We will be traveling in Italy from Dec. 26, 2007 to Jan 3rd, 2008. As both Dec. 26th and Jan. 1 are holidays I have concerns about how to develop an efficient itinerary. We plan to do a whirlwind tour including Rome, Sorrento/Amafi Coast, Venice and Florence/Sienna. Does anyone know if the Roman Forum and/or Colosseum might be open on Dec. 26th? Will trains be running on Jan.1st? Will sites be closed Jan. 1st and if so should we plan to be in the Amafi Coast or in Sienna and just hang out those days? Any advice would be appreciated!
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Bend, OR
576 posts
Susan, here's a link to the Colosseum's opening/closing schedule:http://www.tickitaly.com/tickets/colosseum-tickets. According to this site, the only days closed are Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Our family went to Italy from December 23, 2006-January 4, 2007. We visited the Colosseum on the 26th. We took the train from Florence to Venice on January 1. In Venice, we visited the Peggy Guggenheim Museum on January 1, because its closings are due to the day of the week, not holiday related. I'd check the website of every single attraction to double check their holiday closing schedule. I was surprised at how restaurants were open on Christmas day in Rome. I thought we'd have trouble finding a place to eat, but countless restaurants were open, serving lunch and dinner outside! It was pretty warm when we were there and we barely needed our coats in the afternoons. On Christmas day, we spent our time walking around (one could walk endlessly anywhere in Italy), peeking into every single church that was open (some were closed at times due to masses or "siesta" time in the afternoon.) I made lots of charts and notes and was able to see everything we most wanted, regardless of the holidays. Of course, make sure you don't see everything..you MUST have a reason to return! ;-)