An Italian Holiday

Classically, New Year is not a favorite holiday of mine for several reasons. Perhaps it’s the expectation of expensive party dresses and heels during a time of year that I would rather be wearing flannel and snow boots, or maybe it’s the complications of transportation, drunk drivers, or what to do with your coat when you arrive at some overpriced booze fest?

A couple of years ago, my husband and I spent New Year in Austria (you can see more about that trip HERE) and we had an amazing experience without any of the aforementioned complications. For Christmas 2023 and New Year 23/24, we needed to distance ourselves from our normal lives (but that’s for a different kind of blog) and we decided to lean on our past experience by spending New Year once again in Europe.

What You Need To Know About Spending New Year in Rome

I don’t care what anyone else has said, if Rome isn’t the most tourist dense city in the world, it certainly felt that way. What I mean by that, is while other cities may actually receive more tourists per year, if the infrastructure of the city is prepared for those people, it may actually feel like less people, does that make sense? Not so with Rome. We were here from December 28th to January 3rd and were repeatedly told by various locals and tour guides that we had come at the right time of year because the crowds were so much smaller. If what I experienced during our time there was truly “low season,” I’m horrified to think what it must be like at any other time of year.

Most of these tips should be applicable for any time of year that you decide to visit Rome, but two are specific to New Year:

1. Book Everything in Advance

   • Any skip the line, “pre-opening” or “after hours” tour you can get your hands on is a must. You will spend SO MUCH TIME standing in lines if you don’t take the time to make these arrangements beforehand.

2. If you want to visit St. Peter’s Basilica, go mid-day on New Years Eve (be sure to check the schedule online first) and attend a Vespers service officiated by the Pope himself (you can see more about our experience at this service and our tour of the Vatican HERE).

3. The fireworks show at Midnight in Rome is the most spectacular display I’ve seen anywhere in the world. Do yourself a favor, book an AirBnB or Hotel that has a rooftop from which you can watch the display, because being at street level is to rob yourself of something truly magical.

4. There’s a parade on New Years Day which starts mid/late afternoon. We went because we knew someone in the parade, but it’s not the kind of parade that has floats or showy displays, it’s was almost exclusively made of American high-school marching bands.

If you want to see a video about our New Year experience, you can see it HERE.

Other questions or Concerns? Feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email!