When to go to Rome - tips by travel authority Howard Hillman

the weather of Rome

temperature, rain and tourist-crowd conditions

to help you decide when to go to Rome

About my
Rome statistics

I prepared three essential charts to help you determine the best month for your priorities.

Reliable

My statistics are well-researched and are based on multiple-year averages.

My "Tourist in Rome" chart

I created it for those of you who want to avoid competing with a myriad of tourists for airline seats, museum tickets, restaurant tables, hotel accommodations, and elbow space. That chart is also helpful should you want to escape peak tourist season prices, in the air and on the ground.

Tips & insights
on when to go
to Rome

January

Rome is busy with tourists around New Year's. Then, the visitor count quickly drops.

March

This is Rome's iffiest month for weather. I remember that on the Ides of March, during my first visit to Rome, the water clock froze.

Easter Week

Avoid it if possible because Rome becomes unbearably overcrowded with pilgrims and tourists. The dates vary from year to year, but they fall between mid-March and mid-April.

May

It is Rome's second best month. Typically, temperatures are neither hot nor cold. This is the month when azaleas profusely adorn the Spanish Steps.

June - You begin to feel Rome's infamous summer humidity by the middle of this month. And tourist crowds thicken.

July and August

Although they have significantly less rain than the other months, they can be uncomfortably humid. And July and August are the peak of the tourist season. Moreover, in August Rome loses much of its renowned energy because many Romans close their shops and leave town for their annual summer holidays.

October

This is Rome's best all-around month. Temperatures are pleasant and the summer tourist count is relatively small. Rains are above Rome's monthly average, but are not wicked.

November

It is the rainiest month of the year.