9 top spring destinations in Italy

With gardens and meadows in bloom, festivals in full swing, days warming up nicely and crowds still relatively few, spring in Italy is an absolute delight. Here locals are out enjoying piazza-side aperitivi (pre-dinner drinks), soaking in those first precious rays while much of Europe remains huddled up indoors.

While the sea does stay a bit chilly in spring, this is a far better season to tour Italy than summer. Accommodation rates and flights are cheaper; cities like Rome, Venice and Naples are less crowded; and the weather is perfect for embracing the outdoors on hikes along the coast or into the cypress-studded hills. 

Whether you’re planning a culture-loaded city break, a sunny stint in the south or a late-season ski, we have plenty to inspire you here, broken down by month to show you what you can expect from the weather. Read on to find the right Italy jaunt to suit you for spring 2026.

The best places to visit in Italy in March

Rome

Best for crowd-free sightseeing 

Thanks to a whisper of spring on the breeze, trees starting to flower and days getting longer, brighter and warmer (highs reach 17°C / 63°F), March is a terrific month to see Rome. Well-priced flights and hotel rooms further sweeten the deal. As the city shakes off winter and the sun frequently shows its face, this is a great month for exploring, with none of the heat and crowds of summer. You won’t have to line up for hours to see blockbusters like the Vatican Museums, home to Michelangelo’s stunningly frescoed Sistine Chapel; the Colosseum, where gladiators once did bloody battle; and the showstopping temples and basilicas of the Roman Forum. 

Local tip: Rome’s parks are glorious in spring, too, sprinkled with the confetti of pink cherry blossoms. Especially lovely is the Parco Centrale del Lago, south of the city center, with its many cherry trees gifted by Tokyo in 1959 as a symbol of friendship. Embrace the ritual of hanami (flower viewing) by packing a picnic and going for a wander around the lake.

Dolomites 

Best for a late-season ski 

In March, the flakes are still falling thick and fast in the Dolomites, which cut across Italy’s northeast in the provinces of Trentino and Alto Adige, and nudging into Veneto. With temperatures hitting highs of -3°C (27°F) and lows of -10°C (14°F), it’s still cold enough in the Dolomites in spring to get a proper blanket of snow for skiing, snowboarding, freeriding and cross-country. But in March, resorts are quieter, longer days equal more time on the slopes, lift lines are shorter, crowds are fewer, and the warmth of the spring sun makes alfresco post-ski drinks more enticing. The crisp light and fiery pink-gold sunsets also make March a brilliantly photogenic time to visit. 

The one every experienced skier wants to nail is the Sellaronda circuit, an epic, day-long, 40km (25-mile) marathon of a ski around the Gruppo di Sella mountain range. You’ll tick off four beautiful valleys: Val Gardena, Val Badia, Arabba and Val di Fassa, and capping out at 3151m-high Piz Boé.

Planning tip: The Dolomiti Superski pass, covering 1200km of slopes and 12 ski resorts, lets you dive deep into the winter powder. 

Sicily 

Best for early-spring sun

Bring on the sun, you say? As far south in Italy as you can go without reaching the shores of North Africa, Sicily slowly heats up in March, its highs of 20°C (68°F) finally letting you ditch the coat and pop on a t-shirt. Make a beeline for Agrigento in the second week in March, and you’re in for a floral treat, as the medieval town celebrates almond-blossom trees in white bloom with a festival of traditional costume, music and dance. 

Before the Easter holidays and the crazy summer rush, March is a fabulous month to really explore Italy’s biggest island. Now is a cracking time to dig culturally deep: rewind to ancient Greece at the UNESCO World Heritage Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, marvel at Byzantine mosaics in Palermo’s Cappella Palatina and gawp at Arab-Norman architecture in castle-topped Cefalù.

