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For devout Catholics around the world, the countdown is on 2025 Jubilee in Rome. Occurring every 25 years since 1470, the Jubilee is an occasion for pilgrims to visit the religion’s holiest sites and seek forgiveness for their sins.

This means that Rome is shaping up to be more crowded than ever. Italy’s National Tourist Research Institute estimates That 35 million visitors will come to the Eternal City in 2025, and hotels are already selling out.

The Jubilee officially begins with the opening of the Holy Doors in St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve this year and will conclude on January 6, 2026, the Holy Day of the Epiphany. The Holy Door basilicas in Rome’s three other popes — St. John in Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls and St. Mary Major — will also be opened. These holy doors, which will be formally opened by Pope Francis, are actually broken up and sealed between Jubilee years.

Pope Francis has declared this jubilee a year of prayer, with jubilee days for various groups, including workers, the disabled, the elderly and prisoners. There will also be concerts, conferences and other events.

In preparation for the rush of crowds, several rehabilitation projects and infrastructure improvements have been in progress for the past few months. Cobblestones are being broken up and streets are being repaired. Metro is closing early for construction. Scaffolding currently covers the Trevi Fountain, the Angels on the Bridge of St. Angelo, and the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona.

“The center of Rome will be so crowded that they will charge people to visit the Trevi Fountain,” says Alisa Valeria Bove, CEO. The Roma experienceA luxury tour operator.

Among the customers who have booked tours with him for 2025, some are coming for the Jubilee and want to pass through the Holy Gate, some are believers but have not requested to pass through the gate, and others are worried because they do not know about the Jubilee. not

“Planning ahead is the best way to orient yourself during a year when Rome will be full of tourists,” she says. “Last minute bookings will be impossible.”

If you want to visit Rome next year – either for the Jubilee or in spite of it – here are some tips to remember.

Avoid the Vatican on its busiest days

The Vatican is always busy during holidays like Christmas and Easter, which certainly won’t change during the Jubilee. But there are many Jubilee daysLike the teenagers’ jubilee on April 25-27, which you may also want to avoid. According to Bowe, a million young people are expected then.

“It’s a good idea to visit the Vatican outside of dates when the pope will be present for events,” says Bowe, who has experienced two jubilees, first as a tourist in 2000 and then as a tour guide in 2016, when Pope Francis declared an extraordinary jubilee of mercy. Curry. “Avoid Wednesdays when Pope has an audience,” she says. “Tuesdays and Thursdays are the least crowded.”

These days, Rome has little in the way of off-season, but apart from the Christmas holidays, the city is at its quietest in winter. In the summer – especially August – Romans go on vacation, making it quieter. Indeed, August is the only month in which no jubilee days are set. (However, this past August was also when Rome was at its hottest, with highs in the 90s.)

Find alternatives to major landmarks

“Whenever possible, I’m taking my clients to other locations,” Bowe says. “Rome has countless incredible options.”

He suggests visiting Ostia Antica or Quintili’s Villa on the Appian Way as an alternative to the Roman Forum. Instead of the Borghese Gallery, try Palazzo Colonna or Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, two noble palaces whose owners have opened them for visits.

Bowe also recommends museums with antiquities collections, such as the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, the Baths of Diocletian, and the Capitoline Museums, which are less crowded than the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum.

“And don’t forget about places outside of Rome,” she says, suggesting a visit to Caperrola, a town about an hour north of Rome, where you can visit the incredible Villa Farnese, full of Renaissance frescoes, including maps. . Room that an apostle at the Vatican.

Isabella Caledona, Founder ArcheoRunningwhich offers jogging and walking tours of Rome, is introducing a handful of new tours to show visitors alternative sides of the city.

One such tour will touch on Catholic tropes by exploring the city’s madonnalas, or small shrines to the Virgin Mary. A new “stargazing” tour will bring people to see the starry sky painted inside the city’s churches. But it also offers plenty of tours that have nothing to do with religion, including a new “Emily in Paris”-themed tour.

Go as early – or late – as possible

Caledona has long emphasized the early morning hours as the best time for her runs, and she plans to double her early morning tours in 2025. In winter, her tours start at 7 am, while in summer, they start at 6 am. or 6:30 am

Bove also recommends starting the tour around 7:30 a.m.—or waiting until evening, when most people are having dinner, to visit famous sites and squares like the Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona.

Some museums, including the Vatican Museums, have extended hours on certain days of the week. The Colosseum usually offers after-hours tours in the warmer months for visitors looking to escape the heat and crowds. It’s always a good idea to check for extended opening hours.

The bottom line

Yes, Rome will be crowded next year — often with large groups of religious pilgrims. Even in normal years, the city is crowded, so it’s important to keep things in perspective.

“A jubilee is not just about one’s personal experience with God. It’s about welcoming people and sharing the experience,” Bowe says. “Transcendence is connected not only to the divine, but to things inside us, and certain places amplify that—that’s why Rome is so magical.”