Rome during Christmas through New Years

Hello from a fellow mother with kid in school. I can't help with your question, but a friend went with her kids to Rome over Thanksgiving week and said crowds were much more manageable and they had a fantastic time. I'm considering it for next year. Both my husband and I have been to Rome/Italy, but not my kid.
Are your boys school out for the full Thanksgiving week? Just a thought.

Totally worth it! 10 nights, if I'm counting correctly?

We've now been to Rome 5 times, not counting just flying in or out when on our way to another place in Italy. Twice we've stayed there between Christmas and a few days past New Years, and one of those visits was for just 4 nights 3 years ago with our grandchildren when they were 9 and 6. They especially loved Castel Sant'Angelo and Ostia Antica --- both sites were busier than when my husband and I had visited them 10 years earlier, but surely nothing like what Rome is like in the summer. I recommend getting to both when they open --- we arrived late morning due to a couple of late sleepers.

The Vatican museum and Sistine chapel on January 4th 2014 were so crowded they were almost nightmarish, truly the worst travel experience we have ever had. We had early morning tickets, too. Maybe if you joined a special tour it would be less awful, or maybe just skip it for this trip? You'll be back. Rome is full of other sites that you and your family will love.

Pompeii is wonderful and so is the archeology museum in Naples where most of the stuff from Pompeii is. People here have done Pompeii as a day trip from Rome, so I know it's possible, but consider flying into Rome and out of Naples so you can spend a night or two in Naples and not be so rushed.

My thought for you about making Rome feel less intimidating is to mark on a city map the sites you most want to visit and then find a hotel or apartment within walking distance of as many of them as possible. Look at google maps for estimated walking times --- Italian city blocks in the historical centers are smaller than ours and you will often be surprised that two places that look an hour apart on a map are actually 10 minutes apart. My husband and I are pretty comfortable taking public transportation in Rome, but when we had the family with us it was considerably more stressful to take buses. Walking is best and it won't be hot out!

Hi there. Yes, Christmas to Epiphany on January 6th will be very crowded. But if given the choice between summer & Christmas, I would absolutely vote for Christmas time. From someone who's probably been to Rome 30 times (I've lost count) I would just go for it, but it requires a bit of looking at dates and times of entries. Christmas day appears to be the one day most if not all archaeological sites will be closed, including Pompeii. We arrived on Dec 26th to Rome and there was a lot of activity in the streets with many restaurants open, despite it being a holiday. December 24th might have some earlier closures, but otherwise tourist places should (mostly) be open. Please save yourself the chaos and avoid the Vatican museums, it's just not worth the crowds! Go to St Peters first thing in the morning for a wander, skip the jammed museums, IMO. How about a golf cart tour in the evening to see the ancient center, including the Colosseum from outside and the Roman Forum? Or a food walking tour in Testaccio with Eating Europe, gets you out of the jammed center and the guides are fantastic?

I've read it's crowded, but mainly with Italians/other Europeans - not a lot of American tourists.
Yes, it will mostly be Italian tourists, but they're still going to jam up the small streets, restaurants, fountains & museums! If you want to visit the Trevi fountain, go first thing in the morning, and not Dec 30th - Jan 1st as the fountains will be barricaded ahead of the revelry of NYE. We've spent 2 NYE in Rome and went to a slice of pizza place & were back in our hotel by 6PM.

Since the boys are interested in Roman history, visit the Palazzo Massimo, across from Termini train station, we might have seen 3-4 people in 3 hours! (2023-2024 trip report - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/rome-was-jammed-over-ny-but-still-fun.). You can also go to Palazzo Altemps, another museum that's not busy, there's an attached video in my TR. A combined ticket for the Baths of Diocletian (across from Palazzo Massimo) €15.00 is valid for one week to visit all open sites of the National Roman Museum (including Palazzo Massimo and Palazzo Altemps).

Pompeii - it's a very long day trip & frankly Pompeii & Herculaneum are worthy of a few days! If you do go for longer, I would strongly suggest flying INTO NAP & out of Rome. The Naples airport over the holidays was a zoo. One Forum member replied to my thread about Pompeii by saying they stay in Naples every year & take the train to Rome to fly out of FCO! Here's that trip report for details about where we stayed, etc. We LOVED staying in Pompeii town, it was an easy 5 minute walk to the scavi and was quite empty first thing in the mornings. We loved our Askos archaeologist & next time will book them for a separate day in Herculaneum, Stabae & Oplontis. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/great-trip-to-pompeii-naples-over-new-years-december-26-january-2nd-2026. I hope some of this is helpful!

Totally worth it! We spent 9 nights there over Christmas one year on vacation and lived there for for 4 Christmases as well. Weather is generally not bad, not known for being rainy. Christmas Day it is fun just to walk especially past the Forum and Colosseum as the streets are closed. AFAIK this exhibit is even open on the 25th https://www.100presepi.va/en.html. Italians have quite a Nativity scene tradition and they are amazing even if you are not religious.

Be sure to make reservations for Christmas Eve Dinner and Christmas Day Lunch as they are popular dining out days. The restaurants in the Ghetto are all open on the 25th. Katie Paula publishes a guide you might find useful https://katieparla.com/where-to-eat-in-rome-christmas-new-year/.

I was in Italy at the end of ‘25 and the early days of ‘26. Arrived Christmas afternoon with dinner reservation in Testaccio for dinner that evening. Area was lively but not crazy. Traveled to Florence on Dec 26 where I spent 2 or 3 nights in Porta Romana neighborhood, south of Arno. Ponte Vecchio was more crowded than I’ve ever seen it - even in July! Primarily Italians, though, making up the crowd. Ate dinners in with chef/friend so can’t speak to restaurants. Weather was decent, but I did buy a wool sweater at the San Spirito street market. Went next to Arezzo for two nights and very much enjoyed the holiday in Italy vibe. Finished in Rome with NYE fireworks and festivities with friends in the Ostiense area of Rome. NYD I went to the Tiber to watch the divers leap into the river in their speedos - what a way to start a year!

It’s always going to be busy in wonderful cities. Set your expectations and pace to a reasonable level and enjoy the time with your loved ones.

I've lived in Rome and my 2 Christmases there were my favorite time of year. It's crowded, yes, but so festive with lights on every street and presepi in all the churches, and of course a wonderful display at the Vatican for free. You'll need jackets at night but the days can be delightful. As others have suggested, you can eat in the Jewish Ghetto on Christmas. There will be lots of fireworks in the area of the Colosseum on New Year's Eve. On New Year's Day people jump from a bridge into the Tiber and that can be fun to watch if you are in the vicinity.