When to visit Rome

When is the best time to travel to Rome, Italy? (Hint: It's not August)

For more info:
www.turismoroma.it

ReidsItaly.com Rome Map

» View ENLARGED MAP with all listings

ROME BOOKSHELF
Rome Guidebooks

Fun & Inspiration

The best times to visit Rome are in spring (late March through May) and fall (September through mid-November)—though know that it does tend to rain bit more in October.

This is partly to do with the weather.

Summers can be pretty hot in Rome, especially as fewer people there seem to believe in air-conditioning, and it can get chilly in winter (December through February) though if you go in the weeks leading up to Christmas, you get to see the Christmas fair on Piazza Navona and nativity scenes set up in public spaces—the Spanish Steps, Piazza San Pietro—and in churches across the city. It has much more to do with crowds, however.

Rome is packed during the summer tourist high season, June through August.

What's more, the city practically shuts down in August—and on August 15, known as Ferr-Agosto, it seems as if 90 percent of Rome's citizenry heads for the beach en masse. The last two weeks of August in Rome tend to be brutally hot, with hordes of confused, sweating tourists wandering from monument to monument wondering where the heck all the Italians went.

That said, the city has taken some initiatives in recent years to help keep people in Rome during August and to entertain those who do remain with a series of outdoor summer festivals and free films (often screened at impromptu outdoor theaters set up on Tiber Island or amidst the ancient ruins along the Roman Forum).

Check out Rome's municipal city Web site (www.comune.roma.it) and the official Rome tourism site (www.romaturismo.it) for details on what's on tap for this summer.

Rome FAQ
Itineraries for seeing Rome in 1 day, 2 days, or 3 days
Rome homepage
Packing list for Italy

ShareThis

Search ReidsItaly.com

When to visit Rome

Related pages