Paris/Italy (mostly Sicily) April 2022 - w/ small kids

You need to merge your thread with the big Italy and Coronavirus thread. No need for two mirror threads. If a moderator does not intervene just copy and paste your post in that thread...which you should read as it has tons of wisdom for you exactly on the points you ask about.

Hint...it evolves constantly and there is no selfish immaturity about masks here: you comply but you are free to pull it off the second you step outside.

 

Was in Sorrento in Sept. prior to this craziness and they pretty much followed protocols in regards to masks and checking your vaccine status (if dining inside), especially if you were using any public transportation. FCO, at that time, you had to cue getting into the airport checking your reservation confirmation and your test results on your phone. Then you were allowed to get beyond that check point and go to your check in area.
Again that was Sept. of 2020. Spent 3 days in Rome, pretty much the same thing.

 

It's actually difficult to give you any sound advice, as the Covid situation is changing day to day, different from country to country, and no-one has the faintest idea of how it would be either in April or in September-October.
Only thing that could be said now is that most restaurants are open in Paris: I do my best to support them by eating as often as possible at my favorite places, they need the money to keep the icome and save the business (a number have indeed folded already here and there).
April is usually "rather nice" in Paris, but could still be "cool" and sometimes rainy. As I have already written so many times, to ME (that's just me, after having lived there for 37 years) the best month of the year for visiting Paris is May, more precisely the second half of the month.
September is nice also, but days are shorter than in May; early September could be quite hot some years; conversely, end October could be cold some years; for the September-October option, the second half of September would be my choice...

Rgds

 

Rome in September? You’ll boil.

 

Well...regarding your first observation: there are several sides to it.
Yes, France will be starting to ease the restrictions in the coming days, the only question remaining is: "is it reasonable?". The contamination numbers are still frightening, as the "rolling average" on the last seven days was 365.000 new cases every day, for a total of 18.400.000 persons contaminated since the beginning of the pandemy
(Population being 66 millions, it means that between one Frenchman/woman in 3 or 4 has been contaminated with the virus since the beginning of the pandemy...)
So...while the measures will legally be lifted at least in part, yours truly will continue to act just as if they were still in place: face masks every day including outside, etc...as an exemple, I certainly would not take my mask away in the tube (Métro)...remember also that the more dangerous "Delta" variant is still lurking there, accounting for 2% of the contaminations, meaning still 7.300 cases of "Delta" everyday, and you certainly do not want to catch that one...
Furthermore, as for today it is impossible to foresee were we will be in April (except the known factor of the Presidential election, which means that no-one would want to enforce a "lock-down" in April...) ; a new variant might still appear in the meantime (= the new "Omicron BA2" sub-variant has just been detected in the very last days)
So: who knows?

Regarding the second observation: as for the heat: on July 26th, 2019, we had 42°6 Celsius in Paris, which is 108.7 Fahrenheit, and it felt HOT. We had visitors from Morocco during these days, and they just couldn't believe it; the lunch with them in a non-airconditionned restaurant was "interesting"...
Generally speaking, my "tolerance threshold" to heat is lower in Paris than when I'm in the country (out of the cities). In the country, I start to feel the heat at about 33°c, which is 91.4 F; then it becomes difficult to work in the garden, for instance.
In Paris, I start to feel the heat at about 26°C (= 78°8 F), when I begin to sweat if I have to wear a suit and a tie, and am outside walking to the tube; after a few days of these temperatures, the tube (Métro) itself is hot and humid. Many restaurants are still not air conditionned.
That's why I would not advise July and August, although it has to be said that the second and third weeks of August are usually very enjoyable, as Paris is empty of the Parisians, who have left for vacation; the other side of the coin is that at this same time, many restaurants are closed.

Rgds

 

Italy is my home. When people ask me what's a good time to go, I always say, IF your schedule permits, April/May Sept./Oct. Though I do go in Jan & Feb at times.
When my kids were little and we had to follow school schedules that always meant between end of June to end of August and YES Italy can be very hot and in some places Humid....not fun with no a/c. There are always exceptions to the rule....principally Sicilia! It is a caldron in the summer months, made that mistake once to go in early August....
unfortunately as @nerofer said, COVID really is screwing things up with trying to make plans with always changing rules as of late. I'm booked for VinItaly in April for 5 days, so far its a go...but I've said that before