduced visitor numbers make fresco-gazing and museum-trawling a real pleasure. But be aware that it can get bitingly cold here, especially in January, when the average temperature in Siena is just 4.6°C (this is when you realize why Tuscany is so big on soups; the red wine helps, too). Spring and fall are lovely times of year for touring the countryside, but if you want to avoid the rain, don't leave it too early or late in the season: The second half of May into the first week of June and the second half of September into the first or second week of October usually offer the best balance of warm daytime temperatures, cool but pleasant evenings, and low risk of rainfall. In July and August, it can get seriously hot inland (temperatures all over the region touched 39 degrees during the 2009 heat wave, though average July temperatures are in the 23°C to 26°C range). If you rent Villa Caterina you will a good time in July and August too, thanks to the private swimming pool.