Погода: Флоренция, июль

July here has a fixed date in it: the Palio runs on the 2nd, and the board warns that the days either side are worse for crowds than the race day itself. Their description of the event is unromantic and useful - a medieval square, uneven and uncomfortable viewing space, packed full, and hot for everybody in it. Outside those days the city keeps a daily rhythm worth planning around: the coach day-trippers arrive about half past ten, the worst of it runs to around three, and by six the Campo is calm enough to sit out with a drink. Our row gives 30.3C reading as 32C at 60.4 percent humidity, over 18.7C nights, with almost no rain, 28.3mm across 5 days. The narrow lanes stay cool. The record: 13.3 hours of sun and AQI 45.

Regulars split this month cleanly - the first half genuinely mellow, warm days with next to no chance of real heat, while the heaviest rain typically doesn't arrive until mid-to-late October or even the first days of November. Our row backs the wetter second-half reality, 22.8C over 11.3C nights, with 109.7mm of rain across 10.2 days. Regulars are consistent the standard packing list follows the split directly: layers, a decent coat and waterproof shoes for the wetter stretch, a thin sweater for cooling evenings even on a dry day. This remains a genuinely popular month despite the rain risk, with reservations for the Uffizi and Accademia recommended well ahead. The record: humidity 80 percent, 8.1 hours of sun, an 11.8 kph wind and AQI 42.

Regulars split the month cleanly: the first week or two can still push into the upper 80s to lower 90s Fahrenheit and carry the risk of a short, sharp late-summer storm, while the back half is called more reliable and comfortable overall. Our row backs the average across that swing, 28.5C reading as 29C over 15.3C nights, with 94mm of rain across 9 days. Regulars specifically flag the hills surrounding the city as a source of fast-forming storms that can arrive with little warning even on an otherwise clear day, rarely lasting more than a day when they do. The standard packing advice is a light wind-breaker and a small umbrella rather than full rain gear. The record: humidity 72 percent, 10.1 hours of sun, an 11.9 kph wind and AQI 44.

Easter opens the season here and regulars say the centre is fuller in Easter week than in late summer, with Italian visitors arriving for the Scoppio del Carro on Easter Sunday on top of everyone else. The filling starts the week before; two weeks after, they report a noticeably quieter city. Since Easter moves, the date has to be looked up before booking. April's weather is warmer than March and wetter than people expect - our row carries 74.8mm across 10.3 days under 20.9C days and 7.8C nights that feel like 6C, so it can be genuinely cool as well as showery. The record: humidity 73 percent, 10.5 hours of sun and AQI 43.

Florence-forum threads comparing May to June crowds agree on the shape even if the exact numbers vary: May is already high season, with the Uffizi, the Accademia and the Duomo drawing large crowds by any measure, and early May is only marginally quieter than June rather than genuinely calm. The workaround regulars share is timing, not the calendar - stay overnight and the city empties out noticeably once the day-trippers leave, with evenings called properly lovely. Weather cooperates for the sightseeing: warm and mostly sunny with occasional showers, a light jacket or umbrella worth carrying rather than needing. The record: 24.4C days feeling like 25C, 12.1C nights, 91mm of rain across nearly twelve days and 11.4 hours of sun - Florence in May is beautiful and busy in equal measure.