Easter Monday in Italy

April 17, 2009 7:33 PM

Italy the week after Easter: deserted or still a mob scene? Help us save our honeymoon from the herds of the faithful.

The fella and I are planning our wedding for next spring, and for various reasons, the only time we will have for our honeymoon happens to be the two weeks following Easter.

We really, really want to go to Italy. We want to take two full weeks and visit Florence, Venice, and Rome. Or maybe we'll just park in Rome for two weeks, using it as a base camp for shorter excursions. (Both have their merits, and if anyone has an opinion on that, speak up.)

But the main question is this: are we insane to even try the week after Easter? We really want to avoid the religious zoo, and are hoping that the week after in Rome will be as dead as the week after Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Yes? No?

Or should we just go somewhere else? I totally love the idea of Croatia, too, and perhaps it will be a bit lower-key.

posted by thinkingwoman to travel & transportation (7 comments total)

We went to Italy on our honeymoon in 2008. However, we arrived about three weeks after Easter. I don't think the few weeks after Easter will be terrible. It's not really tourist season yet, and it's still nice and cool so you can visit the sights without sweltering in long lines and crowds.

I'd say hit up Florence and Venice before Rome if you are concerned about religious crowds, but I honestly don't think it'll be that crazy right after Easter. Italy is really great that time of year. I'd go again in a heartbeat.

Also, I wouldn't just set up camp in Rome and do side trips. I'd spend a few days in Florence and vicinity, a few in Venice and vicinity (though I greatly disliked Venice, I am probably an exception - everyone else seems to like it), and a few in Rome. I'd also go to Orvieto, which is halfway-ish between Rome and Florence, for a couple of days, and maybe go to a few other towns, like Pisa, Lucca, Assisi if you can get to it. Renting a car there is not so terrible, so if you want to take day trips without relying on buses, do so.

PM me if you want more details. We did a 3-week honeymoon in Italy around the same time last year, so I'm happy to provide any gory details you might want to know about.
posted by bedhead at 10:40 PM on April 17

I just emailed a friend who's vacationing there right now. She says she's having a great time and haven't had any particular problems with crowds. She arrived in Venice on Easter Sunday and has been to Rome and Milan since.
posted by Ookseer at 1:38 AM on April 18

I had an excellent time in Italy doing three days in Venice, 4 or 5 in Florence (with trips to Tuscan towns like Sienna and San Giomagno) and about a week in Rome. So I endorse your plan as a good one. I was there in May and it was crowded but not unbearable. A week in Rome was good, gave me time to do things at a leisurely place rather than feeling I had to run from place to place to cram everything in.
posted by Infinite Jest at 4:02 AM on April 18

data point: now it is in fact the weekend after Easter and I'm in Florence, and it's... crowded, ok, but nothing special. Last weekend was definitely much more crowded. There's not a 'low season' actually, but you should be ok - and the religious zoo is not anything to worry about - actually it fades in comparison to the tourist crowds! Plus, there's something traditional and interesting going on pretty much everywhere around easter.

My advice for two weeks might be to book - say - 5 days in Rome, a couple days in Orvieto, 4 days in Florence (with 1 day for a sidetrip, say to Siena), two in Ravenna and two in Venice. Book well in advance.

Last, I might go against my usual advice of traveling exclusively by train and tell you to rent a car and drive (say - in a daytrip to Siena) through Tuscany backroads this season of the year - the old road from Florence to Siena is beautiful, and so it is from Siena to Rome.
posted by _dario at 4:47 AM on April 18

Based on the title of your post, I just want to point out that Easter Monday is also a holiday here (Pasquetta, aka "Little Easter"), where residents who haven't gone elsewhere for the holiday weekend usually take a day trip outside the city to eat disgustingly large amounts of yummy food for lunch. (or at least that's what we usually do :D)

St. Peter's is appropriately crowded that day for yet another appearance by the Pope (we currently live within spitting distance of Vatican, and thus get to hear groups of people signing about how much Jesus loves us as they head towards the Piazza :).

Other than that I'd say you'll be fine. Post-Easter is usually a lull before the actual high season of May-June-July hits. It's not totally dead, but we're nowhere near tripping-over-busloads-of-tourists-every-5-minutes capacity, either. The Vatican museums have extended their hours in the past few years as well, so that tends to thin out the residual religious crowds
posted by romakimmy at 4:59 AM on April 18

the only easter related "crowd" is around 80000 people in the vatican for mass, and they more or less do that every week -- not a problem. Highway traffic is usually heavy before and after easter (especially the monday after, which you now know is a holiday).
The upside to this is that most cities are indeed quite empty since everybody's gone -- this will help your roman experience a lot.

As for Venice, it's a tourist trap 24/7/365 -- you've been warned.
posted by 3mendo at 7:04 AM on April 18

apologies for the ignorant easter monday post. :) thanks for all the great ideas! keep them coming!
posted by thinkingwoman at 11:14 AM on April 18