Spending Christmas in Rome is an experience like no other. The Italian capital is calmer and less crowded than during the hectic high season. Christmas lights illuminate the city’s cobbled streets, adding a festive sheen to the already stunning historic centre. Best of all is the weather: clear warm sunny days, and chilly but never freezing nights.
Rome with Chef has written this guide to help you plan your winter visit to Rome this year. It’s packed full of useful tips and insider recommendations for where to go, what to do, and — most importantly — what to eat!
Christmas Eve 2024 & the Beginning of the Jubilee Year
December 24 marks the beginning of the Jubilee Year, an extraordinary event in the Christian calendar held every 25 years. At 7 pm on Christmas Eve, the Pope will open the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican before celebrating Mass inside the Basilica, officially inaugurating the Holy Year.
Giant screens will be set up inside St. Peter’s Square, allowing audiences to follow the celebrations in real time. No tickets are required to take part in celebrations in St. Peter’s Square. Simply register for the event here via the official Jubilee website.
The Best Things to Do in Rome at Christmas
Christmas is the best time to visit Rome for sightseeing as its attractions are far less crowded. The lack of crowds and enthusiasm of the tour guides (whose work is much thinner on the ground than in summer) means you get a more personalised, intimate experience when taking a guided tour.
But there are plenty of other ways to take advantage of the lack of crowds and mild weather in Rome at Christmas. Here are our top recommendations.
Treat Yourself to a Trastevere Food Tour
Did you know that Rome has been voted the best city in the world for food? The Italian capital specialises in delicious fried street food, pizza by the slice, cheese and prosciutto cuts and more, but beating its cobbled streets can be more of a trial than a treat during the sweltering summer months.
Christmas is one of the best times to indulge yourself in Roman street food: the weather is milder, there are fewer tourists and there’s something more magical about tasting your way through the medieval neighbourhood of Trastevere as the sun sets and the Christmas lights come on. Check out the video below for a preview of our food tour and book your food tour here.
Book your Rome food tour here!
Join a Christmas Cooking Class
This festive spin on our classic cooking class combines two timeless Italian traditions: sipping on delicious spritzes and making mouthwatering pasta.
Expect Christmas songs, heaps of tinsel and a whole lot of festive cheer as you master making three traditional cocktails and delicious handmade fettuccine pasta and carbonara or cacio e pepe sauce.
Book your festive cooking class!
Visit Rome’s Christmas Markets
While Rome’s historic city hosts several low-key Christmas markets, including a somewhat underwhelming market in the otherwise picturesque Piazza Navona, the best ones (and the only ones really worth visiting) are situated on the peripheries.
The closest Christmas markets to the centre are at Villa Borghese, the Parco della Musica and Piazza della Vittoria, and in the south at Cinecittà World. All run until January 6th.
Every year, Rome’s Auditorium hosts a Christmas festival, consisting of a small artisan Christmas market, an ice rink, and Santa’s Grotto—or ‘official Roman residence’ as you can tell your kids! The dates haven’t been confirmed yet for this year, but going by previous iterations it should run from December 8th until January 6th, from midday until 8 pm.
See the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square
You can find nativity scenes (presepi, as they’re called in Italian) everywhere in Rome during Christmas. Every church has one on display, with the most charming and intricate exhibited within the Basilica of Saints Cosma and Damiano just off the Via dei Fori Imperiali, behind the Roman Forum. But the most famous nativity scene is the life-size artwork in Saint Peter’s Square.
Though the size and dimensions of the nativity vary year on year, the Vatican’s nativity scene and Christmas Tree are always the most tasteful and majestic in Rome. We still don’t have details about the design (or the designer). But watch this space and we’ll be updating the page once we do.
Celebrating Christmas Eve in Rome
Celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Square
Known as Midnight Mass or Natale del Signore, Christmas Eve Mass is one of the most important events in the Vatican’s liturgical calendar. The Pope usually holds Mass in St Peter’s Basilica at 9:30 pm on Christmas Eve, but this year coincides with the beginning of the Jubilee, this time is subject to change.
Normally, to attend in person you have to have applied for tickets by the deadline of October 25th. Otherwise, you can stream the service via the Vatican’s YouTube channel instead, or attend another mass in one of Rome’s Papal Basilicas. This year, big screens will be set up in St. Peter’s Square where you can watch the Christmas Eve Mass.
Christmas Eve is when Italians really celebrate Christmas. Many of Rome’s museums and galleries close or operate reduced opening hours, public transport runs less regularly (especially in the evening), and most restaurants close.
Many of our tours run as usual on Christmas Eve, and with the city practically empty this can be one of the best days to explore Rome and snap your shots of its usually crowded attractions.
But the one thing you must do on Christmas Eve is eat — and eat well.