While lingering ice might rule out an ascent of 3326m-high Mt Etna, the smoking volcano never looks prettier than in the sharp light of March, with its snow cap glinting under flawless blue skies. For an uplifting spring walk, turn your focus to Sicily’s smolderingly beautiful Aeolian Islands. Cliff-rimmed Lipari has ravishing coastal hikes, and later in the month, you can puff up to the summit of Stromboli to admire the crater’s fireworks.

The best places to visit in Italy in April

Florence

Best for Easter festivities

Tuscany’s Renaissance knockout of a capital, Florence gets way too much love in summer, when the medieval Ponte Vecchio heaves under the weight of tourist feet and you have to elbow your way through the masses to snatch a glimpse of Florentine masters at the Galleria degli Uffizi. It’s a much cooler, calmer picture in April – an ideal month to visit, with temperatures hovering around a pleasantly warm 20°C (68°F) and locals spilling out onto sidewalk cafes. You won’t have to jostle with crowds at unmissable sights like the Duomo, a vision in polychrome marble, crowned by Filippo Brunelleschi’s red-tiled cupola.

Florence’s gardens never look prettier than in April. Head to 17th-century Villa e Giardino Bardini for azaleas and peonies flowering, and to see its much-photographed wisteria pergola graced with delicate blooms. Another botanical wonder, just off the Piazzale Michelangelo is the Giardino dell’Iris, a blaze of purple irises in April.  

Easter Sunday goes off with a bang in Florence, and the whole city fizzes with excitement at the 500-year-old tradition of the Scoppio del Carro (Explosion of the Cart). An antique, 9m-high cart is hauled through the centro storico (historic center) by flower-wreathed white oxen, accompanied by flag-waving, drum-banging locals in folk dress. The cart is then lit and explodes in a spectacular display of fireworks on Piazza del Duomo.

Local tip: Also marking the start of the harvest season, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino hits the high notes, bringing a cracking lineup of classical music, theater, opera, jazz and dance to the stage that spills into the following months.

Lago Maggiore

Best for spring flowers

Kissing the Swiss border and with views of the not-so-distant, snow-capped Alps, Lago Maggiore is a heart-racing beauty. Thickly wooded mountains tower above sapphire-blue waters, lush botanical gardens, terracotta-roofed towns and opulent belle-époque villas. April is particularly dreamy here, with few of the crowds that swamp the lakeshores in summer and reasonable highs of 17°C (63°F). You’ll be immediately smitten by the likes of alley-woven Cannobio, pure picture-book stuff; and Angera, topped off by a medieval castle.

Devise your own tour of the lake’s most dazzling gardens, perhaps beginning with a passeggiata (early evening stroll) along the elegant waterfront in Stresa, which is a riot of spring blooms. From here, it’s a quick, startlingly scenic ferry ride over to the Borromean Islands and Palazzo Borromeo, where 10 tiers of terraced gardens fan out around a baroque palace. In April, the gardens burst with azaleas, tulips, camellias, rhododendrons and violets.

Planning tip: For more floral magic, head to Verbania on the lake’s western shore to see tens of thousands of tulips erupt in multicolored bloom at the mid-April Settimana del Tulipano (Tulip Week) at the late-19th-century Villa Taranto.

Venice

Best for springtime romance

Come to Venice in summer, and you may not lay eyes on a single canal, what with all the day-trippers thronging their banks. But that doesn’t mean you should rule out this showstopping floating city of marble palaces and grand piazzas entirely. While you should bring an umbrella for the odd shower, the days in April are generally sunny and warm, with clement highs around 17°C (63°F). Magnolias, mimosa and wisteria bring pops of color and perfume to gardens. And if you dodge the Easter holidays, you can score surprising deals on flights and hotels.

Less frenetic than peak summer, April provides a less-touristy flavor of this unique city, whether you’re planning boat trips across the lagoon to the photogenic islets of Murano and Burano, or a roundup of the classic sights, from the mosaic-clad majesty of Basilica di San Marco to the palazzo-studded Grand Canal and Venetian master-packed Gallerie dell’Accademia. The little moments are memorable, too: morning espresso as the gondoliers call, or pre-dinner prosecco at a bacaro (bar) as the setting sun paints Venice peach-pink.

