The most obvious point is that flights, hotels and the rest get cheaper outside of the peak tourist season. Let’s be honest, even the restaurants get cheaper in some of the most popular tourist spots of Rome, Venice or Florence when the money-rich visitors aren’t there to drive up demand. If you’re looking for a hotel in Italy, you can do a lot worse than explore the doldrums between summer and Christmas. Fix the date of the end of the various children’s summer holidays in the UK, US, Germany and the rest, and watch the prices of hotel rooms plummet.

It’s not quite so dramatic as the halving in the price of French campsites when the UK school holidays end (after all, most tourists booking hotel rooms in Venice probably aren’t travelling with their children). Still, far fewer adults will book weekends away in the early days of the school term … so September especially is dead water for many Italian hotels. Watch the prices inexorably rise as Christmas approaches. Many of those same couples have had enough of the kids and want to get away for a night or two!

Incidentally, if it’s winter sun you want, and you aren’t desperate to tan, it’s worth checking out a hotel in Italy in the southern regions. Check the temperatures for Sicily, Puglia, Calabria, the Sorrento Peninsula … it certainly beats the rain and mist of an Autumn in London!

But at the start of the 18^th century the modern history of the town begins, and this is the reason why there are Montecatini Terme hotels today. By the 20th century the town was one of the world’s most fashionable spa resorts, and those taking the waters here included Luigi Pirandello, Triulussa, Beniamino Gigli, Giuseppe Verdi, Ruggero Leoncavallo and Pietro Mascagni. Today, you can sniff not just sulphur but money in the air at Montecatini Terme. A tree-lined grid of apartment blocks and chi-chi shops, the town boasts retail outlets for Gianfranco Ferre, Gucci and other giants of Italian fashion.

The heart of the town is the Parco delle Terme, ten minutes walk from the railway station, and here you’ll find the nine sulphur springs, each of them enclosed in its own building. At the edge of the parco is the grandiloquent Terme Leopoldine, dedicated to the healing properties of mud. Nearby is Tettucio, with Art Nouveau paintings, ceramics, a very nice cafe and an opportunity to taste the sulphurous waters. All the spas has a different aesthetic, some of them gloriously over the top. There is the Palladian Regina, the mock medieval Torretta, the neoclassical/modernist/Renaissance Excelsior. You’ll find plenty of Montecatini hotels very close to the spa centres.

Other sights in the town include the Accademia d’Arte (where Verdi wrote Otello), the wooded park at Le Panteraie (with swimming pool and deer park), and there is a funicular railway up to the old town of Montecatini Alto. It’s also worth looking for a Montecatini Terme hotel up in the medieval town here – it has lovely views down onto Monsummano. Also check out the prehistoric caves at Grotta Maona, with stalactites hanging from the roof – the kids will love it too.

Tuscany hotels

Pistoia Province hotels

Montecatini Terme hotels

* Santa Sofia is the oldest surviving church in this very ancient city, with the crypt begun in the late tenth century by Venetian stonemasons. A basilica with Byzatine and Gothic elements.

* The University was founded in 1222 and it has the oldest botanic garden in the world. Started in 1545, the Orto Botanico di Padova was started as a repository of medicinal herbs and still has important rare plants. Make sure you make a good itinerary and plan before you set out from your Padua hotel … you’ll save on frustration and shoe leather.

* Palazzo della Ragione: with reputedly the largest roof unsupported by columns in Europe, the palazzo was begun in 1172 and completed in 1219. Again, the frescoes are the thing – an entire ceiling by Fra Giovanni completed in 1306, the great ‘Salone’ frescoed by Stefano da Ferrara and Nicolo Miretto between 1425 and 1440. Beneath, there is a market dating back centuries.

* The city walls: once 11km in circumference, now largely ruined. See too the Castello and other medieval buildings along the walls. Used as prisons during the 19th and 20th centuries, these are now being restored. You can look for a Padua hotel close to the old city walls.

* Padua’s villas: this was the hometown of the great Palladio, who reinvented European architecture in the Renaissance, bringing Classical elements to Italy and presaging modern architecture. The Villa Contarini at Piazzola sul Brenta is one of his finest, builit in 1546. See too the Villas Molin, Mandiriola, Pacchierotti-Trieste, Pacchierotti-Trieste, Selvatico da Porto and Villa Loredan. It’s worth considering a Padua hotel in the countryside or the Brenta Riviera as well as the city itself.

