Most travelers choose to visit Italy in the warmer months, which is certainly understandable. But there’s much to enjoy in the off-seasons, not the least of which is the diminished crowds and scarcity of fellow sightseers. During the late autumn in Rome, the street vendors sell their warm chestnuts to locals and tourists alike as they stroll down Via del Corso during the evening passeggiata.

Visiting Venice in the winter, you can watch the fog creep across the lagoon and settle upon the city like a gray ghost. In the Alps, people make Vin Brulè to keep warm by the fire, while a quilt of white snow unfolds down the mountain to cover the trees and buildings of the little villages. It can be lovely, really.