Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful 2026!

Rome is a wonderful city to visit in winter – it can be subject to rain and snow, so pack warm and waterproof clothes, but it is magical at any time of year and seeing the ancient sights in winter can be spectacular. Imagine the Forum set against the backdrop of a winter sunset.

Some of the sites may be closed, so check before booking – but just wandering around Rome and getting to know the city is a memorable holiday.

Visit the Spanish Steps – drop into eateries such as Babingtons and Caffe Greco – where potets like Lord Byron, Keats and Shelley took their morning coffee. You can buy specialist teas and coffees to take home as souvenirs – and enjoy delicious snacks and patisserie in unique surroundings. Babingtons is more relaxed than Caffe Greco – but both are experiences not to miss.

There are also unusual sights you may stumble across. Stroll past the Trevi Fountain at around 9am and you may be treated to the spectacle of it being cleaned. The money thrown in is collected and donated to charity, so if you threw in a coin and made a wish, your donation will also go to a good cause – and you will return to Rome, as the legend says!

And, of course, there is the shopping in Rome – and in January the sales will be in full swing. Via del Corso is the main shopping street, but the main designer shops such as Via Condotti are conveneiently near the Spanish Steps. where there is also Via del Babuino, which is home to some of the best designer shops sitting alongside discount clothing and footwear stores. The street leads to Piazza del Populo, a huge piazza bordered by cafes and the Borghese Gardens. (https://www.villaborghesetours.com/info/item/globe-theatre-villa-borghese/)

Visit the gardens on a Sunday morning to listen to some of the best buskers you will ever hear or wander around the gardens – some of which is wilded. There is also a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in the gardens – as well as the Villa Borghese and its museums and excellent cafe. The exit at the north end of the gardens from Via del Populo will take you to Via Veneto, so you can complete a nice circuit of some of the main sites setting off from the Spanish Steps.

If you need the VAT office to claim VAT on purchases, it is also nearby on Via della Fontanella di Borghese, 35, 00186 Roma RM, Italy (https://www.taxrefund.it/).

On one side of the Spanish Steps you will also find the Keats and Shelley House – and at the far end of the Via del Corso near Piazza del Populo is Goethe’s House. Search NovelRomeAlone for more information on these and other places of interest in Rome.

Goethe’s House

Where to stay? If you intend to make a visit to the Vatican a priority, look for hotels around Via della Conciliazione. You will also be near Castel Sant’Angelo – and you can walk across the Ponte Umberto I and make your way easily to Piazza Navona and historic sites like Area Sacra, where there is a cat sanctuary as well as being the alleged site where Julius Caesar was murdered. There are plenty of shops and cafes along the way – I always take Via dell’Orso from Ponte Umberto, where there is a small flea market in the afternoons.

If the Forum and shopping are high on your visit, there are some comfortable and reasonable hotels on Via Sistina at the top of the Spanish Steps – where you will also find luxury hotels such as the Hassler and Eden. Via Sistina also has plenty of reasonably prices trattoria and some shops. It is a steep hill, but there are taxis in Piazza del Spagna at the foot of the Spanish Steps that will whizz you up the hill. Official taxis are white.

Spanish Steps in winter

I hope you will choose to visit Rome out of season sometimes – it is much quieter and cooler and without so many tourists you get to know the city a bit more without all the chaos of tourism.

NovelRomeAlone has plenty of posts to help you enjoy your visit to the Eternal City – as well as lots of historical information, so explore that, too.

Buon viaggio!

Castel Sant’Angelo

All images copyright A. Meredith unless otherwise stated