Italy 2025 Jubilee Year – would you still go?

I don't see how the big three could get any more crowded than they already are, but this does seem to be a Catholic-focused event.

Go beyond the big three--so much to see!

Go beyond the big three--so much to see!

I know, but my husband really wants to see Florence and I want to see Venice again.

I'd not be super concerned about March or the jubilee--go where your heart desires!
I would only second guess the main areas in summer, generally speaking.

That's kind of what I was thinking too. March is still sort of kind of a bit shoulder-season-ish, in as much as shoulder season exists in Italy any more.

I don't know how much this will affect the crowds, but the European Bone Marrow Transplant meeting will be in Florence March 22-25.

EDITED: The meeting is actually Mar 30-Apr 2. It's a good thing I checked that instead of depending on someone else to give me accurate information. I should have talked to his keeper(aka Administrative Assistant) at work.

I am going to Rome in late February. Wouldn’t do it in summer, Jubilee or no Jubilee.

Thanks all. Maybe I'm just overthinking.

European Bone Marrow Transplant meeting will be in Florence March 22-25.

I will make sure to get there for that! /s

I looked this up when I heard the Pope spoke about it in his Jan 2024 NY address, 5 MILLION pilgrims are expected for the Jubilee year. As you say, March is no longer shoulder season, but it is early in the year, so if you want, just go for it. Can you do a multi-leg trip, arrive into Venice, depart from Rome? Get your lodging ASAP, make plans for meals & advance tickets ahead of time...

Go beyond the big three--so much to see!

Yes. Just back from a trip to Italy ourselves. We basically made most stuff up as we went, based on weather etc...
So first went to Florence and did the usual things there, but got a bit fed up with the crowds. So next stop was Elba. And we quite liked it there. Then we decided that on the way back we needed to stop over somewhere, so we decided to break for two nights in Genoa, as we hadn't been there. And that was a very pleasant surprise as well.
We may go back to Genoa, go back to Elba, and maybe go back to the Tuscan countryside.

Not sure where Sandancisco got his numbers, but I'm seeing predictions of 35 million pilgrims in Rome for the Jubilee year. And since the Jubilee is centered on the Vatican and St Peters, all of them will spend time in Rome. In addition to regular tourists. Some, but only some, will also visit other cities. Not unreasonable to expect Rome to be slammed , and the other usual tourist spots to have some uptick in visitor numbers. But March is early enough that I doubt the other places will be overly crowded.

My daughter is getting married 7/29/25 in Lake Como and we had planned to visit Venice Florence Rome and Sorrento after but now I am concerned that it will be a not great experience.

Cjean, I'm seeing the same/similar estimates of 32 to 35 million. I don't know if that number is inclusive of the current number of tourists or on top of?

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254346/rome-prepares-for-35-million-pilgrims-during-2025-jubilee-year
https://apnews.com/article/vatican-jubilee-rome-pope-francis-20189e83df9dd8eb5312d5e96e076af2

I wouldn't personally avoid Rome in March although I'd have my accommodations nailed down ASAP. There's also enough in Rome that isn't Catholic-church related, and may be skirted by a fair amount of pilgrims, to keep you occupied. Just my IMHO. I seem to remember that the last Jubilee in 2016 didn't completely overwhelm Rome - in fact, pilgrimage crowds ended up to be lighter than anticipated - but this one, by all reports, is expected to be a bigger deal. The amount of money the city is pouring into renovations of monuments and upgrading of some transport hubs/systems (the 10-year Line C metro station project at Piazza Venezia aside) would seem to give that expectation some credibility?

Beth, the locations you list are slammed in summer even without Jubilee. I won't say don't go but as above, you need your accommodations nailed down well in advance, and your sightseeing tickets reserved (for attractions which require them) as soon as they become available. Expect heavy crowds around the most-visited areas/attractions in the cities, dealing with the summer heat, overloaded transport (ferries/SITA buses) on the Sorrentine/Amalfi Coasts, and that's all just par for the course.

