Best things to do in Rome in August 2026

Source Summary

A local's guide to what's on in Rome this August. August in Rome sees hordes of tourists arrive on vacation in the Eternal City as a large percentage of local residents bail out of the capital for Italy's Ferragosto summer holiday. Visitors to Rome may be surprised to find some family-run restaurants and businesses closed in August however the city's museums and archaeological sites will stay open as normal. Although many of Rome's summer festivals draw to a close in the first week of August, a number of popular events stay open all summer. These include the Summertime Jazz Festival (until 7 August), Lungo il Tevere with pop-up restaurants, bars and live music along the banks of the river Tiber, cinema under the stars at Casa del Cinema in Villa Borghese with a free festival of Italian and foreign movies, and the Notti di Cinema festival in Piazza Vittorio. There are also open-air concerts of classical, jazz and folk music every night at the archaeological site of Teatro di Marcello as part of the Concerti del Tempietto programme. The capital's national and city-run museums and archaeological sites will be open for free on Sunday 2 August. One of Rome's most unusual summer traditions takes place on the night of 5 August when the city recreates a miracle snowfall that occurred in the fourth century, outside the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore where Pope Francis is buried. On 10 August, Italy celebrates La Notte di San Lorenzo when Italians look to the night sky in the hope of catching a glimpse of a shooting star and making a wish. Some of the best places for star-gazing in Rome include the Janiculum hill, Monte Mario and the laghetto in EUR. The Colosseum and the Pantheon stay open late at night in August, while some of the capital's big summer exhibitions include Ovid's Metamorphoses at Galleria Borghese, Robert Mapplethorpe at the Museo dell'Ara Pacis, Diego Rivera at the Capitoline Museums, and an exhibition on Troy at the Colosseum. On the live music front, the Roma Summer Fest stages concerts by Djo (24 August), Tony Pitony (29 August) and Wilco (31 August). Italy's state museums and archaeological sites normally stay open for the Ferragosto holiday which this year falls on Friday 15 August. Finally, for those who wish to escape the heat of the city, here are our guides to lakes near Rome as well as Blue Flag beaches and seven hilltop towns to explore in the Lazio region. For more events in Rome see our What's On guide. Photo credit: Only Fabrizio / Shutterstock.com