Has anyone ever traveled to Rome for Christmas. We have plans to take our 2 teenage children and are wondering if the shops/restaurants stay open during the period of Christmas - New Years. Also, does anyone know if the Vatican will be open during this time?<BR><BR>Thanks for you reply.

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While the idea of coming to Rome at Christmas sounds charming, think twice before you make your reservations! Christmas is a family holiday for Romans. They often leave the city to gather at parents homes or go to the countryside. From Christmas Eve until the day after New Years, the city is shut up and most shops and restaurants are closed. The Vatican and its museums are closed during this period of time. Also public transportation runs on a limited schedule and stops about 9 PM on Christmas Eve. Even if you get tickets to the mass at Saint Peters you may have to walk back to your hotel across Rome at 2 in the morning. If I still have not discouraged you, you can apply for tickets through the US Bishops Center for Visitors to the Vatican. You can contact Monsignor Roger Roensch at Via dell'Umilit&aacute; 30, 00187 Rome. His office telephone number is 011 3906.690011, or better yet send your request by fax to 0113906.679.1448. He can also be reached by email at: [email protected] He will not promise you a ticket only the possibility of a ticket! Address him as "Your Grace" in your letter.<BR><BR>In closing, I am the last person who will ever discourage a visit to Rome. However, you want to keep the information above in mind for Christmas.

Hmmm... Last year I took several day trips into Rome around that time and had no problems. I didn't go to the Vatican Museums, but they're open at that time except for Dec. 25, 26 and Jan. 1 (and Sundays, when they're alwys closed). Other museums were mostly open except on the holidays themselves. I remember going to the Forum and the Domus Aurea on Saturday, the 29th and then going out to lunch, and going to several museums and out to lunch on the Thursday, the 27th. Plenty of places were open. I'm not a shopper, but I recall shops being open, though maybe not all of them. Things were not at a standstill.

Yes, my husband and I traveled to Rome at Christmas for the past 2 years (and planning on this for the third). Two years ago visited the Vatican Museums during the aforementioned week and have had no trouble shopping, eating, and sightseeing over both holiday seasons.<BR>I am trying to track down a restaurant for a traditional Christmas Eve meal. Any help??