Does anyone have tips/things to watch out for on a trip to Rome, arriving Christmas Day and departing New Year's Eve? I'm wondering if any sights/museums/metro will be closed or if we should make reservations ahead of time for anything because of the holidays. Are there any "don't miss" sights/events at this time of year? We are thinking of doing the same sights as on the RS tour: Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon Ostia Antica, St. Peter's, Borghese Gallery. My husband and I lived in Italy years ago and have been to Rome 2 or 3 times but it will be my adult daughter's first trip. We are planning to rent an apartment for the week. Thanks for your help!
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11388 posts
You might want to use the search bar above to enter “Rome Christmas” as this comes up every year and there are lots of different facets.
Things to be aware of
- It is a lovely time to be there
- all of the sites you want to see will be open some of the days
- St. Peter’s has closures due to services but you can still get in many days. Go early!!
- Little is open the 25fh so it is a good day for scenic walks and a long lunch for which you must make a reservation
- The 24th things start to close early
- Check out the precipe (crèche) exhibits. There one in Piazza del Popolo with over 300 crèches and it is one of the few things open Christmas Day.
Posted by
Saint Paul, Minnesota
1400 posts
December in Rome is lovely. There's only one thing I would watch out for --- it was our one and only bad experience in 8 years of visiting Italy.
We wanted to visit the Vatican museum --- we'd seen the Sistine Chapel before, so it was really the museum we were interested in. We thought maybe it would be less crowded than in summer. Ha.
We went very early one morning in late December or early January (I can't remember which, but it wasn't a holiday), bought tickets, and discovered that every single room that we wanted to see was closed. Ropes across the doors. Staff vacations, I guess. Then we found ourselves being herded in a huge, tight crowd moving at top speed through the hallways and up and down staircases all the way to the Sistine Chapel --- unlike the Borghese, the Vatican seems to let everybody enter until the place is packed and beyond packed. We actually tried to get out of the herd to look at some of the artwork along the way, but couldn't.
So, do check on what is actually open on the day you want to visit the Vatican, and it's probably good advice to pay extra to go before or after hours on a special tour.
Posted by
OP
Mission Viejo, CA
29 posts
Laurel and Nancy,
Grazie! Your comments were very helpful and just what I was looking for. I had used the search bar for Rome Christmas and most of the postings were pretty old, hence my post, but I just tried Christmas Rome and got several from within the last couple of years. Go figure! Now I'm all set. Thanks again.
Posted by
Washington DC
27257 posts
The Search function here is quite poor. I have better luck by using Google and including ricksteves.com in the search string.