frandrake

If you are into wine and food, an option can be PSA. The flight from LHR works very well and you are just one hour away from the Chianti area. Jan is perfect as there are zero tourists and you have better chances to spend some quality time with the producers (booking in advance, of course).

Near PSA you also have the sea and many cities of art, should you fancy that.

AlicorporateUK

As far as I'm aware, it's either winter tyres (fitted, needless to say) or snow chains on board. The rule (where relevant and, as you rightly stated, roads all over Italy and indeed all the way down to Sicily may be affected) applies from November 15th to April 15th and the risk of getting pulled over (especially at the exit of major motorways or on those where it is most likely to snow) is fairly likely (personal experience last year, twice in a month, as myself & the Mrs were driving to Abruzzo from Rome down the A25, the first thing they checked, without even asking for documents, were the winter tyres).

G

EvilDoctorK

Yeah it seems that it's winter tires or snow chains required ... here's the list of all the roads involved - http://www.poliziadistato.it/statics...-invernali.pdf as you can see it's very very long and goes all the way down to Sicily ... in Sicily some sections of the Palermo-Catania motorway are included for example from now until mid March .. No idea what the obligation of car hire companies in this regard is , whether they have to provide at least chains or can sell them as an accessory

BOH

Lovely area frandrake but bear in mind that zero tourists also equals not many places open. Alot of restaurant and bar owners in Italy in the tourist areas have November, December and January off. I'm in Liguria at the moment and so much is closed at the moment in the main areas of attraction.

MarkedMan

Well, having grown up in the areas outside of it, yes, of course we all firmly believe it to be a dump, but to be fair if you can check yourself into the Four Seasons or St Regis, it won't feel like too much of a dump

You can't go wrong, to be honest, just picking a few classic cities. Just really do consider what you will use your car for. In most cities it's by now a pretty useless tool. If most of your stays will be in towns on top of a hill, somewhere like Vinci (as in "Leonardo da") from where you intend to drive around the countryside and to/from the cities, then fine, but beware that winter is not a great time to visit places like this in the North, it's luck of the draw but quaint old country properties can be a pain to heat and very cold to be in - friends have tried this and have not been too happy. If this is what you are after, I would seriously consider sticking to Napoli or south of there. I personally like the whole Napoli to Amalfi thing, Sicily is good too, Puglia is the new trendy spot, so lots to choose from.

With northern cities I would pick Venice for the carnevale season, although this year Easter's quite late so I don't think it will be in full swing until mid-Feb. It can be a bit messy in winter and if you get unlucky the city will flood and you'll be SOL; from there along the coast, Ferrara/Ravenna, then cut across to Bologna and into Tuscany. Turin is an excellent alternative, in which case I would then run the via Emilia, Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Modena and Bologna, then down to Tuscany. You can then make up your own mind about food capitals: for me, even as a Tuscan, not to mention lover of truffles and Gattinara, the area between Parma and Modena still wins out. Die trying

1010101

As you've already been posted its either winter tyres fitted or chains on board for the vast majority, but there are some roads that will be signposted as needing snow chains fitted. To be fair it will only be roads you probably couldn't get up otherwise and if you don't have them you just drive somewhere else.

annaschummi

It normally happens in autumn (mid October - beginning November), not in the end of January.

annaschummi

If you are into wine tasting and food, the best options would be Piedmont or Tuscany.
If Tuscany, check out Bolgheri, but not for Sassicaia, but for small producers. Go and have a dinner at Osteria Magona which is Dario Cecchini meat restaurant (be sure to book it in advance). Then go down to Greve in Chianti, book Castello Volpaia for both wine tasting and overnight (their Chianti was considered in top 5 red wines this year), take a look at Antica Macelleria Falorni in the main square (paradise for Italian salumi lovers). Castello di Cacchiano is another awesome local wines producer and is the brother of Barone Ricasoli whose wine costs 10 times more and is not so good as Cacchiano. Then go down to Pienza (for pecorino) and Montalcino for some of the best Brunellos like Casanova del Neri or Poggio di Sotto (pricy, but not as much as Biondi Santi o Soldera).
If Piedmont, apart from Barolo and Barbaresco, check out Ettore Germano for the best Italic Riesling and Borgo Maragliano for Loazzolo DOC. Small places like Cherasco for chocolate and Roccaverano for goat cheese.

londonfog

In January the weather is a bit of a lottery in Northern Italy. If you find crisp, clear (and cold) sunny day the light is amazing, the alternative is rain, snow, and fog. One 'road less travelled' but beautiful for cities could be the following:

Open Jaw - Fly to Bologna, spend a couple of days there without renting a car until the day you decide to visit one of the car factories (Maserati, Ferrari, Lamborghini) or the Ducati museum, then drive to Mantua for the Gonzaga palace, on your way to Parma visit Sabbioneta where you can find the second oldest covered theatre in Italy. Sabbioneta still has a walled old city, most definitely not a tourist trap but worth the detour. Parma could be worth an overnight (good food) a stroll around the old centre and a visit (Palazzo della Pilotta, Biblioteca Palatina). You can end up in Turin via the Monferrato area. Asti, Casale, and other small town. It is a landscape that is similar to Tuscany without reminding you of Tuscany. Good food (especially if you like 'tartufo' truffle). Turin was the first capital of Italy and it is worth a couple of days. Fly out of Turin.

Or

Again, another Open Jaw
Fly to Catania, visit the greek ruins of Syracuse and the Baroque towns of Noto, Pachino and Ragusa, then either drive north to Taormina or west to Agrigento (greek temples), if you choose the agrigento route you might as well visit the temples at Selinunte on your way to Palermo, then drop the car at the airport and keep a few days for Palermo. Fly out of Palermo

I am not sure that Puglia is a great idea for January

CharlotteC

wilsnunn

annaschummi

If you go to Catania make sure to visit Ragusa, Noto, Modica, Chiaramonte Gulfi.
There are some great winemakers and excellent local olive oil for great prices.

wilsnunn

A small update, we ended up booking a three day (2 night) stay in Milan before starting an ex-EU trip to the Middle East (for a bit of warmth!)

Decided to drive up to Lake Como for a day and booked the Avis car through BA, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw in the Ts&Cs of the booking that:

"For most Italian provinces, there is a requirement to fit winter tyres OR have a set of snow chains on board specifically for the type of vehicle hired during the period 15 Nov – 15 Apr. We recommend you check with the location when you collect your car whether your travel itinerary covers one or more stretches of road where this requirement is in force.

Snow chains are included during this period in the price for all car groups excluding N at Milan, Turin and Venice airports and do not need to be requested. Winter tyres can only be added to group N and if needed but must be requested via the Car Rental Details page, once you have selected your car type, and charges are payable locally, direct at the depot."

Meaning that I don't need to worry about the snow chains and if they try to charge me for more at the airport, it is there in the Ts&Cs, and the price through BA was 30% lower than if booked directly with Avis (Ł24 giving 500 Avios + 250 Avios for using BA Amex + 24 Avios for the rental).

flatlander

An excellent idea. The lakes are lovely, far more interesting than Milan. My personal favourite is Lake Iseo, including taking the ferry over to Monte Isola in the middle of the lake and walking around. Many nice little hotels by the side of the lakes.