Christmas in Rome

I have been to Rome several times at Christmas and New Year's. The weather can fluctuate from cool to very cold. It's hard to predict exactly, but suffice it to say it is best to bring layers. Have a durable waterproof outer shell jacket, layer under that a sweater, shirt and also wise to bring long underwear both top and bottom. I find dark colored jeans to be very good that time of year. If you layer, you can still travel light. The type of shoes I prefer are brown or black rockport pro walkers or something similar. I would rather take the train between cities in Italy, unless you are going off the beaten path to the small hilltowns away fromthe main train lines. Train connections to Florence and Venice are very frequent from Rome's Termini station (see the trenitalia web site). For apartments, check out vacation rentals by owner. For hotels, I like booking.com. It is still possible to get quad hotel rooms in Rome if the apartment search fails. Winter is my favorite time for visiting Rome, as I have been there allthe other seasons of the year. Yes, the day light hours are short compared to summer, but the crowds have been very sparse and that will allow you to get in and out of the major tourist sites much more rapidly than in the month of June for example.

Bring clothing to layer. Comfortable shoes. Cobblestones can wear you down. Take trains to Florence and Venice. Always remember to validate your ticket. Look for the yellow machines near the trains. As far as apartments check out: Ron in Rome, airbnb and VRBO websites. Lastly, the RS Italy guidebook is worth buying and reading cover to cover before you. Will make your trip so much easier. Ciao.

Thank you so much for the info, how much approx does a one way 1st class rail ticket cost, would it not be more cost effective to hire a car? Or is the hassle just not worth it ? How far is Piza from Florence ? We were thinking we could make a small detour on our way to Florence if we drove ? How about New Years Eve in Venice ?
Thanks :)

We were in Venice for last New Years Eve with 4 teens/young adults and they loved it! They all bought masks and had a great time partying. (It was very cold standing in the square listening to bands, but they had a really great lit up mask there).We caught the train from Venice to Florence where we did a really nice day trip on the train to Pisa and Lucca. (Very easy and straightforward by train). We rented a car for a day in Florence to drive to some of the smaller villages. We then caught the train to Rome. Italian trains are very comfortable and on time, so I would only rent a car to get to less accessible places.