I’ll always remember my first glimpse of the Colosseum. My husband and I had simply landed in Rome. I used to be bleary-eyed and nervous with anticipation about my first journey to Europe. My first view of Rome out the taxi window seemed like every other cosmopolitan metropolis. And then it occurred. I glanced down a facet avenue and there it was — the last word icon of Rome, the Colosseum. When visiting Rome with children I needed my daughter to have that very same stage of pleasure and awe.
Italy is a perfect nation for a primary household journey to Europe for a lot of causes. First, most youngsters love pizza and pasta, so the meals isn’t an impediment. Second, by the point they’ve reached elementary faculty, most youngsters have seen some photos of Ancient Rome or trendy Italy in books, exhibits, or motion pictures (and if not, see my studying checklist under!)
Visiting Rome with children could be plenty of enjoyable as a result of you will notice their eyes mild up as they make connections between issues they’ve heard about or seen on screens or books to what they’re experiencing and seeing in actual life. Who wouldn’t love consuming gelato whereas enjoying close to the fountains in Piazza Navona? Or take pleasure in watching the sundown from the highest of the Spanish Steps in Piazza di Spagna?
Italy is a really family-friendly nation and in case you have an opportunity to get off the crushed path in Rome, your children can take part with friends enjoying futball/soccer within the piazza or enjoying within the playground.
Of course, visiting Rome with youngsters will also be overwhelming. There is a lot historical past to soak up. The crowds could be difficult and there may be simply a lot to see. Parents usually marvel the place to begin. What will the youngsters actually take pleasure in? How do you select from the plethora of strolling excursions which are on the market? Are children sufficiently old to understand what they’re seeing?
If you might be having those self same considerations, learn on. In this information, I’ll try to indicate you the very best age to go to Rome with children, the very best time of 12 months to go to Rome with children, the place to remain in Rome with children, and, most significantly, provide you with a family-friendly 5-day Rome itinerary you can observe.
Best Ages to Visit Rome with Kids
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I discover the candy spot for worldwide journey with children is from 8-12 or so. Younger children can definitely have enjoyable and luxuriate in making enjoyable household recollections, however you’re a little extra restricted on how a lot historical past and touring they’ll deal with.
Teens also can get very enthusiastic about visiting Italy, you simply have to construct in additional distinctive experiences into your itinerary (comparable to a non-public e-bike tour of the Appian Way or a night time tour of the catacombs.) We have additionally discovered that teenagers require an excellent quantity of downtime (good luck getting them up for the early entrance to the Vatican) or time on-line.
Best TIme to VIsit Rome with Kids
When you might be visiting Rome with children, you’ll probably have to work round a regular faculty schedule. Keep in thoughts that summers in Rome are highly regarded and solely getting hotter. There are solely a handful of inns with swimming pools, and touring the Ancient Forum in the summertime could be like baking within the solar.
If your solely possibility is to go to in the summertime, attempt to go to as early in the summertime as attainable, hopefully earlier than July when European faculties get out for summer time break. Keep in thoughts that many Italian households go on trip for the month of August so some eating places and retailers will likely be closed in cities and the seaside locations will likely be much more crowded. August fifteenth can be a nationwide vacation the place most issues will likely be closed.
If your little one has an October break or half-term, that may be a super time to go to. Spring break is one other best time. Just needless to say in case your spring break falls together with Easter, Rome goes to be further crowded for spiritual observations and plenty of retailers and eating places will likely be closed from Good Friday by the times after Easter.
Christmas time could be pretty, though chilly. There are just a few Christmas markets round Rome you can take pleasure in, together with a gorgeous one in Piazza Navona. Just needless to say many issues will likely be closed on Christmas and St. Stephen’s Day. If visiting throughout spiritual holidays, it could be higher to remain in a rental the place you’ll be able to inventory as much as put together meals earlier than retailers shut, or in full-service inns that supply on-site eating.
Where to Stay in Rome With Kids
In Rome, you could find quite a few boutique inns that supply household suites or connecting rooms for charges that aren’t fairly as outrageous as cities like Paris. I nonetheless discover trip rental residences by vrbo an excellent possibility for households to present everybody further house to unfold out and a kitchen to get rid of the necessity to eat out for each meal. This helps with the Italy journey finances and for everybody’s endurance for consuming at eating places.
