The best time to visit Rome, month by month
Written and checked by the Best Rome Tours editorial team. .
May and September are the best months to visit Rome, with average highs of 23.3C and 26.5C and the fewest constraints. January and February are the cheapest. The month most people get wrong is August, when the Vatican Museums close for three consecutive days in the middle of the month.
Rome at a glance, all twelve months
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain days | Daylight | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11.9C | 3.5C | 7 | 9h 28m | Cheapest and quietest |
| February | 13C | 3.8C | 7 | 10h 36m | Best value of the year |
| March | 15.7C | 6C | 7 | 11h 54m | Holy Week falls here this year |
| April | 18.8C | 8.8C | 7 | 13h 20m | Unusually calm this year |
| May | 23.3C | 12.6C | 6 | 14h 33m | Best weather of the ten |
| June | 28C | 16.8C | 3 | 15h 12m | Long days, rising heat |
| July | 31C | 19.4C | 2 | 14h 55m | Hot, dry and audience-free |
| August | 31.4C | 19.8C | 2 | 13h 52m | Hottest, with a three-day Vatican gap |
| September | 26.5C | 16.1C | 6 | 12h 30m | Best all-round month |
| October | 22C | 12.6C | 7 | 11h 07m | Great walking, short evenings |
| November | 16.8C | 8.6C | 9 | 9h 50m | Wettest, quietest, cheapest |
| December | 12.8C | 4.7C | 9 | 9h 09m | Shortest days, three closures |
Temperature and rain days: Climates to Travel, Rome (Ciampino) 1991 to 2020 averages. Daylight is the length of day on the 15th, from timeanddate.com sunrise and sunset tables for Rome.
The short answer
If you want the best weather, go in May: 23.3C average highs, only six rain days, nine hours of sunshine a day and over fourteen hours of daylight. If you want the best balance of weather and hassle, go in September: it is the only month of the year with no Italian public holiday and no fixed Vatican Museums closure date, so nothing on your itinerary hits a shut door.
If price is the deciding factor, go in the second half of January or in February. Rome empties once Epiphany has passed on 6 January and stays empty until the spring, and February adds an hour of daylight and a degree of warmth without adding much to the bill.
Two months carry traps worth knowing before you book. In August the Vatican Museums close on 14 and 15 August, and with the Sunday that follows that becomes three consecutive days with no Sistine Chapel. In March, Easter Sunday falls on the 28th, which is also the last Sunday of the month, so the free Vatican opening is cancelled and the Museums are shut.
Rome in January
11.9C average high, 3.5C average low, 7 rain days, 9h 28m of daylight mid-month.
The coldest month, with average highs of 11.9C and lows of 3.5C, but only seven rain days and returning sunshine. After the first week Rome empties completely and hotel rates hit their annual floor. The Vatican Museums close on 1 and 6 January for New Year and Epiphany.
Rome in February
13C average high, 3.8C average low, 7 rain days, 10h 36m of daylight mid-month.
Almost January prices with an extra hour of daylight and 13C average highs. Rain holds at seven days and the sun climbs to five and a half hours a day. Carnival peaks on 9 February and the Vatican Museums close on 11 February, the only closure in the month.
Rome in March
15.7C average high, 6C average low, 7 rain days, 11h 54m of daylight mid-month.
The driest month of the winter half at 59mm over seven days, with 15.7C highs. But Easter Sunday is 28 March this year, so the whole of Holy Week sits in March. The free last-Sunday Vatican opening is cancelled as a result, and the clocks go forward the same day.
Rome in April
18.8C average high, 8.8C average low, 7 rain days, 13h 20m of daylight mid-month.
Average highs of 18.8C, over thirteen hours of daylight and, because Easter already passed in March, none of the Holy Week pressure that normally defines the month. Natale di Roma on 21 April opens the city's civic museums free to everyone. No fixed Vatican closure falls in April.
Rome in May
23.3C average high, 12.6C average low, 6 rain days, 14h 33m of daylight mid-month.
The strongest month on the numbers: 23.3C highs, only six rain days, nine hours of sunshine a day and over fourteen hours of daylight. The costs are crowds and price, both at spring peaks. The Vatican Museums close on 1 May for Labour Day, the month's only fixed closure.
Rome in June
28C average high, 16.8C average low, 3 rain days, 15h 12m of daylight mid-month.
The longest days of the year, around fifteen hours twelve minutes in mid-June, with average highs of 28C and just three rain days. The sea reaches 22C, so the coast becomes a real option. The Vatican Museums close on 29 June for Saints Peter and Paul, Rome's patronal feast.
We publish full month guides for August through May. For June, the figures above and the closure note are the essentials; the nearest full guides are Rome in May and Rome in August.
