In this guide
💡 The Short Version: For weather, May, June and September pair highs of 23 to 27°C with four to six rainy days a month; July and August run at 30 to 31°C, and October and November are the wettest. August is also when Ferragosto (15 August) shuts most businesses and the Vatican Museums close on 14 and 16 August 2027. Free days: the first Sunday of the month at the Colosseum, the Borghese Gallery, the Pantheon and Pompeii, and the last Sunday at the Vatican. Plan round the closed days and book the open ones first. Or book a tour: a guided tour with entry, such as the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel tourad (from £54.85, GetYourGuide, 30 September 2026), is the fallback when the official slots for your dates have gone.
Rome month by month
Weather is the average high and low and the number of rainy days from the Italian Air Force’s Fiumicino station, 1971 to 2000, published by the World Meteorological Organization (worldweather.wmo.int); the station is on the coast, at the airport. Events and closures are from each organiser’s or operator’s own page, read on 30 September 2026. Each entry gives the next date.
| Month | High / low | Rainy days | What is on and what changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12 / 3°C | 7 | 1 January 2027: the Vatican Museums, the Colosseum and Pompeii are closed. 6 January: the Vatican Museums are closed, and the Piazza Navona Christmas fair traditionally ends. Colosseum last admission is 15:30 |
| February | 13 / 4°C | 8 | Vatican Museums closed on 11 February 2027. Free at the Vatican on 28 February |
| March | 15 / 5°C | 8 | Run Rome The Marathon on Sunday 14 March 2027 (runromethemarathon.com). Free entry for women on 8 March at the Tivoli villas. Vatican Museums closed on 19 March. Easter Sunday is 28 March |
| April | 18 / 8°C | 9 | 21 April is the Natale di Roma, the city’s founding day, with free events, including a wreath-laying at the Altare della Patria at 9:00 and band concerts across the centre at 17:30 in 2026 (comune.roma.it). 25 April 2027 is a Sunday, so the Vatican Museums, the Colosseum and the Borghese are all free. The Italian Open tennis starts on 27 April |
| May | 23 / 12°C | 6 | The Italian Open runs to 16 May 2027 at the Foro Italico (sportesalute.eu). Vatican Museums closed on 1 May and free on 30 May |
| June | 27 / 15°C | 4 | 2 June: free at the Colosseum and the Borghese. Vatican Museums closed on 29 June, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul |
| July | 30 / 18°C | 2 | The Festa de’ Noantri fills Trastevere with evening shows on nine nights; in 2026 it ran from 17 to 25 July (comune.roma.it) |
| August | 31 / 18°C | 3 | Ferragosto on Sunday 15 August 2027. Vatican Museums closed on 14 and 16 August |
| September | 27 / 15°C | 6 | The Romaeuropa Festival runs from 8 September to 15 November 2026 (turismoroma.it) |
| October | 21 / 11°C | 8 | The Rome Film Fest runs from 13 to 25 October 2026 (romacinemafest.it). The clocks go back on 25 October, and the Colosseum’s last admission moves from 17:30 to 15:30 |
| November | 16 / 7°C | 10 | 1 November: Vatican Museums closed. 4 November: free at the Colosseum and the Borghese |
| December | 13 / 4°C | 8 | The Vatican Museums are closed on 8, 25 and 26 December 2026 and close at 15:00 on the 24th and 31st. See Rome at Christmas |
Rainfall in the same figures is highest in October and November, at 113 and 115 mm, and lowest in July, at 19 mm.
St Peter’s Square in the rain. Photo: Erik Drost, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Choosing a month
- Walking weather: May, June and September have highs of 23 to 27°C with four to six rainy days. April is cooler, at 18°C, and has the most rainy days of the spring, nine.
- Summer: July and August average 30 and 31°C highs with the least rain of the year. Sightseeing outdoors at the Forum, the Palatine or Ostia Antica is best done in the morning in these months.
- Winter: November to February highs run from 12 to 16°C. The Colosseum’s last admission is 15:30 from 25 October 2026 to 28 February 2027, so start early (colosseo.it).
