Italy
Italy in September: how to avoid the biggest pitfalls
September is the perfect time to visit Italy. The summer heat has passed, the beaches are less crowded, and the food tastes like the season. This guide helps you avoid three classic mistakes.
3 September 2026 · Wayloha editorial · 3 sources
After a night flight: how to arrive without crashing
You have just landed after a long flight. Your head feels like cotton wool. The worst mistake now is planning a full day straight away. Your body is still eight hours behind the Italian rhythm. Take it easy. Some travellers nap for a few hours, while others push through. Here is what helps: taking melatonin before bed takes the edge off the jet lag.
The easiest way to get from Milano Malpensa airport to Milano Centrale, the central station, is by bus or train. From there, all trains go north, to Trento, Bologna, and beyond. This station is your hub.
- Take melatonin before bed; it helps your body adjust faster.
- Make sure your first day has no packed schedule.
- Take the train or bus directly to Milano Centrale.
In a small village in Northern Italy, you drink a cappuccino with a warm brioche, and nobody rushes you away.Italy
Eating: where real Italians eat, not where tourists pay
An Italian breakfast is small and quick: a brioche and a cup of cappuccino. Done. Seek out the small coffee shops, not the large chains. September is good for seasonal food: tomatoes, vegetables, fresh cheese.
A big problem is restaurants right in front of major monuments. There you sit packed in with busloads of tourists, and you pay double. The real taste of Italy is found in Emilia-Romagna: Bologna, Parma, Modena. That is where local people eat. No tourists, no mark-up.
- Avoid restaurants right in front of tourist sites.
- Eat in Emilia-Romagna for the real local cuisine.
- Start your day with a brioche and cappuccino in a small coffee shop.
Choose peace: which cities you are better off skipping
Venice, Rome, Cinque Terre: everyone knows them. In September they are still packed. Many travellers end up disappointed: they queue, pay a lot, and see nothing of the real Italy.
Visit the quiet places instead: Trento, Lago d'Orta, the hills of Emilia-Romagna. Here you walk across quiet squares, eat in restaurants where the locals go, and feel the difference. Fifteen days is a good rhythm for truly discovering this side of Italy.
- Skip Venice, Rome, and Cinque Terre; they are full anyway.
- Choose Trento, Bologna, and Lago d'Orta for the real Italy.