Our range of hotels in Padua

Collegno hotels
The municipality of Collegno is in Torino province of Piedmont region, in the north east of Italy. It lies around 9km west of Turin itself, and most visitors booking a hotel in Collegno will be using it as a foothold for Turin, which is easily accessible. Nearby towns to Collegno include Druento, Venaria Reale, Pianezza, Rivoli, and Grugliasco. 

Ivrea hotels
Ivrea is an ancient town, founded as a cavalry station by the Romans, who in 100BC dubbed the settlement Eporedia - which rather delightfully means ‘the place to change horses’. Locals are called Eporediesi to this day. More recent history saw Ivrea as the base for Olivetti, one of the world’s giants of typewriter manufacture. Unsurprisingly, that’s an industry long gone, and with it some 70 per cent of the local workforce. Surprisingly perhaps, Ivrea is far from a depressed or deserted place, and is perhaps best known for its Battle of the Oranges, when different teams from around the town pelt each other with the fruit. The carnival takes place at Mardi Gras, three days of citrus soaked mayhem ending on the day before Lent. If you’re looking for a hotel in Ivrea for the Battle of the Oranges, make sure you book early … the town fills up!

Ivrea has many historic sights, including a brick castle raised by Amadeus VI of Savoy in 1357; you’ll notice that one of the four towers is missing - struck by lightning in 1676 the ammunition store exploded, never to be replaced. The Cathedral dates from 1000AD, a Romanesque edifice built over a 4th century BC pagan temple. There is the Biblioteca Capitolare, a library with an important set of codexes from the seventh to 15th centuries. See too the little Gothic church of San Bernardino, built by the Minorites in 1455. The Museum Pier Alessandro Garda has some archaeological remains and Japanese art, and there is the Open Air Museum of Modern Architecture, which was opened in 2001 (and funded by the Olivetti dynasty). There are the remains of a Roman theatre from the 1st century west of the city centre, and the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge), originally in wood and rebuilt in stone in 1716. See too the 18th century Town Hall and 11th century Romanesque bell tower, the only remains of the old St Stephen’s Abbey.

Romano Canavese hotels
Lying around 40 kilometres north east of the Turin, the little town of Romano Canavese is in the Torino province of northern Italy’s Piedmont (Piemonte) region. Romano Canavese has a population of fewer than 3000 people and borders Pavone Canavese, Ivrea, Mercenasco, Strambino, Perosa Canavese and Scarmagno. Romano Canavese is part of the Canavese area at the foot of the Alps (Piemonte means ‘foot of the mountains’ of course), and which is centred on the town of Ivrea. It joins the Aosta Valley to the north and the River Po to the south.

San Giorgio Canavese hotels
A town of some two and a half thousand people in the Torino province of Italy’s northern Piedmont (Piemonte) region, San Giorgio Canavese lies around 35 kilometres north of the city of Turin itself. The main sight in the town is the Castello (castle) San Giorgio. There is a whole cluster of villages in this part of Piedmont bearing the ‘Canavese’ name. Canavese itself is an area at the foot of the Alps, centred on the town of Ivrea and famed for its castles. To the north it borders the Aosta Valley, and to the east Biella and Vercelli. It’s bordered to the south and west by the River Po. Near neighbours include Rivarolo Canavese, San Giusto Canavese and San Martino Canavese.

Find Piedmont hotels , hotels in Turin Province, or hotels in Turin itself.

The centre of Siena has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. For this remarkably unspoiled medieval ‘centro storico’ we can in part at least thank the Black Death. Siena was a major power in the early Middle Ages, and had a university as early as 1203. But after the plague in 1348, this major imperial power declined, its population fell sharply, and the medieval centre was unspoiled by expansion. The areas around the centre still have a semi rural feel to this day.