Sorry about that typo, I meant to say 35 million, the higher estimate for the Jubilee. I agree with others, March should still be OK, my feeling would be if I really wanted to go, I'd still go but maybe have some plans for smaller venues, staying / spending time away from the crowded, more touristy areas. I hope you have a wonderful trip!

Hate to be the bearer of negative opinion - but Florence is a VERY religious city and the Duomo there attracts millions - Florence will definitely celebrate the Jubilee - it is not just in Rome ! All the major cities celebrate the Jubilee year. I would wait a year - you will be shocked how crowded it will be and honestly NOT tourist friendly!

Kap74. What Jubilee events have been announced for Florence next year? I've been unable to find them.

@beth.

Congrats on the wedding. I agree with Miuccia to stay north. Rome and Sorrento are extremely hot and will be even more crowded than usual. The crowds in Florence during my one visit in recent years were disagreeable. I’d look for alternatives and stay north, which will already be plenty hot at the end of July, beginning of August, the time of year called the dog days. US style air conditioning is rare.

There will be more crowds than usual in Rome, but the Jubilee year will make little difference in Venice or Florence. Both are generally crowded, but less so in March. I was in Italy for the last Jubilee year 2000 (3 times, including Rome) and lived in Florence during the 1975 Jubilee year (and didn’t even notice there was one if not for the constant coverage of Pope Paul Vi on tv). I was in Italy also in the summer of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of 2015, but didn’t go to Rome and Tuscany wasn’t more crowded than usual. If staying in Rome is part of your plans, make sure you have hotel reservations well in advance. Venice will be more crowded than usual at the very start of March 2025 due to the last day of Carnevale falling early March. In any case it is always a good idea to book hotels in Venice in advance any time of the year.

I just cancelled my trip to Italy for next year. I originally cancelled because a friend who just came back from france and Italy and used the same travel company didn't recommend the travel company. She also mentioned that the tour manager in France who is Italian warned them not to go to Rome between December 2024-December 2025 because of the Jubilee. According to him, it gets crazy busy and most of the monuments will be covered up for protection.

I just cancelled my trip to Italy for next year...
She also mentioned that the tour manager in France who is Italian
warned them not to go to Rome between December 2024-December 2025
because of the Jubilee. According to him, it gets crazy busy and most
of the monuments will be covered up for protection.

Well, we booked in July for next April in Florence, Rome, Salerno & Taormina so I guess with your cancellation we zeroed each other out...

I am expecting high-season crowds in Florence & Rome, less in Salerno/Amalfi Coast & who knows in Sicily. We've booked The Tour Guy for Vatican, Sistine & St. Peter's, first of the day, so we at least have a shot at it not being overrun. I am investigating how to gauge the Uffizi, maybe another first of the day tour? Ordinarily I wouldn't do tours at all, but under these circumstances I think it's best to shell out the bucks and just do it.

I cannot imagine being in these places in hot temperatures like Italy experienced this summer, thus our early spring travel. I think it'll still be great.

Buongiorno! Advice/ thoughts about us traveling to Northern Italia early October 2025 (yes, during Jubilee).
We will focus primarily on Lago di Garda, Venezia, Verona and down to San Gimignano, Perugia (where I lived many years ago), and neighboring hill towns.
This is a dream trip for us and we cannot really put off until another year.
Perhaps someone who really knows can respond?
Grazie mille!

...the tour manager in France who is Italian warned them not to go to
Rome between December 2024-December 2025 because of the Jubilee.
According to him, it gets crazy busy and most of the monuments will be
covered up for protection.

Just to comment on what a poster said was told to them above by their guide...
Quite a number of monuments/fountains in Rome have been covered - or even temporarily removed - for restoration or cleaning this year so that they'll be looking their best for Jubilee. These include but are not limited to the obelisk and fountain in Piazza Della Rotunda, the 3 fountains of Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, one entire floor of Galleria Borghese (artwork temporarily moved Barberini), and "Pietà" and the Baldachin in St. Peters. Several metro stations were also operating on limited hours or completely closed for updates, and the entire tram system shut down for the same. In short, MORE monuments will be on display and transport systems operational for Jubilee than have been for large parts of 2024.

