Rome was so crowed. Is it always like that?

According to one source, Rome receives anywhere from 7 million to 10 million visitors every year. Yeah, it's like that.

Yep. If you thought Rome in October is crowded, you should see it in the summer. Friday afternoons are more crowded than, say, a Thursday afternoon - in general - since the locals (and there are a few million of them) also like to hang out at "tourist" places).

Well, I have been in Rome in Sept. and Nov. and it wasn't bad at all EXCEPT for the Trevi Fountain. Every time that I have been in Rome the Trevi Fountain is mobbed, I just shrug my shoulders and move on, there always is more to see.

We were there late Oct/early Nov. There were crowds but it was manageable. The weather was comfortable. I would visit again the same time of year (or late winter/early spring) but never in high season (May - September) or around Christmas or Easter if I had a choice.

Mmm, have to disagree a little bit here. Do please keep in mind that October is STILL high-season. It's more crowded in July and August, but not that much more crowded. If you come in November, December (except Christmas week), January, February, or March (except Easter week), you'll find it almost dead. Although areas like that around the Trevi fountain do, of course, always have people, you'd be surprised at just how empty some packed-in-October sites are. www.revealedrome.com

I was there in Jan/Feb, and it was wonderful. Walked into the Vatican Museums with no line. Had a number of sites largely to myself. The downside is that some tourist activities are reduced (couldn't get some specialty tours because too few folks had signed up), and many shops and restaurants in small towns are closed or have restricted hours[INVALID]so it may not be the best choice for a first visit. I've also, the last few times, scheduled Rome at the beginning of my trip, rather than the end[INVALID]so I don't obliterate the mellow feeling that the more peaceful areas of Italy can create.

Amanda and I have very different ideas on what "dead" is. Yes, Nov-early March are less crowded than the high seasons but they are no where near dead. You will still wait in line at the vatican if you go in the morning and there will still be a long line at the colosseum at all times of the day. The trevi fountain is always packed, no matter the time of year. I only travel in the off season but it's still very crowded and making reservations are a must. With as many visitors as Rome gets a year finding a day of the week when a popular site is not busy is impossible. It's a shame because it's such a wonderful city. Donna

We visited Rome a couple of years ago in mid November and, on the whole, found the city comfortably busy certainly not dead. However, there were still very long lines in the square in front of St Peters. Perhaps we were unlucky but this was still the case mid-afternoon. Did not really bother us too much as have been before and there's plenty more to do in Rome.

What day of the week was it? We arrived in Rome on sat. left on a thurs. Mid November.

For some reason we went by the Trevi Fountain every day. Though there were crowds there every day. Sat was as you described. Mid week wasn't too bad. Maybe 1/4 the people. Midweek line for St Peters was about 3 mins. Sun. morning line for the colosseum was about 10 or 15 mins.

We've been visiting Rome for 35 years (since 1975) and yes, it is far more crowded than long ago. We used to go to the Trevi and there was only a small group. The crowds have grown immensely over the years everywhere in Europe. But, there are more people to watch!

Been to Rome four times in the last 14 years. It really feels like our second home. We find that the major sites are less crowded early in the morning. We get there while the Romans are rushing to work, before the venders open. Just us and a handful of tourist.

Perhaps we were lucky when we visited Rome the first week of December. Lines were non-existent even at the Colosseum; the Forum and Palatine Hill had few people walking around; the museums and the Sistine Chapel were almost vacant. We walked by Trevi Fountain after dinner on a pleasantly cold, misty evening and found it deserted. It was a great time to be there.

Yes, obviously, I meant "dead" for Rome! No city is ever going to be empty. But I mean that in the off-season, there is absolutely no reason you should have to wait in line - not at the Vatican for more than 10 minutes max, not at St. Peter's Basilica unless you come at the absolute peak times of day, and not at the Colosseum because you shouldn't BE waiting at the Colosseum (get your ticket at the forum entrance, where I guarantee you won't wait longer than 5 minutes). For Rome, that's pretty quiet.

Amanda, that makes no sense at all. If you go to the vatican museums at ANY time of the year in the afternoon the line is very short or non-existent, not just the off season. If you buy your tickets to the colosseum either in advance or at the forum or palatine hill entrance you WON'T wait in line regardless of the time of year. To say the city is dead in the off season is very misleading. The vatican museums always have a line in the mornings. There is almost always a line to get into the colosseum, it doesn't matter the time of year. The city is never dead or not crowded. There are seasons when it's unbearably crowded and seasons when it's less crowded but it's never dead. Donna

Hi Donna,

I guess you've been lucky enough never to see the Vatican at 2pm on Easter week or on a Saturday or Monday in August... or the Forum or Palatine entrance at 9am on a day in the summer!

Believe it or not, these things DO get lines during the high season. I know - I live here and walk by them several times a week.

You're right that no city is ever truly "dead," but to me, Rome being "dead" is when you can waltz into the Vatican at 10am, without a pre-bought ticket, even on a Saturday, no problem. And those are the months you can do that.

