While some travel experts advise not to travel to Europe in August, Brian and I want to share with you the benefits of traveling at this time. We've experienced Rome in August, first hand, in 2006. Large cities like Rome have dozens of attractions for visitors that remain open during the summer months. Be aware that the hours of operation may shrink some, but overall, major sites will remain open despite the August Holiday month. We found the pros of traveling during the high holiday season out weigh the cons.
Cons -
- Weather tends to be extremely hot and humid
- You may miss out on city culture with most natives leaving the big cities and flocking to the closest beaches.
- Many small businesses, open air markets and street vendors close for the entire month.
Pros -
- Lines at tourist attractions can be shorter.
Visiting a city like Rome, with tons of tourist attractions in August may be an ingenious idea! Lines can be shorter and city streets may not be as crowded. We were extremely lucky with temperature highs hitting only upper 80's and only one short rainstorm to mention. Understandably, most August jetsetters probably aren't as lucky. And true, we did miss out on some of the open air markets and street vendors that closed up shop, but it was okay with us because we made this trip to Rome to see the history and art. Not waiting in lines to see the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica, which have been known to run 3+ hrs, was well worth it. While most visitors leave Vatican City with a picture full of strangers they've never met...I was able to leave with this: 
To be the only 2 people standing in St. Peter's Square was an amazing experience and something we'll never forget.
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