borntraveler

Planning Rome, Florence (and Tuscany) and Venice.
And am seeing average temperatures of 50-55 F during day
and 35 F lows. Will Cathedrals, Vatican, Stores be open?
How about the Amalfi Coast-maybe not Capri but Positano.

Has anyone been in these cities at Christmas?

Thanks

CasaDelCipresso

Yes, things will be open in Rome, Florence and Venice - very busy really with everyone buying Christmas chocolates and goodies I like it that time a year - hot chocolate on the street, as well as hot mulled wine...there's a little Christmas market in Venice - not sure about Florence and Rome, but I'm sure you'll find special things!

Positano will be dead. (Capri I have not been to in December, but I would assume the same.) The entire Amalfi cost is very quiet in Winter - I like it that way and it is peaceful and you get a totally different view of things than during high season. Some restaurants will be closed, as well as some hotels, but I've always been able to find plenty open and have never gone hungry! Again, just replace your gelato with cioccolata calda and you're good to go. Look for the nativity scenes in the churches -they are even set up along the coast in the moss in some spots and some towns do "living" nativity scenes as well. Naples and Salerno will be very busy and open for business so, if things on the coast are too quiet, you can always just daytrip into one of the cities.

The hotels in the cities will certainly have heat (usually over-heated, IMHO,) but make sure that, if you are staying in a smaller place or vacation rental in the South that they do - many places in Campania do not have heat and use only wood stoves and/or portable heaters to keep warm in winter...and it does get quite chilly without heat!! (and can be a very damp cold everywhere so, dress in layers.)

zeppole

Last year it snowed in Tuscany around Christmas, and Venice experience terrible weather. In other years, it has been more pleasant. If bad weather will ruin your trip, you need to know it can occur.

I would not book rural locations in Tuscany ahead of time. Instead, I would plan to see Florence as a day trip from Rome, and leave the Tuscany portion of the trip wide open. If the weather in Tuscany is good, rent a car and go drive around Tuscany. If it is lousy, go someplace else -- like Bologna, which has miles of porticoes to protect you from the elements and great train connections everywhere, or if it is sunny in Napoli, head down there and do day trips to Pompeii and a bus trip to Positano. (Although ferries run to Capri, I have heard the operators will run them even when seas are rough, which I wouldn't want.)

sandra3120

Franco - I think you are correct in advising the other poster with children that Florence may not be the ideal spot to visit for them. I get lost in time with Fra Angelico's frescoes in San Marco, and Ghirlandaio's in the Sassetti Chapel in Santa Trinita, for example, but children may not appreciate them. I can never get enough of Florence, as well as many other places in Italy, and if I could I would probably move there as a few other posters have done. A dream for another day, perhaps...

maitaitom

Here is my Rome trip report with photos from last Christmas. It was pretty cold, but manageable, even for we warm-blooded Southern Californians.

http://web.me.com/tomfielding1/Tom_%...Rome_2009.html

maestrette

We spent Christmas 2008 in Rome. It was amazing. A couple of the days were cool and misty, but not enough to slow us down. This year we are going back to Italy for Christmas/New Year's - Rome and Venice.

sandra3120

I have no idea how my post regarding travel to Florence with young children ended up on this thread, but please excuse it. My computer has been acting up and shutting itself down without warning and I must have hit the history button when I got back on...

Anyway, I've spent Christmas in Florence and it was lovely; things are open, it's festive and there's all that marvelous art and architecture to soak in. I flew back on NYE, so I missed spending it there and landed back in the infernal Miami heat, really missing the crisp weather in Florence, among other things. Lots of restaurants and trattorie have outside patios with heaters, so people-watching once you've exhausted yourself is relaxing and pleasant, as well. If you don't have friends there, Christmas Day can be a bit difficult, but as long as you're staying in a hotel, there will be food and other services available which wouldn't be necessarily true if you're in a rented apartment. But there are always some restaurants open - talk to your concierge at the hotel if that's where you're staying; otherwise, once you get there have a scout around the area you are staying in to see who will be open on Christmas Day.