‘Don’t turn up without a booking’: Rome will be busier than ever this year

At 7pm on Christmas Eve, Pope Francis pushed open the gilded Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City and officially declared 2025 the Jubilee Year of Hope.

Taking place every 25 years, a Jubilee year starts on Christmas Eve and ends on the Holy Epiphany feast day (January 6, 2026) when the Holy Door is closed again. Until then, Rome will be flooded with Catholic pilgrims seeking salvation and blessings at holy sites across the city – with visitation expected to almost triple to 35 million according to Italy’s National Tourist Research Institute.

Credit: Greg Straight

Rome has undergone a substantial glow up, buffing and polishing its major attractions in anticipation for the holy year, but seeing them is expected to cause headaches for travellers. That isn’t to say travellers should avoid Rome, but extra care and research will be needed if you plan to visit the Eternal City in 2025.

“This is not a year to turn up to the Colosseum without a ticket,” says Maria Pasquale, an Australian journalist and author who lives in Trastevere. She says “skip-the-line” tickets for attractions, museums and tours should all be booked well before you leave home – including restaurants and rooftop bars. “So many restaurants take online bookings now via email which makes it easier than ever.”

If you miss out on tickets or just hate crowds, there are plenty of lesser-known galleries, like Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Galleria Spada and the palatial Palacio Colonna to explore. Elsewhere, eight city museums offer free admission to everyone, including Museo delle Mura, Museo di Scultura Antica Giovanni Barracco and Museo Napoleonico.

Deacons take part in a mass for the jubilee in St. Peter’s Basilica at The Vatican last week.Credit: AP

Pilgrims tend to stay outside the city in campgrounds and convents, but the sheer number of visitors will make it harder to book budget accommodation, especially around the Borgo neighbourhood and the three papal churches: Esquilino’s Santa Maria Maggiore, San Giovanni in Laterano, and San Paolo Fuori delle Mura. A further 12 churches have been designated pilgrim meeting places. Your best bet is book early for budget stays or save up for more luxurious lodgings, and steer away from these holy hot spots.

Conventional money-saving wisdom is to travel during shoulder or off-peak season, but this year you should also avoid travelling during Lent ( March 5 to April 17) and Easter (April 20). Flight Centre travel advisor Danica Scott suggests travellers can save money by booking flights to Milan or Venice then catching a train to Rome, or boarding a cruise that disembarks in Rome, removing the need to find ground accommodation.

Tour operators lock in their suppliers a year in advance, so 2025 may be the year of small group travel. Most tours include skip- the-line passes with extended hours in their price so you can spend less time waiting to enter major attractions.

“Accommodation has been more challenging than in previous years, but all of our rooms have been sourced, and our guests can have complete confidence that they’ll have somewhere to stay,” says Sean Martin of G Adventures, which has launched a premium 10-day hiking-themed tour taking in the highlights of Tuscany and Umbria before arriving in Rome.