- Crowds: Enit, Italy’s tourist board, forecast that foreign visitors to Rome in summer 2025 would number 946,000 in September, 892,000 in June, 831,000 in July and 695,000 in August (RomaToday, 16 June 2025).
The Colosseum in late-afternoon light. Photo: Eivind Mikkelsen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5.
August
Ferragosto, 15 August, is a national holiday, and most, though not all, businesses across the city close for it. Restaurants used to shut for the month, and fewer do now, but each one sets its own dates, so check before you go (Katie Parla, 24 July 2026). The Vatican Museums are closed on Saturday 14 and Monday 16 August 2027 as well as on the Sunday; on the days they are open the hours are 8:00 to 20:00.
The Temple of Saturn in the Roman Forum. Photo: Sonse, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Easter and Christmas
Easter Sunday 2027 is 28 March. The Vatican Museums are closed on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, and there is no free Sunday at the Vatican that March. Easter in Rome sets out Holy Week day by day. At Christmas the Vatican Museums shut on 8, 25 and 26 December; Rome at Christmas has every closing day.
The Christmas tree in Piazza Venezia, with the Vittoriano behind. Photo: Albarubescens, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Free days
Free days come with rules, and the rules differ by site.
| Free day | Where | The rule |
|---|---|---|
| First Sunday of the month | Colosseum, Pantheon, Pompeii, Ostia Antica, Castel Sant’Angelo | Free tickets cannot be booked at the Colosseum and the Pantheon; you collect them on the day, and the Pantheon costs €7 on other days. At Ostia Antica the Ostiense Museum is shut |
| First Sunday of the month | Borghese Gallery | Still booked, with a €2 fee, and released 10 days ahead |
| 25 April, 2 June, 4 November | Colosseum, Borghese Gallery, Ostia Antica | The same rules as the first Sunday |
| Last Sunday of the month | Vatican Museums | 9:00 to 14:00, last entry 12:30. Not when it is Easter Sunday, 29 June, 25 or 26 December |
| No free day | Trevi Fountain | The €2 basin charge applies on free Sundays too |
- Vatican free Sundays, 2027: 31 January, 28 February, 25 April, 30 May, 27 June, 25 July, 29 August, 26 September, 31 October and 28 November (museivaticani.va calendar). The rest of 2026: 25 October, 29 November and 27 December.
- First Sundays in 2027: 3 January, 7 February, 7 March, 4 April, 2 May, 6 June, 4 July, 1 August, 5 September, 3 October, 7 November and 5 December.
- Domus Aurea is closed on the first Sunday of each month (colosseo.it).
The Colosseum, Borghese Gallery, Pantheon, Castel Sant’Angelo and Vatican Museums guides each set out the ticket rules, and what to book before you go lists them side by side.
Common questions
What is the best month to visit Rome?
For weather, May, June and September: average highs of 23, 27 and 27°C and four to six rainy days a month, from the Italian Air Force's long-term figures for Fiumicino. October and November are the wettest months, with 113 and 115 mm of rain on average, and July and August the hottest, with highs of 30 and 31°C.
Is Rome closed in August?
No, but 15 August, Ferragosto, is a national holiday and most businesses in the city close for it. The Vatican Museums are closed on 14 and 16 August 2027. Some restaurants take a few days or weeks off in August, so confirm each one before you go.
Which days are free at Rome's museums?
The first Sunday of the month at the Colosseum, the Borghese Gallery, the Pantheon, Pompeii, Ostia Antica and Castel Sant'Angelo; 25 April, 2 June and 4 November at the Colosseum, the Borghese and Ostia Antica; and the last Sunday of the month at the Vatican Museums, from 9:00 to 14:00. There is no free Sunday at the Vatican in March or December 2027.
When are the Vatican Museums closed in 2027?
Every Sunday except the last Sunday of the month, and on 1 and 6 January, 11 February, 19 March, 29 March, 1 May, 29 June, 14 and 16 August, 1 November, and 8, 25 and 26 December. They close early, at 15:00, on 24 and 31 December.