The Duomo: Siena’s cathedral is one of the triumphs of Italian Romanesque Architecture. Begun in the 1100s, with the facade completed in 1380. Within see the lovely octagonal pulpit by Nicola Pisano, Ghirlandaio frescoes and the font with bas reliefs by Donatello, Ghiberti, Jacopo della Quercia and other 15th century sculptors. Look for a Siena hotel near the Duomo.

The Piazza del Campo: not a square but a scallop shell shaped open space at the heart of the town. Magnificent, huge, and the venue for the twice yearly Palio. buildings on the square include the Palazzo Pubblico and the Torre del Mangia.

The Palio: the furious bare back horse race that pits the various wards of the town (or ‘contrade’) against each other. Ascot this isn’t. A breathless and adrenaline pumping spectacle that brings the Middle Ages to life - the rivalry is very real. You’ll find the price of a Siena hotel room at a premium during the Palio.

The Palazzo Pubblico: Siena’s town hall, a magnificent exercise in Italian medieval architecture, begun in 1297. The Gothic monolith, surmounted by the skyscraping Torre del Mangia, suggests how great the confidence and ambition of the Sienese government was before the sad decline of several hundred years. Superb frescoes are to be seen within the Palazzo Pubblico. The palace apparently inspired the Odense City Hall in Denmark.

The Torre del Mangia. At the time, the tower was the highest structure in Italy, and designed to be taller than the one in rival Florence. Hubris, hubris … Siena’s greatest days were arguably already behind her. The design was used as the basis for the Grimsby Dock Tower on England’s east coast - like Siena but without the weather or cuisine. Look for a Siena hotel near to the Piazza del Campo.

The Orto Botanico dell’Università di Siena: superb botanic gardens at the University of Siena (one of Europe’s oldest universities, and dating from 1240). 

Superb patrician villas in the city, many of them built by the great Baldassarre Peruzzi (7 March 1481—6 January 1537). Among them see the Villa Chigi, Castle of Belcaro, Villa Celsa, Villa Cetinale and Villa Volte Alte.

Siena’s marvellous churches, including the Basilica dell’Osservanza, Santa Maria dei Servi, San Domenico, San Francesco, Santo Spirito, San Martino and the Sanctuary of Santa Caterina, incorporating the former home of St Catherine of Siena. Look for a Siena hotel either in the centre of town or in the beautiful Chianti countryside outside.

Siena’s municipal coat of arms … forget lions rampant and dancing unicorns on battlements, Siena has the confidence to have the world’s simplest shield. Top half white, bottom half black and, er, that’s it. Beautifully simple and rather evocative of the licorice allsort delight that is Siena’s cathedral.

View our full Siena hotel listings, or browse around all Tuscany hotel listings.

So where does the golf fit in. Well remarkably, Sestriere is also the site of Europe’s highest 18-hole golf course, though play is, perhaps unsurprisingly, restricted to the summer months. Book a Sestriere hotel in summer and you could be playing golf in one of the world’s most stunning locations. It’s also a lung-burstingly elevated point on the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia cycle races, with stages periodically beginning and ending in the town. The signature buildings of Sestriere are the two hotel towers, part of the Olympic Village, and built in the thirties by Giovanni Agnelli, founder of the Fiat dynasty. Until then Sestriere was little more than a dot on the map. One of ahotelinitaly.com’s Sestriere hotels..

Piedmont hotels.

