If you already know me a little, it is no surprise that I am more of a summer than a winter person, and my mom and I have a yearly tradition of counting down the days until spring. The only thing that really keeps me going during this time of year is, of course, nothing less than Christmas. Christmas is, especially for someone who lives abroad, truly something to look forward to, and I am always ready to immerse myself in the Christmas spirit.

This year in Rome, in Villa Borghese, you can find Christmas World, a Christmas village that is, according to their website, the biggest in Europe.

On the 13th of December, my friend and I went to visit Christmas World to have a day filled with holiday joy and, of course, to review it. Since we are both from the Benelux, and my friend even lived in Vienna for a couple of years, we considered ourselves worthy of judging a good Christmas village. You can visit Christmas World in Rome until the 11th of January, and by the end of this post you will know whether I think it is worth going or not.

Since it’s autumn in Rome, the weather is getting colder (at least for Italian standards), and I’m slowly getting into my sweater vibes. Think baking cookies, drinking more tea, and of course, watching movies. One of my favourite things to do, alone or with friends, is going to the cinema. There’s just something about stepping into a cozy room for two hours, completely disconnected from the rest of the world, snacks in hand.

In Rome, and in Italy in general, most cinema movies are dubbed into Italian, which makes them quite hard to follow if you’re a tourist, expat, or international student. In this blog post, I’ll tell you all about the cinemas in Rome that show movies in V.O.S. (versione originale). This way you can enjoy the best cinemas in Rome while watching your favourite movies in English.

It won’t be a secret to anyone reading this that Rome is full of amazing museums. With over 100 to choose from, you’d probably need a lifetime to visit them all. Even after living here for over a year, I’ve barely made a dent!

Of course, there are the super famous ones, like the Vatican Museums, but this post is all about the lesser-known gems. Personally, I love small, low-effort museums—the kind that don’t overwhelm you with endless information but instead fit perfectly into your day for a quick, inspiring visit.

So, in this blog post, I’ll share some of my favourite small museums in Rome that are perfect for a low-effort, yet totally worthwhile, visit.