Over the next several weeks we'll be showcasing the best of the holiday season in cities around the world. Today we're taking you to Rome, and we've asked local experts for the essential ways to enjoy the winter's best. Christmas season in Italy is traditionally celebrated Dec. 24-Jan. 6, or Christmas Eve through the Epiphany. Visitors and locals alike come together to celebrate the holidays and the New Year, and we encourage you to share your own favorites with us as well. Nicola Oddis, Chief Concierge
InterContinental De La Ville Roma
- Discover the Nativity in over 600 churches in Rome.
- Try Cafe della Pace for a peaceful setting with Christmas lights and decorations and newspapers in all languages.
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Shop along Via Condotti, the best known shopping street in the city.
- Walk through the Galleria Borghese, a 17th-century villa with beautiful frescoes set in the greenery of Villa Borghese Park.
- Do like Wagner and Goethe and have a cappucino at Antico Caffè Greco, Rome's the oldest cafe, which opened in 1760.
Roberto E. Wirth, Owner and General Manager
Hotel Hassler
Want more on Rome? Visit our Rome photo gallery, and visit our Places of a Lifetime writeup on the city.
Photo of the Piazza Navona Christmas Market, by Mountain Butorac
Hotel Hassler
- Eat New Year's Eve Dinner at Imàgo, the Hassler's panoramic restaurant.
- Visit the Christmas market in Piazza Navona.
- Attend the concerts of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia at the Auditorium music park.
- Snap photos of the Nativity scene set up on the Spanish Steps.
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Christmas Mass in St. Peter's Basilica is spectacular.
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Pick up roasted chestnuts being sold on corners throughout the city.
- Visit specialty stores selling "Panettone," the Italian traditional Christmas cake.
Want more on Rome? Visit our Rome photo gallery, and visit our Places of a Lifetime writeup on the city.
Photo of the Piazza Navona Christmas Market, by Mountain Butorac
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A must do in Rome during the Christmas season: stop by the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (near Termini train station) and see one of Rome's oldest nativities.
Wow, thanks for these tips! Headed to Rome for our first winter visit (only been in the summer) so I'm psyched to have recommendations for doing Christmas right. Anyone been to Venice for the holidays? Going there as well.
I love the idea of taking the family to Rome for the Christmas season some year. I didn't know they stretched out the season to the 6th of January. That is very interesting. I'm sure the sight seeing doesn't end until you get on the plane to come back home.
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