In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Very festive! Have a great trip.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
If you can get into St Peters for Midnight Mass it would be an experience not to forget - but don't forget every local and tourist wants to be there too. The Museums are shut 24 Dec and 25 Dec so no Sistine Chapel... The Colosseum will probably be shut - you need to check. It would be a lovely time to absorb the sights from the outside but, like Ferragosto, all the Italians will be with their families (possibly out in the hills near us because the traffic jams are legendary) and worst of all, most of the decent waterholes /restaurants will be shut and you will have to resort to McDonalds(to be honest I don't even know if that will be open) This won't really give you a flavour of the true Roma.Sorry if this puts a dampner on your plans-HOWEVER if you've never been to Roma before and you just want to absorb the history rather than the manic crowds/atmosphere - go for it
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
wow thanks for the response guys.
i believe italy will be great. but i just want to maximise my time there.
coz i was in geneva over christmas a few years ago, and it was a dissapointment, as nothing was open, we couldnt visit anything, just roaming about empty streets, and eating mcdonalds. as our time in italy is rather short, i do not want to be caught at the wrong place at the wrong time. the vatican is a must see for me, so to avoid going there on the 24 25 or not? i guess not.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
We were in central Rome a few years ago on Christmas Day and I have to say it was deserted. Very little if anything was open, but as Rome is an
open air museum there will still be so much to see (even if you cannot go into anything) and at least you will be able to actually see the sights without being surrounded by the masses! The Vatican is usually open on the last Sun of the month unless it coincides with a public holiday, so it will be closed. Mondays are also not a good day for Rome, musuems and shops remain shut, so as it is also a public holiday this year I would imagine Rome will remain pretty quiet on the 26th. However, you will still be able to absorb so much of the history and explore freely but eating could be a problem.
Have a fantastic time, it really is a wonderful city.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Maybe you could consider driving out of Roma on 26th into the local countryside. We ate out last year in a restaurant on the 26th on the shores of Lago di Bolsena and it was very busy. Lots of restaurants around here seemed to be open over the holidays and were hosting huge family parties.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
there was an article in the Independant on saturday17th about spending christmas in rome,it is probably available on the website by now .
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Also in Vetralla and other neighboring towns outside Rome there are the live Christmas scenes beginning at 5 p.m., sort of sound and light shows. I mention them on my latest Newsletter (available on my website). Dates are Dec. 25, 26, Jan 6 & 8. A wonderful respite from the commercialism that surrounds the festivities in the big cities.
[QUOTE=deft0nes]hello hello,
i will be going to italy on the 20th for a short holiday with friends. we will be spending christmas over in italy. or maybe more specifically rome. i wish to find out what will rome be like on the 24th n 25th of dec. will everything be closed, will the tourism spots be open? will we be able to visit the vatican city? or should we try not to visit the vatican on those 2 days?
it those kinda queries i have, which is making it harder for us to plan our trip.
i hope u guys can provide some answers? thanks alot![/QUOTE]
I think Christmas is the right day to visit Vatican, after all thay're Holy-days