What will not change is the massive construction project for Metro C that's unrelated to Jubilee. This is what's messing up Piazza Venezia and is not expected to be completed for another decade.

(Edited to add recent notice of Trevi's cleaning/restoration)

I just discovered that the Jubilee is being held in 2025. We have a cruise booked for August 29-September 8, 2025, that departs from Rome. We are planning to visit Rome pre-cruise August 26-29. We are also planning to visit Venice for a few days and Lake Como for a few days post-cruise before leaving for home. The cruise has stops in Florence, Portofino, Naples, Sicily and Brindisi.

I 've read that there will be huge crowds due to the Jubilee but will it be crowded all over Italy or just mainly in Rome? I'm very concerned now and am wondering if we should try to change our plans to go somewhere else. I looked up the calendar of events for the Jubilee and noticed nothing is listed after the 3rd of August until the middle of September. Does that mean it wouldn't be as crowded during that time?

I knew when I booked the trip that late August into early September would be a busy time but I wasn't planning on crowds of this magnitude due to the Jubilee. This will be our first and probably only time visiting Italy and we were very much looking forward to it but if it will be heavily impacted by the Jubilee, do you think we should change our plans? Thanks for any advice.

Paul_Shelley, you will be visiting Italy in high season. It will all be jam packed regardless of official Jubilee events.

My wife and I are going to Italy this March. We are going on our first RS tour. The 10 days in Venice, Florence and Rome. We are going to fly into Rome and spend a few days there before taking the train to Venice.
The reason we picked this time was because it is the shoulder season but also has something people say you should see once. And that is Carnival in Venice on Fat Tuesday. We could have picked a week later and been less crowded but we would have missed a really cool thing in my opinion.
In doing my research for this trip I also discovered that it is a Jubilee Year and crowds were going to be heavy at all things Rome. But we're going to make it trip to remember. We are planning to walk through the four holy doors that are only open every 25 years or on Jubilee years.They say if you go through them you get to bypass purgatory or something like that. So I figure that can't hurt to have that in my corner especially if I get to go through all four.
Think about it, you only have this opportunity maybe three times in your life. So take advantage of these things when you can.

We are planning to walk through the four holy doors that are only open every 25 years or on Jubilee years.

For those who don't know, the poster is referring to the holy door in each of the 4 basilicas in Rome. If you want to do this all in one day, I wouldn't advise planning anything else. The longest line will be at St Peter's, so plan on arriving around 7am if possible. And one could argue that standing in all those lines will be purgatory enough.

However, it should be noted that the penary indulgence is not given simply for walking through the door. You must be Catholic, have a spiritual intention, and have (or will in the near future) been to confession and had Communion, and said the recommended prayers. For Catholics it is a religious rite, and not just "a thing to do" for tourists. But of course all are welcome.

Like most things today you have to book a time to go through the doors at each Basilica through an app. So that makes it a little easier to visit and get through in a timely manner.
We are going to treat it like an Amazing Race without the racing part. I put in for tickets to St Peter's tomb hoping that gets us into St Peter's Basilica, then I plan the other three locations before or after that. If we don't get tickets for the tomb we will plan a 7 am visit for St Peter's Basilica to get in and out before the crowds get really bad. Then we will try to time the rest of the day out visiting each location for two hours with one hour travel allowance between each Basilica.
It is sort of our own little pilgrimage / mini one day tour in Rome which we never would have thought to do if it wasn't a jubilee year.

I thought I heard that by posting on the RS forum St. Peter escorts you to the head of the line at the Pearly Gates

Unfortunately you were misinformed, phred. There is no skip the line for the pearly gates. Security is very strict and they are selective over who gains entrance. The Archangel Michael is the gatekeeper, and you don't want to mess with him by butting in line.