Where to eat for Christmas Eve dinner
Make sure you book in advance to guarantee your table for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Most restaurants close during this period and an increasing number of families trade in the stress of cooking at home for the convenience of eating out together.
Italians generally abstain from eating meat on Christmas Eve and feast on fish instead. As a general rule, the further south you go, and the closer to the coast you are, the more abundant the portions of seafood—culminating in the Sicilian Christmas dinner which could comfortably feed the five thousand.
Here are our top recommendations for where to eat Christmas dinner in Rome:
Siciliainbocca
Sicilian cuisine is delicious, and nowhere in Rome does it better than Siciliainbocca. Last year on Christmas Eve they served up such delights as orange and fennel salad, pasta with sardines, and such seafood secondi as baccalà al nero di seppia.
La Pergola (Waldorf Astoria Hotel)
If money is no issue, you can find no finer dining than at the La Pergola. Situated on a hill overlooking the Vatican in the Balduina neighbourhood, Rome’s only three-Michelin-starred restaurant serves up a menu alla carta matched only by its views.
Gourmand’s Restaurant (The Building Hotel)
Centrally situated not far from Termini Station, Gourmand’s Restaurant serves up a delicious Christmas menu. Here’s their New Year’s Eve menu to get a taste of what they offer.
Celebrating Christmas Day in Rome
Almost all businesses close on Christmas Day so people can spend the day with their families. The Vatican closes on December 25th and 26th and on January 1st while the Colosseum shuts its gates on December 25th and January 1st.
Bear in mind that the Colosseum operates reduced opening hours during winter (9:00 am – 4:30 pm with the last entrance at 3:30 pm).
What to Eat for Christmas Dinner
Traditionally, Italians eat fish on Christmas Eve and meat on Christmas Day, with regional variations determining the kind of meat consumed.
Most restaurants serve a menu alla carta, which might typically consist of a first course of tortellini in brodo (stuffed tortellini pasta in a flavourful meat broth and sprinkled with parmesan cheese) and a main course of abbacchio al forno con patate (lamb braised in garlic, balsamic vinegar, and anchovies and roasted in the oven with potatoes). Puntarelle is a typical Roman side dish: thinly sliced chicory dressed with olive oil, vinegar, and anchovies.
Winter weather in Rome
Rome enjoys a Mediterranean climate, meaning cold but never freezing winters. Temperatures hover between 7-10°C (45-50°F) on average, with six hours of sunshine per day and sunsets between 4:30 and 5:00 pm. The only downside during Italian winters can be the rain. Average rainfall is 111mm spread across the month so you’ll want to pack something waterproof or buy an umbrella while here.
On the whole, Christmas is the most temperate time of year to explore the city, as it’s not too hot and never really too cold. Snowfall is rare but not unheard of, and 2024 may well bring the heaviest snowfall of the decade. When visiting Rome at Christmas, pack warm, waterproof clothes and sturdy, waterproof shoes that offer good grip on Rome’s cobblestones.
A History of Christmas in Rome
The ancient Romans didn’t celebrate Christmas. Instead they observed the Saturnalia—a seven-day festival held in honour of Saturn, the god of time, abundance and renewal. Starting on December 17th, the Romans inverted most social conventions in imitation of the Golden Age that preceded Saturn’s mythical deposition. Wealthy Romans would hold banquets for their slaves, the streets would fill up with carnivalic scenes and celebrations, and the Romans would exchange small gifts – a tradition which has since infused today’s Christmas traditions.
The poet Catullus, who is the author of the saying carpe diem, described the Saturnalia as optimo dierum – “the best of days.” Spend Christmas in Rome today and you’ll see his description still stands.
Gift-giving thrives in Rome, as it does around the world. But you won’t find any other remnants of the pagan Saturnalia in the homes of the Eternal City. Christmas in Rome today is instead centred around another widespread religion: Christianity. This is in no small part because of the presence of the Vatican’s presence in Rome, which becomes a focal point of festivities between the Day of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th and the Epiphany on January 6th.
Today’s Italian Christmas traditions are very similar to ours, with a few exceptions.
It is not Santa Claus who is tasked with delivering gifts but La Befana, an ugly benevolent witch, and the date of her arrival is January 6th (though modern Italians open their gifts on Christmas Eve). Food plays a central role in Italian Christmas traditions. Panettone and pandoro are joyfully consumed in considerable amounts from early November onwards while December 24th is seafood-centred in honour of the Feast of the Seven Fishes. So when in Rome at Christmas, save plenty of stomach space so you can sample and savour its myriad of treats.
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Rome with Chef offers fun, family-friendly culinary and cultural experiences in the Italian capital. Our food tours and cooking classes are authentic, traditional and sustainable, as we source from respected local producers and fight to combat food waste.
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