Some different inns that supply a household room or suite at an reasonably priced value embody:
If you’re taking an in a single day flight, you’ll probably arrive within the late morning or early afternoon. Our flight arrived in Rome by way of Al Italia from Boston at 12:40 pm.
For our journey, we stayed on the Traiano house at Via Ruggero Bonghi, 38 close to the Colosseum.
Itinerary for five Days in Rome with Kids
We visited Rome in June, earlier than heading to the Amalfi Coast for just a few days in Positano and Capri. Our daughter was 10 on the time, so this itinerary is finest in case you are visiting Rome with tweens or school-age children. I do know household journey is totally different for every household, so use this as a information to assist form your selections and planning. I hope you discover it useful!
Day 1 (Saturday): Welcome to Rome
Arriving in Rome from an in a single day flight from the States, you will want time to get well from jetlag and have a straightforward day. The finest method to get by a scarcity of sleep and the time change is to get contemporary air. The exhilaration of attending to discover a brand new place is energizing. Walking round a metropolis is an efficient method to see some informal websites and get your bearings.
However, when visiting Rome with children, you don’t need to overdo it or depart issues to loosey-goosey and unstructured so that everybody get a bit cranky. We determined to take a “Evening Stroll with Gelato” tour with Walks of Italy to see Rome’s most scenic highlights. However, one other good possibility, particularly for little legs that may’t deal with a lot strolling, is to take a non-public Rome tour by golf cart. Kids might also love the Vespa with sidecar tour of Rome.
Whether you e-book a tour (I like doing excursions as a result of we be taught a lot extra and I favor non-public excursions that may be extra simply tailor-made to my household and our pursuits and vitality) or not, in your first afternoon or night in Rome with children I’d suggest strolling across the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and Piazza Navona.
Finishing off with gelato or an awesome dinner of pasta or pizza is an ideal finish to your first day in Rome with children. If you finish close to Piazza Navona, try Tre Scalini’s well-known tartufo or have an espresso at Caffé Sant’Eustachio, in Piazza di Sant’Eustachio.
Day 2 (Sunday): Ancient Rome
If you might be planning a Rome household trip and in addition arriving on the weekend, needless to say many sights and eating places are closed on Sunday so plan accordingly.
We determined that Sunday could be an excellent day to go to the Colosseum. We discovered from a earlier mistake that you really want to e-book a tour or tickets prematurely, in any other case you may be caught ready for hours within the scorching solar to get in. The Colosseum is the most-visited website in Rome with over 30,000 folks visiting the Colosseum day by day, so it is advisable plan forward.
I’d actually suggest taking a tour of the Colosseum and Roman Forum. There are plenty of choices you can select relying on the ages of your children and their pursuits:
TIP: Make positive you put on snug footwear and hats and convey alongside snacks and water. Strollers should not appropriate for visiting the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
Our tour began on the Colosseum, the place we had been capable of skip the road and undergo a shorter line for teams with guides. Construction on the Colosseum, which received its title from the statue of Colossus out entrance, started in 72 AD, taking the work of fifty,000 enslaved folks day by day to finish it so it may open to the general public in 80 AD.
The purpose the Colosseum seems like it’s crumbling in elements is that after it was closed within the 500s with the autumn of the Roman Empire, it was looted in the course of the darkish ages for the marble and iron, which made its method into different buildings together with the Vatican. To assist us perceive what the Colosseum used to seem like in its full glory when it held 75,000 folks, our information pulled out her iPad to indicate us a mock-up of the unique facade.
On our tour, we received an excellent look into the corridors beneath what was the ground of the Colosseum, each from the principle stage and a greater vantage level up above. We discovered all concerning the video games, the lifetime of the gladiators, and the internal workings of the Colosseum. We additionally received to see most of the artifacts preserved from these days and will begin to think about, each by our information’s iPad renderings and the remaining elaborations, what the Colosseum seemed like 2000 years in the past.
Our heads spinning with historical past, we moved on to exploring Ancient Rome, within the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. As we walked in, the place we discovered concerning the legend of Romulus and Remus and the forming of Ancient Rome.
