Back in 2023 my family traveled to Rome with a large family group for a 3 day trip as part of a week long vacation in Italy. We started in Milan and ended in Venice. I fell in LOVE with Venice and knew I would come back with my husband. While I enjoyed visiting Rome and it's rich history, I did not see myself going back, especially since I had not thrown a coin over my left shoulder into the Trevi Fountain!!!
Fast forward to Thanksgiving weekend two years later to Québec City where my family traveled for a weekend to experience the Québec Christmas Market and learned about the Holy Doors and I began planning a trip back to Rome.
While touring Québec City, we were in the basement of the famous hotel; Fairmont Le Château, reading about its history when a tour guide overheard us talking about going to the Notre Dame de-Québec Basilica. She came over and asked if we were going to enter through the Holy Door. We had no idea what she was talking about so she began to tell us all about the Holy Doors and how we had the rare opportunity to enter through the only Holy Door outside of Europe located right in Québec City at the Notre Dame de-Québec Basilica. This is why tour guides are so important! They are highly knowledgeable and full of rich history.
I was so compelled to visit Rome because of my experience walking through the Holy Door in Québec City. Entering the Holy Door in Québec City meant more to me than I thought. I had recently retired from a life-long career I loved and was entering into unchartered territory. I had no idea where I was heading and what I was doing but entering through the Holy Door in the spirit of faith and conversion, and praying about it, had more inner spiritual meaning to me than I had ever anticipated. I could not wait to experience even more transformation across the pond.
This experience is why I immediately began researching and planning a trip to enter the four Holy Doors in Rome. I was spiritually and historically motivated to 'leave more at the door' and move forward with my life as a symbol of entering the door is of forgiveness and renewal.
What Every Tourist MUST DO When Visiting Rome in 2025: Enter the Holy Doors
Holy Doors are ordained by the pope to be opened usually every 25 years during a Holy Year. They stay sealed with brick and mortar until ordained by the Pope to be opened. IN Québec, the door was opened as part of the city's 350th Anniversary Year of the Archdiocese.
As part of the 2025 Catholic Jubilee (Holy) Year in Rome, the Pope ordained all four doors in Rome to be open until January 6, 2026. Going on a pilgrimage to Rome and entering the Holy Doors has been happening by catholics for over 1,000 years and is a symbol of a spiritual journey by faith.
As I stated above, the only Holy Door outside of Europe is in Québec City that I was lucky enough to enter through and I feel blessed to plan a trip to enter the doors in Rome. I'm not sure if the trip to Québec with my family wasn't a spiritual intervention compelling us to go there or not but I know after losing my mom and family pet in 2022, our kids moving out of state in 2021, and leaving my career in 2024, I was ready for and needed some sort of spiritual journey to 'leave anything at the door' and move forward with positivity and strength.
The Four Basilica's in Rome with Holy Doors:
There are over a 1,000 churches in Rome but there are only four basilica's with holy doors. These are in the city center and all within walking distance if you are so inclined like the pilgrims of long ago or public transportation is easily available. The four basilica's are:
Saint Peter’s Basilica - In the Vatican City, one of holiest of christian and catholic churches
Saint John Lateran - Founded in 324 CE, one of oldest basilica's in the world
Saint Mary Major - Popular basilica and one of seven pilgrim churches of Rome
Saint Paul outside the wall - One of four major papal basilica's in Rome
These basilica's are open to the public and free to enter but be aware of lines. While you can stand in line for hours for free entry, skip the line options offer valuable time savings. When we went to the Vatican and Saint Peter's Basilica, we skipped the lines through Get Your Guide and were very happy with choosing to spending a little gains us that most valuable use of our time we can use in the city rather than standing in lines for hours.
How to Enter the Holy Doors:
The Holy Doors are open in Rome during the 2025 Jubilee until January 6, 2026 and are FREE for anyone to enter. You DO NOT need to register, you do not have to be of any religion. All may enter.
Even though you will find information on the Catholic Diocese's website to register, please know that this is not a requirement to enter through the Holy Doors. The reason the website asks you to register for a pilgrimage card and suggests signing up for times to enter is so that they know how to better handle the crowds. The card is required if you wish to take part in jubilee events.
I am not participating in events but went online and got a Pilgrims Card as part of a commemorative sort of thing. I also think it is way cool to own this piece of history with my name on it! If you want to participate for any events, or volunteer, you will need to register. During the time I am going, there are no events. I chose this time as there will be less crowds and the flights and accommodations were a way cheaper option.