1 The towers of course. Fourteen remain of the original 72 towers, erected by competing Guelph and Ghibelline factions in the town in the early Middle Ages.
2 The Palazzo Comunale, home to the town art gallery, with works by Pinturicchio, Domenico di Michelino, Benozzo Gozzoli, Filippino Lippi, Pier Francesco Fiorentino and others. Take a San Gimignano hotel in the heart of this little city, and the sights are on your doorstep.
3 The four squares that comprise the heart of the town: the Piazza della Cisterna, Piazza Duomo (home to the Collegiata), Piazza Pecori, and Piazza delle Erbe. The main streets are Via San Giovanni and Via San Matteo.
4 The Collegiata di San Gimignano. The town’s main church, once the Duomo but downgraded to a collegiate church now that San Gimignano no longer has a bishop. Built in the 12th century on an earlier church. Superb Romanesque interior with lavish frescoes, particularly of San Sebastian, by Benozzo Gozzoli (1465), also work by Bartolo di Fredi and Lippo Memmi, and magnificent frescoes in the Cappella di Santa Fina by Domenico Ghirlandaio. Get a good guidebook … the staff at the front desk of your San Gimignano hotel should be happy to help out.
5 Church of Sant’Agostino, second in size to the Collegiata, and with a fresco cycle on The Life of St Augustine by Benozzo Gozzoli. The altar in the chapel is by Benedetto da Maiano.
6 Read up on the history. San Gimignano is very ancient, founded by the Etruscans in the third century BC. It got its name in the tenth century from Bishop St Geminianus, who had defended San Gimignano against Attila the Hun. It thrived until 1348, when the plague decimated the population. San Gimignano then became a backwater until it became fashionable in the 19th century. See point 10!
7 Taste the famous white wine of San Gimignano, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, made from grapes grown in the fields around.
8 The Via Francigena: the medieval pilgrims’ route, part of the larger route from Canterbury to Rome. San Gimignano thus became a stopping off point for pilgrims and is to this day.
9 The defensive walls, with the portal of San Matteo (a town gate) and massive bastions.
10 The town itself! Simply wander and wonder. This beautiful little city was fictionaiised as Monteriano in Where Angels Fear To Tread by EM Forster … take a copy of the book too. Part of ‘Tea with Mussolini’ was filmed here also. You’ll find this an easily manageable little city … most sights are in reach of any San Gimignano hotel.

Find a San Gimignano hotel here.

You can happily disregard the official population tally of 8000 or so, as this typically triples during the summer, when holidaymakers from all over Europe descend on this pleasant Versilian coast resort - as well as visitors from Florence and Milan, Forte dei Marmi is increasingly popular with Scandinavians, Germans, Russians and a bevy of Britons. There are loads of places to stay right by, indeed almost on the beach. You should look for a Forte dei Marmi hotel near to Viale Italico, Viale della Repubblica or Viale Roma … the name changes but this is the continous coast/promenade road through the town.

A pleasant resort, with a fine beach and cool, tree-lined streets, Forte dei Marmi enjoys a rather chi-chi reputation - trendy and with good restaurants and shops. This was once a centre for the marble quarried from the Alpi Apuane mountains behind the town, along with Carrara. Industry has now receded and this is a pleasantly quiet spot once you drift away from the centre - check out the rather lovely sand dunes which stretch north of town. It’s also ideal as a starting point for those mountains. Buses from here run up to Stazzema, Farnocchia, Levigliani and Seravezza. There is a good train service from the station at Forte dei Marmi-Seravezza-Querceta (3km inland at Querceta). A Forte dei Marmi hotel near Seravazza or Querceta is thus less convenient for the beach (though better for getting out to Florence, Lucca and the mountains). Sights in town include the Fortress, built in 1788 in the main square by the soon to be Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor.

Look no further – you’ll find a Forte dei Marmi hotel here.

Browse ahotelinitaly.com’s full Lucca hotel listings.

So what’s to see for those looking for a Pisa hotel? Lying on the banks of the River Arno, close to Italy’s Tyrrhenian coast, the city of Pisa is very ancient - there was certainly a city here in the fifth century BC, as continuing archaeological excavations confirm. And this was a thriving Roman town and port. But it is in the early Middle Ages that Pisa became powerful, a mighty naval empire which attacked North Africa, the Saracens and Carthage. And it’s from the years between 1000 and 1300 that the riches were won which saw the superb development of Pisa as a city - with much of it remaining to this day.

Central to this is the Campo (or Piazza) dei Miracoli, the ‘field of miracles’, with the magnificent Duomo or cathedral (which in its building invented the style of ‘Pisan Romanesque’) and its attendant Baptistery, Camposanto and of course the Leaning Tower. The Baptistery leans too, just a half degree or so, toward the Duomo, so you’ll have to be sharp eyed to notice. Pisa also has a clutch of superb medieval churches and palazzi, excellent museums and galleries. Note that you shouldn’t limit your search for a Pisa hotel to the centro storico … there are some superb hotels in the countryside around too and it can take just minutes to get into the city.

Find listings for a Pisa hotel here, both within the old town and in the surrounding province of the same name (in Tuscany region).