Rome in July
31C average high, 19.4C average low, 2 rain days, 14h 55m of daylight mid-month.
The driest month of the year at 20mm across two days, with 31C average highs and eleven hours of sunshine a day. July, not August, is the month papal general audiences pause; the Sunday Angelus continues from Castel Gandolfo. The Via Triumphalis Necropolis closes for the summer from 15 July.
We publish full month guides for August through May. For July, the figures above and the closure note are the essentials; the nearest full guides are Rome in May and Rome in August.
Rome in August
31.4C average high, 19.8C average low, 2 rain days, 13h 52m of daylight mid-month.
The hottest month at 31.4C average highs, with only two rain days and the sea at its annual peak of 26C. The planning trap is mid-month: the Vatican Museums close on 14 and 15 August, and with the following Sunday that makes three consecutive days shut.
Rome in September
26.5C average high, 16.1C average low, 6 rain days, 12h 30m of daylight mid-month.
Highs drop nearly five degrees from August to 26.5C while the sea holds 24.5C. It is the only month of the ten with no Italian public holiday and no fixed Vatican closure date at all. Rain rises to six days, and Rome loses about eighty minutes of daylight across the month.
Rome in October
22C average high, 12.6C average low, 7 rain days, 11h 07m of daylight mid-month.
Average highs of 22C make it the best walking temperature of the year, but 88mm of rain over seven days and the clocks going back on 25 October cut sunset from about 18:51 to about 17:05 across the month. The last ten days are exceptional value.
Rome in November
16.8C average high, 8.6C average low, 9 rain days, 9h 50m of daylight mid-month.
The wettest month of the Roman year at 108mm over nine days, with 16.8C highs and under ten hours of daylight. In exchange you get the Pantheon almost to yourself and the lowest hotel rates of the autumn. All Saints on 1 November closes the Vatican Museums.
Rome in December
12.8C average high, 4.7C average low, 9 rain days, 9h 09m of daylight mid-month.
The shortest days of the year at around nine hours nine minutes, with 12.8C highs and nine rain days. Three separate Vatican Museums closures fall this month, on 8, 25 and 26 December, more than any other. The free last-Sunday opening still runs, on 27 December.
Where the numbers come from
Temperature, rainfall, rain days, sunshine hours and sea temperature are the 1991 to 2020 averages measured at Rome Ciampino, published by Climates to Travel. Daylight is the length of day on the 15th of each month for Rome, read from the timeanddate.com sunrise and sunset tables. Vatican opening days, hours and closure dates come from the Vatican Museums' own days and hours page, and the only official ticket seller is tickets.museivaticani.va.
Where we could not confirm something from an official source, we say so on the page rather than filling the gap. That currently applies to exact Colosseum opening hours and to the ticketing arrangements for papal liturgies at Christmas and in Holy Week.
Best time to visit Rome: FAQs
What is the best month to visit Rome?
May and September are the two strongest months. May has the best raw numbers of the year, with 23.3C average highs, only six rain days and over fourteen hours of daylight, while September drops to 26.5C from the August peak and is the only month with no Italian public holiday and no fixed Vatican Museums closure at all. Both are peak-price months.
What is the cheapest time to visit Rome?
The second half of January and the whole of February. Rome empties from about 8 January once the Epiphany holiday has passed, and hotel rates in the historic centre reach their annual floor. February keeps almost all of that pricing while adding an extra hour of daylight and a degree of warmth, with average highs of 13C.
What is the worst month to visit Rome?
November on the weather and August on the heat. November is the wettest month of the year at 108mm across nine days, with under ten hours of daylight. August is the hottest at 31.4C average highs and carries a three-day Vatican Museums closure in the middle of the month. Both work if you plan around the constraint.
Which month has the most closures in Rome?
December. The Vatican Museums close on three separate dates, 8, 25 and 26 December, more than any other month, on top of the usual Sunday closures. January is next with two, on 1 and 6 January. September and October are the only two months in this window with no fixed Vatican closure and no national public holiday.
When are the Vatican Museums free?
On the last Sunday of each month, from 09:00 to 14:00 with last entry at 12:30. The Vatican cancels that free opening when the last Sunday coincides with Easter Sunday, 29 June, 25 December, 26 December or 31 December. This year the last Sunday of March is Easter Sunday, so that free morning does not run and the Museums are closed.
When is the hottest month in Rome?
August, with an average high of 31.4C and an average low of 19.8C, just ahead of July at 31C. August is also the driest-feeling month in practice, with only two rain days, and the Tyrrhenian sea off the Roman coast peaks at 26C. Individual afternoons above 35C are common.
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