Most shops and businesses don't open until lunchtime or late afternoon on a Monday; during the rest of the week, opening times are generally Tuesday to Saturday, 9am to around 1pm, and then 4pm until around 7.30pm - although there are a few places in the city centre that are open right through. Most places are closed on Sundays. All but the most popular or touristed churches keep to fairly predictable hours, opening early each morning, at 7am or 8am, closing up around noon and opening again from 4pm until around 7pm. Most museums are closed Mondays, and then open from around 10am to 6pm, Tuesday to Saturday, and for half the day on Sunday

If you can, you should avoid visiting Rome in July and August, when the weather is hot and sticky, and those Romans that don't make their living exclusively from the tourist industry have left town; many businesses are closed, and in those places that are open most of the patrons will be fellow-tourists. The weather is more comfortable in May, June and September, when most days will be warm but not unbearably so, and less humid, though you'll still find the city busy during these times; April, outside of Easter, and October, are quieter and the weather can still be clement ? making this in many ways the ideal time to come. The winter months can be nice, with many of the city's more popular sights pleasantly uncrowded: the weather can be rainy but the temperatures are usually mild.