We spent an excellent 1.5 hours within the discussion board and Palatine Hill, studying concerning the Temple of Julius Caesar, the Vestal Virgins, the Temple of Romulus and its large bronze doorways, the Basilica of Constantine, and the Arch of Titus. Our information additionally took us to a gorgeous overlook and photograph level with an ideal view of the Colosseum.
After the tour, you’ll be able to stroll over to Capitoline Hill to take a shortcut to the Victor Emanuelle II monument with out climbing all of the steps (discover the she-wolf statue then take steps throughout from the statue into the constructing behind S. Maria d’Aracoeli Church. Enter, flip proper. Follow lengthy hall on left to Victor Emanuelle II terrace & café.)
See our suggestions on the place to eat in Rome with children.
After lunch, examine Trajan’s Column, then stroll over to the Bocca Della Verita (Mouth of Truth) in Piazza Bocca Della Verita. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get close to Circus Maximus and the Bocca Della Verita as a result of the Rolling Stones had been enjoying there that night time and the roads had been closed off.
After taking time to chill out, I booked an 8 pm dinner at Taverna dei Fori Imperiale, Via Della Madonna de Monti 9. We actually cherished this place, particularly the artichoke with white wine and lemon and the normal Roman carbonara.
Day 3 (Monday): Exploring Trastevere
Monday is a busy day to go to the Vatican and St. Peter’s and a few eating places and sights are closed. This is why we determined to get off the crushed path and discover one among Rome’s most charming neighborhoods, Trastevere.
If you might be an early riser, you’ll be able to cease by the market at Campo dei Fiori and decide up pastries at Forno Campo dei Fiori, 22 within the Piazza or 5 Via dei Baullari earlier than heading to Trastevere.
The finest method to discover Trastevere is thru a meals tour! We took the Trastevere Daylight Food Tour (now solely supplied as a night tour) with Eating Europe. This gave us the chance to get a “real” style of Rome and discover the energetic neighborhood of Trastevere.
This was one among our favourite excursions of Rome, particularly for older youngsters. It can be the meals tour that utterly offered us on meals excursions and has led to us attempting them in so many cities together with Vienna, Fes, and extra. Devour Tours additionally provides an night Trastevere meals tour.
Since these meals excursions at the moment are within the night, you could need to take a gelato making or pizza making class, or Devour Tours’ Street Food Tour with pizza making, trattoria tasting, and gelato. I’ve just lately taken a non-public cooking class in an area’s dwelling by Cesarine, which was a incredible expertise.
Another possibility is a Trastevere and Jewish Ghetto mixed tour with LivTours.
That day, we headed again to the house to chill out, bathe and alter earlier than assembly up with household buddies that stay in Rome for dinner. However, if you wish to spend a while stress-free, you’ll be able to head over to the Villa Borghese gardens, the place you’ll be able to hire bikes and rowboats, take a stroll, and even go to a zoo.
Day 4 (Tuesday): Hidden Gems
On our fourth day, we needed to take a day journey or get outdoors of town middle and discover a few of the lesser-known Rome highlights.
To do that, we picked determined to do the “Rome as a Local” tour with Walks of Italy. When we took this tour it included the Appian Way, Aqueduct Park, Baths of Caracalla, Janiculum Hill, Aurelian Walls, and the Pyramid of Cassius Cestius. It now additionally consists of the Jewish Ghetto, which we did on our personal.
I cherished attending to see this very historical a part of Rome and stroll within the grooves made by chariots so many centuries in the past. Likewise for the Aqueduct Park, which is a captivating instance of Roman ingenuity and engineering experience.
After the tour, we went over to the Jewish Ghetto for lunch at Trattoria Gigetto (Via del Portico d’Ottavia, 21/A) for fried artichokes after which paid a go to to the Jewish Synagogue. Keep in thoughts that no shorts are allowed and shoulders should be coated — no shorts on the eating places both. Instead of Trattoria Gigetto, you may as well attempt Piperno or Ba Ghetto.
