Winter in Rome reveals the Eternal City in a new light. The air carries a crisp brightness, façades glow at dusk, and life moves at a gentler pace. Iconic landmarks become easier to discover while special exhibitions and Carnival add a splash of colour. Enjoy the pleasure of taking in live concerts in candlelit churches before returning to the beautifully designed spaces at Hotel de Russie, where seasonal menus pay homage to warming Italian recipes.
When cold air sharpens the senses, Rome’s museums, basilicas, and dining rooms offer cosy interiors for encounters with masterpieces appreciated up close, sacred spaces resonating with music, and steam rising from bowls of comforting dishes. This is also a time for spiritual reflection, through Midnight Mass, the Vatican at dawn, and the Pope’s Christmas Day blessing.
Rome’s best museums and galleries, such as Galleria Borghese and the Capitoline Museums, create the perfect itinerary while seasonal exhibitions are a chance to take cover when the need arises. Visit just a few sites each day to allow time to observe sculptures, canvases and archaeological treasures.
Comforting baked pastas and roasted meats fill the menus of Rome’s best restaurants. Broths and braises add richness to classic soups such as ‘Stracciatella alla Romana’ – delicate egg ribbons formed by slowly pouring beaten eggs mixed with Pecorino Romano cheese into a hot broth. Sweet treats for the holidays include mostaccioli and pangiallo pastries, fragrant with spice and citrus.
Traditional Roman winter foods:
Best places to buy mostaccioli & traditional Roman pastries:
St. Peter’s Basilica and its square are especially evocative and distinctly festive in December and early January. A towering tree glitters beside Bernini’s colonnades, and the Vatican’s nativity scene invites contemplation. As twilight casts a gentle light across marble and bronze statues, the great dome rises over the city like a celestial crown. Attend a service or concert to experience the space as it was meant to be felt, through music and reverence.
The best things to do at St. Peter’s Basilica during Christmas:
As the days shorten, locals allow time to pause, standing at a café counter for espresso. Long lunches are arranged around gallery visits, followed by outings to theatres and opera houses as night falls. Shop windows gleam, cafés serve decadent hot chocolates, and February brings carnival treats to local bakeries. The season is made special by music in a gilded church, and conversation flowing as plates arrive, unhurried and nourishing.
Piazza Navona transforms into a beloved festive scene, with a traditional market, carousel music and artisan stalls selling ornaments, toys and holiday treats. From there, walk Via del Corso, where glittering displays span the thoroughfare in playful patterns, leading toward Piazza Venezia, where one of the city’s tallest trees is illuminated against palazzos and the Vittoriano, the grand monument symbolising Italy's unification.
Christmas and Epiphany in Rome:
Rome’s cultural calendar fills theatres, churches, opera houses and concert halls with choral programmes, organ recitals and symphonic performances. The beautiful 18th-century Teatro Argentina hosts dramatic shows in a richly historical setting. Teatro dell’Opera, with its neoclassical façade and red velvet seats within an elegant interior, presents opera and ballet. Drama, ballet and song fill the city on frosty nights.
The best theatres and churches in Rome for winter performances:
Rome is a mosaic of neighbourhoods, each with its own identity. Most are easy to navigate, and all reward exploration. From grand boulevards to lantern-lit lanes, each quarter is its own microcosm of coffee shops and restaurants. Scarf-wrapped wanderers are rewarded with historic and bohemian enclaves of cobbled lanes, vintage shops, artisan cafés and lively piazzas.
The best neighbourhoods to explore during the winter months:
On the elegant Via del Babuino, connecting Piazza del Popolo to Piazza di Spagna, sits Hotel de Russie, a Rocco Forte Hotel. It's the ideal location for exploring the city when illuminations brighten boutique-lined streets and afternoon gallery visits are book-ended with memorable dining experiences. The hotel’s own terraced Secret Garden glitters under twinkling lights at this time of year, while beautifully designed interiors create a feeling of warmth and welcome.
At Hotel de Russie, the festive season unfolds through a calendar of elegant celebrations. From indulgent feasting and signature cocktails to special menus served in Le Jardin de l’Hiver beneath shimmering fairy lights, each moment is designed to delight. Mornings begin amid the greenery of the secret garden, while New Year’s Eve culminates in a glamorous gala dinner at Stravinskij Bar as midnight draws near.
Through our partnership with a leading Italian art and restoration studio, hotel guests can enjoy a close-up view of one of the few privately owned Caravaggios in the world. Within a beautiful Roman palazzo, the story behind the restoration of ‘The Conversion of Saul’ is unveiled. The experience continues at the studio, where the secrets of painting restoration are revealed.
Young chefs are inspired by a hands-on pizza-making class that turns tradition into a playful experience. The next generation of cooks learns how to prepare the perfect dough, mixing the right ingredients, and assembling their pizzas by selecting favourite toppings. A little patience is needed while the pizzas bake, but then comes the best part of all: the tasting.
Joyful celebrations are sprinkled throughout Rome’s piazzas, museums, churches and theatres. From the twinkle of Christmas lights to the fantastical costumes of Carnival, events unfold in settings that make concerts more magical and exhibitions more captivating. Pair a neighbourhood walk and a choral concert to experience the best of day and night beneath the lights.
At the beginning of December, the Pope lays a wreath at the Spanish Steps in honour of the Virgin Mary, marking the beginning of the season’s celebrations. Watched in reverent silence by thousands, it is a poignant moment in the heart of the city.
The city welcomes the New Year with installations of light and sound. Outdoor concerts and sociable gatherings across central piazzas and boulevards, such as Circo Massimo and Fori Imperiali. At midnight, fireworks shimmer across bridges and façades, creating an elegant new beginning among domed roofs and ancient monuments.
A beloved annual tradition which takes place early in January, Befana, the friendly witch, glides across the skies, giving sweets to everyone. Romans gather in Piazza Navona and other parts of the city, closing the festive season with a final flourish of warmth, tradition and folklore.
Throughout winter, Rome’s theatres stage a rich programme of contemporary dance, music and visual arts. At renowned venues such as Auditorium Parco della Musica and Teatro dell’Opera, exciting performances balance creative innovation with traditional sophistication.
For more information and reservations, please call +39 06 32 88 81 or email concierge.derussie@roccofortehotels.com
A true Roman luminary between Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps, the classical and cosmopolitan come together at Hotel de Russie.
A true Roman luminary between Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps, the classical and cosmopolitan come together at Hotel de Russie.
A true Roman luminary between Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps, the classical and cosmopolitan come together at Hotel de Russie.