The Perfect Family Christmas in Italy

Book a stay at the Rocco Forte House Rome or Rocco Forte House Milan and enjoy the festive season in style

Create a new festive tradition in Rome

A beguiling melange of light-strewn shopping streets, piazzas filled with market stalls and churches alive with candlelit concerts, Rome at Christmas is like a movie set come to life. Enjoy an extra-special celebration with your extended family at Rocco Forte House Rome, where five palatial apartments in a meticulously renovated 18th-century palazzo provide perfect home-from-homes for the festivities. 

A short stroll from the Spanish Steps, they’re perfectly placed to discover Rome’s delights too. Butlers are on hand to ensure a seamless stay, removing any seasonal stress and leaving you free to focus on precious family time. Private chefs can cook Christmas lunch or a traditional La Vigilia feast of fish on Christmas Eve before church bells ring out across the city. 

Don’t miss the Christmas tree and outsized Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square (a gigantic version of the traditional 100 presepi figurine sets from across the world on display beneath one of its colonnades). Make time for last-minute present shopping under the twinkling lights of the Via del Corso, or take the little ones to visit Santa at Christmas World in the Villa Borghese gardens. 

Alternatively, head to the Christmas market in the Piazza Navona for a fairylit carousel and puppet theatre amongst its fountains and delicate facades. Open into the early hours at weekends, this market is as much for the adults as the little ones. Luckily, the House Concierge can arrange a babysitter, allowing mums, dads and grandparents to continue their celebrations into the night. 

Soak up the spectacle in Milan

Like a welcome ghost of Christmas past, Milan’s celebrations involve the very best old-fashioned traditions – from ice skating to window shopping via trips to the ballet. Your first stop should be the Piazza del Duomo, where a Christmas tree glitters with 80,000 lights. It’s a sign of how spectacularly dressed this city gets for the festive season – as you might expect from Italy’s fashion capital. Other highlights include the exquisite window displays of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and the 500-year-old Oh Bej! Oh Bej! Christmas fair which surrounds the Castello Sforzesco. 

Rocco Forte House Milan sits amid the festive glitter, surrounded by the chic boutiques, restaurants and jewellery stores of the Quadrilatero della Moda. Inside, 11 apartments combine period features such as original frescoes with the best Italian designer furniture and fabrics. Stay here and you’ll have a concierge team on hand to create the perfect festive getaway for your family in the comfort of a private residence. 

As Milan is the birthplace of Panettone, how about heading out to discover the best specimens? Those at Pasticceria Marchesi on the Via Santa Maria alla Porta are among the most extravagantly delicious, with flavours including fig, honey and vanilla or cinnamon and caramel. Take the children to meet Santa Claus at the Villaggio delle Meraviglie, where there’s an ice rink, hot chocolate stalls and rides too. Meanwhile, trips to the ballet don’t get more magical than The Nutcracker in the gilded splendour of La Scala. 

Make this Christmas extra special with a family getaway with us. Relax, reconnect, and create lasting memories. Contact our reservations teams at Rocco Forte House Milan or Rocco Forte House in Rome.