Our college aged daughter will be studying in Rome this fall. The only time the whole family can visit is in December over Christmas. Two questions: how is the weather and are things actually open over the Christmas holidays and 2) we have about ten days - should we split our time between two towns and what should they be? Side notes- we are Catholic so the Vatican is a must see, and we have never been to Italy. Our other child is 18 and a seasoned veteran of backpacking for three weeks in Europe.
Thanks for your help.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Your daughter might have some ideas of other towns to visit. You could spend a few days in Venezia or Firenze, or go to some smaller towns in the hills.
Get your Vatican tickets nailed down; Museums, Scavi tour, papal audience, as space is very limited for the last two. Santasusanna.org is a good source.
Try to visit some of the smaller churches: Santa Prassede, San Clemente, Santa Costanza.
There is an exhibition of presepi in Piazza del Popolo (admission charge)..
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
Sites will be closed on Christmas day so plan a quieter day for that.
Christmas time is a very busy time in Rome. I would plan to spend the entire time there but you may want to take a day trip to another location. This way you'll have enough time to get to the sites that are the most important to you without being too rushed.
Donna
Posted by
Honolulu, HI
180 posts
Joan:
My family spent Christmas in Rome last year and it was a wonderful experience. I put a complete writeup in the trip reports section if you care to look.
For us, the weather was excellent. A light jacket was perfect. There was only one day of rain. Everything was open and not nearly as crowded as the summertime.
If you are planning on Christmas Eve service at the Vatican, I strongly suggest you make your request for tickets now. It's easy and free. Information here: http://www.papalaudience.org/tickets. I would also sign up for the Scavi tour.
We stayed in an apartment walking distance to the Vatican near Piazza Navona. It worked great for us.
As for Christmas day, by noon all the people are out and about. Some store fronts are closed but many were open. Plenty of Cafe's . A lot of restaurants were closed so I strongly suggest making a reservation for lunch and dinner Christmas Day (about 3 months out) and for Christmas Eve as well. Finding a restaurant without a reservation is very difficult at those times.
With 10 days, I'd consider visiting Tuscany. Orvieto is a short train ride north and the hill towns are a completely different experience over the holidays that during the Summer months.
Enjoy and feel free to message me with any itinerary questions