La dolce vita without the crowds - Venice: the perfect pre-Christmas treat Print E-mail
Written by Mary Turner, 2008   
Page 2 of 2

January sales

If you're keen on shopping then January is the ideal time to visit Rome as the shops are full of signs proclaiming the sales (saldi). You'll probably still find the prices in the designer shops of Via Condotti and nearby streets very expensive, but window shopping is free and the Italians have made an art of window dressing.

In Italy, men too like to shop. I've seen unaccompanied men happily browsing in shops during the sales. Perhaps this explains the mystery of a friend who, though he normally hates shopping, happily shops whenever he's in Rome. He says he prefers the clothes and claims that the service is much better there.

Rome also has its Christmas markets, the main one being in the Piazza Navona, which opens mid-December and stays open until mid-January. You needn't miss all the festivities either, for on 6 January, La Befana, a kindly witch appears and gives presents to good children.

Rome is never entirely free of visitors, but after the festivities end there is a sense of it being reclaimed by the residents. (In August the reverse is true when the local people head for the hills and beaches to escape the heat.)

As I strolled through the market in Campo dei Fiore I heard more Italian spoken, and fewer foreign languages, and was very aware that I was mixing with locals shopping for their evening meal.

In January, shops and restaurants, especially those away from the tourist hotspots, seem genuinely pleased to have my custom. Hotel receptionists are friendlier, it's easier to get a table in a restaurant and waiters don't ignore me.

As a result, I feel more like a welcome guest than a tourist - and if that's not a good enough reason to visit out of season, then I don't know what is.


Further information:

For Italian tourism information visit www.italiantouristboard.co.uk
Before booking a hotel on the Internet check with www.tripadvisor.com to see what other guests have to say about it


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