There are the general rules of things and then there is the reality when you happen to be there. On our last trip, the line to the Vatican Museums at almost 10 am was only about 10-15 minutes. When we left at almost 2:00, the entry line was over an hour. This was a Thursday in mid-May 2009. We had no line at all getting past the security check to go into the Basilica that afternoon and no line to climb the dome. We also find the crowds to be smaller earlier in the day for some sites. If we see huge lines or crowds at a specific site, some times we'll meander around to other things in the area and go back a little later or use alternate options like buying the Colosseum/Palatine Hill/Forum ticket at the Palatine or Forum entrances. The Trevi is a different monster, we usually only go by there once a trip to throw our obligatory coin in, never had it so crowded we couldn't get close enough to do that, but if it was that crowded, we'd go somewhere else and then wander back later. I thing the stalls selling things nearby are more persistent at night than they are during the day, but that could have just been our luck for the times we went by them.

I'm loving all the comments/opinions of this thread.

I'm heading to Rome on November 12th and fully expect that Rome will have about 1/2 the tourists it has during "the season". I know I will miss out on a few things like special night time tours at the Baths of Caracalla, the Coloseum, and the Vatican but my priority is to enjoy Rome.

Since I'm only going to be in Rome for 4 days I've made an itinerary that is structured yet can easily be changed if the mood takes me someplace else.

And of course, I fully intend to throw a coin in the Trevi fountain. After all, that is what I did 5 years ago in early August. And yes it was crowded and yes I did have to push my way to get closer but I assumed that was just part of the experience of visiting the fountain.

Fontana di Trevi is overrated, but I understand its magic and appeal.

In any case, July is less crowded than July and 3 first weeks of September. It is damn hot, but if you can cope with the heat, it will be less crowded than September.

You can always try the tactic of beat the group crowds by waking up one hour earlier than everybody else.

Actually, I have seen the vatican museums after 2 pm. I've also seen them from November through March when the line in the morning was wrapped around the building. I've also seen the line to the colosseum during the same time of year stretched all the way down the street. It's hit or miss so to say you won't encounter a line when you go in the off season is misleading. You may find the occasion when there is no line but most of the time you'll find a line to the vatican museums in the morning. Most of the time, even in the summer, if you go to the museums after 1pm there is no line! You can always hear the story of how someone timed it perfectly and came across no line only to witness the line grow over the next half hour to an hour wait or more. Those are the exceptions not the rule even in the off season. I have waited over a half an hour at the palatine hill ticket booth to get tickets in February, I have been in the line for the vatican that was over an hour wait, both in January and February- Off Season. The crowds are less during the off season and you run a better chance of not waiting in as long a line as you will during the high season but just be aware that there can be long lines at sites like the colosseum, vatican museums and basilica. Don't go thinking you'll just walk into everything or you stand the very real chance of being disappointed.

Donna

Ha!!! You'all think you've seen Rome when it's crowded...it's nothing compared to "La Notte Bianca" in September. The "White Night" is an all-night celebration of the arts, and is shoulder to shoulder people thru those narrow streets of the historic center. I think we finally got dinner at 23:00. We escaped the Spanish Steps at 3am where an estimated 30 thousand revelers were gathered. The bus system had shut down earlier in the evening due to the crowds. The Metro was a madhouse. At the time it was craazy. Looking back at it though, it was an experience I'll always cherish.

Just a point that it's funny you're now saying how you can't count on any general statements year-round, Donna, when before you said, "If you buy your tickets to the colosseum either in advance or at the forum or palatine hill entrance you WON'T wait in line regardless of the time of year...The vatican museums always have a line in the mornings...There is almost always a line to get into the colosseum." Sound like generalities to me!

Just sayin'.

That's what I said, Amanda, there is always a line at the colosseum unless you get lucky and hit a lull. There is also a line for the vatican museums in the mornings even in the winter. It may not be the two hour line like the summer but people will find lines like I have on more occasions than I can count. The fact that I am there 5 months out of the year means I know what I'm talking about too. I guess we will just have to agree to disagree.

Donna

I'm not misleading people the way you are Amanda. You say that people can buy their tickets at the palatine hill or use the romapass to bypass the line at the colosseum but if Rome is as "dead" as you claim why would they need to do that? Why? Because there are still long lines even in the off season. You say that if people go to the vatican museums in the afternoon they won't wait in line- you're right! But it's that way year round! If Rome is "dead" as you say why should people need to wait to go to the vatican museums in the afternoon? You don't seem to know the difference between a generality and reality. The reality is there is, more often than not, a line at the colosseum and in the mornings there is a line to get into the vatican museums. It's not a generality, it's the reality of the situation. To tell people they will just walk into the two most popular sites in Rome because the city is dead is misleading and irresponsible. It can also seriously ruin someone's vacation. If someone were to plan their short trip to Rome based on not waiting in lines they might have too bypass sites when they encounter lines at the colosseum and vatican museums.

Sorry Donna, I just think that even when Rome is "dead," there is a line at the Colosseum. Just because there is ALWAYS a line at the Colosseum. So you're wrong on that front; I never told people they'd just walk into the Colosseum in the winter!

Nor am I misleading people on the Vatican, because I really have to disagree with your assertions that there's usually a line (at least, of more than 5 minutes) at the Vatican in the mornings in the winter. Except for the odd day, it's just not the case.

Again - I know this because I live here. And walk by the Vatican several times a week, in the mornings, during the winter and summer.

I don't see how that's misleading people.

Thanks everyone for all your responses and lively discussion. I think we all got the point and the topic is closed.