Another possibility for the afternoon or night, particularly in case you have teenagers, could be to go to the crypts and catacombs on an Underground Tour of Rome with Walks of Italy or take a Night Catacombs tour with LivTours
You also can use this present day to take a preferred day journey from Rome together with:
Day 5 (Wednesday): Catholic Rome
We saved our final full day in Rome for exploring the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica. The museum is closed on Sundays and subsequently Mondays are typically the busiest. We picked to go on Wednesday morning, whereas the Pope was giving his Papal Address subsequent door in St. Peter’s Square. While hundreds flock to listen to this well-liked Pope every Wednesday, they’re occupied from the time they line as much as get tickets within the early morning till someday after 11 when the Papal Address concludes.
While this implies the museum and St. Peter’s will likely be crowded later, should you get in in the course of the morning you would possibly discover the museum at one among its least busy instances. We took benefit of the slight lull within the crowd to e-book a Vatican Museum / Sistine Chapel Tour.
Another method to keep away from the crowds is with an Early Entry Tour that will get you into the Vatican Museum early to see the Sistine Chapel with out the crowds. If you might be visiting with children, I’d extremely suggest reserving a non-public, family-friendly tour that includes a Vatican Treasure Hunt.
Every day over 25,000 folks go to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, making it the quantity two most-visited attraction in Rome. During my earlier go to to the Vatican, we had been brief on time and beelined by your entire museum, not taking in a factor, to get to the principle attraction…the Sistine Chapel. This time, we needed to do it proper and see extra of the highlights of the Vatican Museum.
Vatican Museum Highlights
One of the primary highlights you will notice as you enter is an superior view of St. Peter’s dome. What I by no means considered is you can’t see the skin of St. Peter’s dome from the sq.. The facade of St. Peter’s is so tall it blocks the view of the dome so that you solely see it from the within except you go to the Vatican Museum or different elements of Rome with a view.
In the courtyard, we took within the sculptures and discovered rather a lot concerning the Sistine Chapel. There isn’t any speaking contained in the Sistine Chapel so we wanted to be taught the historical past earlier than entering into.
The additional into the museum we went, the extra crowded, noisier, and stickier it grew to become and the climate, closeness, and lack of air con started to take their toll. We discovered about Greek and Roman statues of goddesses, heroes, and muses and visited the Egyptian room with its sarcophagi product of porphyry.
From there we made our method by the map gallery, tapestry gallery, and different grand hallways on our method towards the Sistine Chapel. Our final cease earlier than the Sistine Chapel was the Raphael Rooms. These rooms had been almost as crowded because the Sistine Chapel however not as strict on speaking and movie taking.
Eventually, we made it to the Sistine Chapel. Apparently, Michelangelo was disgruntled at having to color this ceiling and he insisted on doing it his method, regardless of the Pope’s needs. To get again at those that criticized him, Michelangelo painted them in hell, with a snake biting his non-public elements and sporting donkey ears. Pretty harsh — there was a man with an ego.
Once we exited the Sistine Chapel, we received fortunate in that the facet door connecting the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica was open because the Papal Address was completed early. This was nice information as tour teams can exit this manner and get instantly into St. Peter’s with out having to queue up outdoors. Eleonora secured our entrance after which advised us concerning the door at St. Peter’s that’s sealed with concrete and solely opened each 25 years when the Pope breaks the concrete on the within.
St. Peter’s Basilica
We completed our tour with a fast overview of the Basilica together with Michelangelo’s Pieta, the chapel of John Paul II, and the altar. After that we had been capable of keep inside and discover on our personal so long as we preferred.
Our unique plan was to climb the Dome, however after the tour we had been scorching, drained and in determined want for one thing to eat. Our choices had been to depart St. Peter’s to eat and are available again to climb the Dome…however that may imply having to hitch the very lengthy queue outdoors to get again in. Despite actually desirous to see that magnificent view, I knew our drained legs weren’t as much as the climb and our endurance was exhausted and standing in line later wasn’t going to work both so we headed out to Piazza Navona for lunch and tartufo.
Tips for Visiting the Vatican Museum with Kids
If you determine to take the youngsters to the Vatican Museum, listed below are some suggestions:
- Wear snug footwear. Not solely it’s plenty of strolling, however additionally it is plenty of standing and shuffling, which you are feeling greater than hours of strolling by the Colosseum and Forum.