My 7 day trip cost $555 with taxes and fees for a private 3 person apartment outside the Vatican Walls near the historic Trastevere neighborhood. It was within a 5 minute walk to St. Peter's Square. My flight cost $1,011.61 including taxes and fees.
While entering through the Holy Doors is free, early entrance into the basilicas, tours, audio guides, and special entrances into specific areas is not. When we went to Rome, we purchased the Early Entrance and Private Tour at the Vatican and Early Entrance and Private Tour at the Colosseum. I highly recommend purchasing a skip the line pass as over 32 million people are expected to travel to Rome for the Jubilee. Rome has over 30 million visitors so it will be crowded and skipping any lines is highly recommended. Add a tour guide who can help you learn about the rich history of Rome and you have a double bonus of making the most of your visit to Rome.
Currency: Euros. Credit cards accepted at most places. Tips are not a thing but leaving a euro on the table for exceptional service is acceptable. Tipping the tour guide is also perfectly acceptable. Get money from an ATM when you get there or better yet, before you leave so you are ready when you arrive and not looking for what you need.
Getting to Rome and Getting Around: Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) is the best airport to fly in and out of Rome. This is an international airport in Fiumicino, Italy, serving Rome. If flights are high, consider flying into Milan and taking a train to Rome. Traveling by train in Europe is not like the United States. There are many trains that go to all the popular tourist destinations and the bus routes are quite plentiful as well. Both are easy to navigate.
The Leonardo Express is a nonstop train that goes directly from the airport to the center of Rome. It is the quickest train route to Rome and is inexpensive. You can use the Omio app to check on all transportation options and do a comparison. Either book through Omio or the app of the transportation option you choose. I am always a fan of booking directly with companies rather than third parties as it's way easier to get your money back and change options if needed. The easiest way to book a Leonardo Express ticket is to download the Trenitalia app and book online.
PRO TIP: A digital ticket does not require you to go to a validation kiosk to validate your ticket while a paper ticket does. A digital ticket is automatically validated. Booking a digital ticket in advance saves valuable time and money that could be spent elsewhere.
The same is to be said for taking direct flights and direct transport to your accommodation. If you wish to take the express train to the city center, search for Fiumicino Airport ➡️ Rome Termini and have plan in place before you get to Rome. Don't be standing around the terminal looking like you don't know what you are doing.
Where to Stay: Where to stay is super subjective as the further out you stay from almost any inner city, the less expensive the stay. However, the time it takes to travel to your destination because the stay is further away to save money, should be taken into consideration. The first time I went to Rome, my family and I stayed outside the city. Because we were a large group, and taking a bus was not an option most in our party would consider, due to wanting to save time and not standing around waiting for a bus, we hired private cars which was a great choice to take a large group of people directly from our apartment rentals to our point of interest.
This time I will be staying outside the Vatican Walls as close to everything as possible. Traveling solo, I find I am much more at ease and less stressed when I am surrounded by other travelers and locals staying close to everything where there are lots of people. I also want to make the most use of my time and found a great deal.
PRO TIP: Week long rentals are typically priced better through companies than hotels. Booking during non-peak times and/or when there are no events going on, has much better prices and booking options as the industry raises prices based on peak times.
Luggage Storage: When booking your stay, one of the things I always want as part of my stay is the ability to store my luggage before checkin. This allows you to drop your bags off and then spend the day touring and not have to worry about checking in until you are ready. Some places are great about this. Sometimes this is not possible because logistically you want to do something right away closer to where you've landed before dropping your luggage off. This is a GREAT option and one I've used. Book a locker at any one of over 4,600 locations safely online through BOUNCE and then you can decide after your tour is done to pick them up near where you're at and move on to your next destination. For hopping from city to city, this is also a great option when you're not staying in the location you're visiting. I love this. It's safe, and convenient.
I am spending one week in Rome so I have plenty of time to see the 4 Holy Doors. Some of you may have less time than that, maybe a day or two. Putting together an itinerary and planning your stay is of utmost importance. I've spent hours curating my trip and am sharing my 7 day itinerary with you as a FREE guide for you to use. You will notice when I planned my trip to visit the Holy Doors back to back in two days. So, if you plan on being in the city, take any or all portions of what I planned according to Rome geographic areas and make it your own.
I've added all of the important sites I want to see and have no qualms about taking a step back and crossing a few things off my list if I get tired, overwhelmed, or discover something that takes me in a different direction I found super cool I want to check out. Enjoy your time in Rome!
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