Local tip: The Festa di San Marco (St Mark’s Day) on April 25 is a joyous affair, honoring the city’s patron saint with feasting, Masses and parades. It’s also a festival of love, with men wooing the women they love with bòcolo (red rosebuds).

The best places to visit in Italy in May

Umbria

Best for hiking and biking

Winter snows melting at the top of the Apennines bring forth a springtime eruption of wildflowers in Umbria, in Italy’s green heart. While high-altitude hikes in the Alps are still off the cards in May, the weather along the spine of the country is ideal for hiking and mountain biking, with temperatures reaching 21°C (70°F). If you’re a fan of pretty blooms, the Piano Grande (Great Plain) of Castelluccio, in the shadow of the Sibillini Mountains, is unmissable.

May ushers in peak flowering time, with a riot of poppies, cornflowers, tulips, daisies, crocuses and narcissi turning the slopes red, blue, gold, violet and white in a Monet-like panorama. The trail-woven Parco Nazionale dei Monti Sibillini rippling north is also perfect for striking out into the mountainous wilds. 

Visitors in early May should also make the pilgrimage to Assisi and its UNESCO-listed Basilica di San Francesco, following in St Francis’ saintly footsteps. The Festa di Calendimaggio ramps up the town’s cultural appeal with flamboyant costumed parades, flag waving, jousting and other medieval-style fun.  

Umbrian capital Perugia always impresses with its higgledy-piggledy medieval center of piazzas, arched stairways, Gothic palazzi and the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria, where Pinturicchio and Perugino masterpieces hang. May is a largely crowd-free time to enjoy them.

Planning tip: Come on the third weekend of the month to experience Porchettiamo in Perugia, during which porchetta (roast pork) sandwiches are paired with craft beers, DJs, concerts and good vibes. 

Cinque Terre 

Best for cliff-top lookouts and lemons 

All of Italy is lovely, sure – but the beauty goes right off the charts in Cinque Terre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that packs in some of the most bewitching coastal scenery on the planet. Five candy-colored fishing villages precariously perch atop high cliffs that sheer down to rocky coves, bobbing boats and the brilliant blue Ligurian Sea. And in the warm, sweetly perfumed month of May, you can still avoid swarms of summer day-trippers. 

The weather is perfect for coastal walks in May, with highs of around 22°C (72°F). The stunner is the 8.5km (5.2-mile) Sentiero Azzurro (Blue Trail), linking all five villages as it teeters along the cliffs, past vines, olive groves, forests and terraced hillsides. The route is best walked east to west, from Riomaggiore to Monterosso.

Planning tip: For extra zest, time your visit for the third weekend in May to catch Monterosso’s Sagra del Limone, celebrating all things lemon, with producers selling everything from lemon cake to limoncello (lemon liqueur), streets and steps adorned with lemons and a competition to find the biggest lemon of the lot.

Naples 

Best for food, art and festivals

Hot, feisty, crackling with energy and capped off by a whopping volcano (Mt Vesuvius), Naples smolders with beauty and grabs life with both hands. This is the Italy of your wildest dreams, with some of the country’s best pizza, pasta and espresso; piazza life; and a joyous feast of palaces and art. In summer, its moped-clogged, tourist-trampled streets and heat can be overwhelming. Much better, then, to get in early and visit in May instead, when temperatures max out at 26°C (79°F) and crowds are fewer. 

This is the month to hit street and farmers markets, where stalls are piled high with sweet, ripe cherries, cipollotto nocerino (spring onions), artichokes and asparagus, many of which you’ll also find on restaurant menus. Fill a basket with gorgeous produce and picnic under flowering magnolia trees at the Orto Botanico.

Planning tip: May also packs a serious cultural punch as the city hosts the Maggio dei Monumenti festival, an entire month of concerts, performances, exhibitions and guided tours across Naples. Many historical and architectural sites that are usually off limits to visitors now throw open their doors for free.