- Book tickets prematurely. If you aren’t happening a tour, you’ll be able to e-book your timed entrance on-line to keep away from the lengthy queue.
- Go in the course of the low season. Most of the museum isn’t air-conditioned and on the day we had been there it was extraordinarily humid, making it fairly insufferable at instances.
- Take breaks. You don’t have to see the whole lot and also you definitely don’t have to see the whole lot unexpectedly. Take benefit of the cafe, sit within the courtyard for some time, and attempt to discover some pockets of house to decompress.
- Get one thing to eat earlier than going into the Sistine Chapel. There is a “secret” passage that connects the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s. It is situated simply outdoors the exit of the Sistine Chapel. Generally, that is solely open to tour teams and it’s typically locked (positively in the course of the Papal Address.) However, whether it is open and you might be both in a bunch or can sneak by with one, it’s going to prevent an extended stroll again by the museum and round to St. Peter’s however it’s going to additionally prevent from queueing up within the lengthy line outdoors ready to get into St. Peter’s. But in case you are additionally visiting St. Peter’s, you’ll want a snack first.
- Cover your self. Just like St. Peter’s, the Sistine Chapel is a chapel, and to enter you will want to cowl your knees and shoulders.
- Be positive to construct in time to discover St. Peter’s Basilica and climb the dome.
- To climb the dome, veer proper earlier than getting into the basilica.
If you may have the vitality, you may as well embody a go to to Castel Sant’Angelo close by, which is open day by day 9 am-7 pm, aside from Mondays.
And that wraps up and wonderful 5 days in Rome with children. If you might be persevering with on to different locations in Italy, learn on!
Books to Read Before Visiting Rome with Kids
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A good way to arrange children for a visit to a special nation (or wherever actually) is by studying about that vacation spot earlier than the journey. This helps them perceive what to anticipate, be taught a bit concerning the historical past, and have the whole lot soak in a bit deeper on the journey. Here are a few of our really useful books to learn earlier than a household journey to Rome:
- This is Rome by Miroslav Sasek – this previous favourite image e-book depicts all the foremost sights in Rome and even describes a few of the historical past and symbology of Rome (like what SPQR means). Even although my daughter is well past image books, she nonetheless received one thing out of it as a result of as I used to be speaking about our itinerary and talked about the Bocca della Vertita, she knew precisely what it was.
- Not For Parents: Rome: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know from Lonely Planet – this “Not for Parents” not-a-guide e-book tells the story of Rome that not even dad and mom know. My daughter took it fairly significantly and hid the library e-book from me every time she was studying it.
- G is for Gladiator: An Ancient Rome Alphabet by Debbie Shoulders – This A-Z image e-book introduces youngsters to the historical past of Ancient Rome, an awesome precursor to a go to to the Colosseum and Forum.
- The Coliseum Con by Geronimo Stilton – if graphic novels are extra your child’s factor, they may benefit from the well-liked Geronimo Stilton and his adventures in Rome.
- Vacation Under the Volcano by Mary Pope Osborne – an ideal intro to a facet journey to Pompeii, that is a part of the favored Magic Tree House sequence the place Jack and Annie discover themselves in Pompeii as Vesuvius begins to erupt.
- Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #14: Ancient Rome and Pompeii by Mary Pope Osborne – the non-fiction companion to Vacation Under the Volcano, this goes deeper into the historical past of Rome and Pompeii.
- Ancient Rome (DK Eyewitness Books) by Simon James – this well-liked nonfiction sequence provides details in a really graphical format that’s simple to digest.
- The Assassins of Rome (The Roman Mysteries) by Caroline Lawrence – if mysteries enthrall the youngsters in your home, try the sequence of The Roman Mysteries.
- The Orchard Book of Roman Myths by Geraldine McCaughrean – 15 of the most well-liked Roman myths retold in a method that’s interesting to younger readers.
- Rome with Kids by J.M. Pasquesi – this guidebook is for fogeys however gratifying for youths too as every part suggests issues for youths to search for and enjoyable details about Rome. It offers an inside view of all of the highlights of Rome with strategies on the place to remain and the place to eat. Better than a median guidebook, that is actually geared towards household journey and what issues are attention-grabbing to children. It is a must-read!
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