Unfortunately, work considerations are requiring us to put our Austria -in-August trip on hold because we need to stay in the country this summer. In order to quench our wanderlust, we are considering a trip to Rome during Christmas break, as it would line up nicely w/school vacations. Is this a good idea, or is everything completely shut down for the holidays? I suspect it is very festive and beautiful that time of year, albeit on the cold side.

Here's a trip report from a Christmas stay. I'm sure there are others on the board if you use the search function.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...tmas-caper.cfm

For Christmas decorations, it can be interesting to go around the churches, which will be gloriously lit up and many will have fascinating nativity scenes, but Italians don't treat Christmas like Americans, the British or the Germans do, with big outdoor displays Increasingly it is commercialized and all that comes with it, but it's noticeably more low key.

Museums and historic sites will be shut tight as a drum on Christmas day, and the 26 will be a slow day too. Some restauarants will close for the whole Christmas week, and you will need to track down restaurants that are open Christmas eve and Christmas day. You can't take it for granted you'll find one open.

Your biggest challenge I think will be the very short days, and the possibility of a cold snap. (Not a lot of comfy heat in Rome.) But once the museums reopen, you'll have plenty to fill your dance card all day. And on the plus side, if the weather is dry, it's a lot more fun to stomp around Rome in the cool than the heat, and the cafes in the tourist piazze have outdoor heaters. And artichokes are in season!

Perfect - thank you! Doesn't sound quite as festive as I thought it would be, and yes, walking around in the dark, wet and cold isn't appealing, but in weighing the pros and cons, Christmas time still sounds more appealing than August (except for the lack of a beach visit). If we go, we'll be there for about 9 days, so hopefully there are a couple day trips we could squeeze in, like Pompeii or Pisa. I know they are a bit far away and might warrant an overnight, but as long as they're open, we're game.

We spent eight days in Rome last Christmas. Below are links to my trip report (Rome For The Holidays) with photos and a photo page where you can see a slideshow of our photos enlarged with descriptions.

http://web.me.com/tomfielding1/Tom_%...Roma_2009.html

http://web.me.com/tomfielding1/Tom_%...9_%282%29.html

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

It might not be wet and cold. I had beautiful weather. Here is my trip report from my Christmas/New Year's trip:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...oncello.cfm?63

I think Pompeii would be great on a clear day, and if you have time, you might take a flyer on Napoli, which is much more flamboyant about everything, including its famous tradition of making Christmas figurines and nativity scenes. It's an historic craft.

Pisa is too far because of poor train connections, but Florence is 90 minutes by train.

If Pompeii looks too complicated, Ostia Antica is just 40 minutes away by train, and fascinating.

We were in Rome 12/25/2008 - 01/02/2009. It was a wonderful trip - so great that we are doing it again this year! There were a couple of cold, misty days, but definitely not bad enough to slow us down. I definitely recommend it.

This is terrific! Thanks so much for your tips and for sharing your experiences!

FYI, In my never-ending revamping of my website, below is the current "Rome For The Holidays" Link. You can now make comments on the website or if you have a question, please feel free to ask.

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

Thank you very much. I really appreciate the info, not to mention, your pictures are beautiful and your tags on the top of the page (of other trips) are great for future reference and ideas!