Christmas Holidays in Rome and Florence

Any general advise for the first timer to Italy during the holidays

Be sure you have dinner reservations for the eves of and the holidays

Thank you. I just made reservations for dinner Christmas Day, and Christmas Eve we are taking a walking food tour that ends with dinner. I wanted to make sure that was done a dusted.

We are also taking a cooking class in Florence. Really excited about that. We have two guided tours in Rome and a couple in Florence. We really just want to be there, and experience the holiday feeling.

What about making train reservations from Rome to Florence, and then back to Rome.

How FUN! We spent Christmas week through New Year's in Rome in 2019, it was crowded but manageable. It's so nice to hear you just want to 'be there' instead of having a first-timer's huge list of sights with no time to stop along the way. And it's a great idea to take some tours, especially the food walking tour. Maybe book something for Monday, December 26th, as it's a public holiday? Or just book dinner, that could be a difficult day to find places open. Here's a great link with some ideas on what to see in Florence, personally I love museums so the Uffizi is high on my list. Advanced tickets for the Duomo, Uffizi & the Academia (Michaelangelo's David statue) would save hassle. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/florence-with-a-side-of-venice#bottom. Have a fantastic trip!

Make your train reservations as soon as you are comfortable locking in a schedule. The best fares on the high-speed trains are non-refundable so a commitment. Day of fares are high and demand can be high at the holidays.

Other advice I have (5 Christmases in Rome under my belt):

• Expect things to get very quiet starting at noon on Christmas Eve. I see you have a food tour that day so you are probably covered for activity
• Make a plan for Christmas Day. Breakfast at the hotel surely unless you are renting an apartment. If the latter, stock up on supplies early on the 24th. Plan a scenic walk, look into the nativity displays that will be open. This NYTimes article is a little old but much of the info should be still valid. There has been a magnificent display of 100 nativity scenes at Piazza del Popolo's Sala del Bramante so check locally for 2022 info. I recall it was open Latin’s Christmas Day, like 20:00.
• Christmas Day lunch is a BIG DEAL so make a reservation.
• The 26th is also a holiday so expect many closures but a fine day to join the Romans out walking. Appia Antica might be nice is transportation is running, or use taxis.

Have a ball!