We fly into Rome and out of Venice in June, but have no other arrangements yet. We are looking for ideas about where to stay (and not break the bank) and things to do that our 13 (girl) and 17 (boy) kids will enjoy. Thanks very much for your advice and help!
Posted by
Piedmont Triad, NC
164 posts
Hi Jacque, We are taking our three teens to Rome in February - I will post more after we get back but right now the kids have said they want to see the Capuchin Crypt at Santa Maria della Concezione; San Clemente with it's layers of history; the sites from the movie Angels and Demons; the Colosseum and the Vatican. My 15 year old daughter wants a shopping day and 13 year old son wants to go to the Bioparco (the zoo). My 18 year old son found a link on budgettravel.com about gladiator lessons on the Appian Way. Also there is a night walking tour "legends and mysteries of Rome" - www.darkrome.com - that they said sounds cool. And this movie - www.timeelevator.it - sounded fun to them. http://goitaly.about.com/od/romeattractions/tp/rome-spooky-places.htm has a list of spooky places that they thought sounded appealing. Oh, and my son is a huge soccer fan so we are going to get tickets for a soccer match at the Stadium Olimpico. I can't help you much with places to stay as we are staying with a family friend - but I hope this helps in your search for things to do. I'll let you know how it goes!
Posted by
Catadupa Alamere, CA
515 posts
L'Associazione Gruppo Storico Romano http://www.gsr-roma.com/htm/chi.htm is a group of reinactors who stage gladiator fights, and ancient Roman festival dances. Their performance schedule is on their web. They also have a gladiator school for wannabe reinactors, but these are several days long. You might want to email them to see whether they have a "gladiator for a couple hours" school or a Roman dancer for a day school, or if they at least let visitors onto the grounds (Appia Antica) and to see a demo. Your kids also might enjoy the nearby catacombs.
Posted by
washington, dc, us
27 posts
Did you take the gladiator lessons? Was it worthwhile? Sounds like something my son would love.
Posted by
Piedmont Triad, NC
164 posts
we did enjoy the gladiator school...it was 2 hours thru the grupo storico group, but we booked thru viatours.com. The first hour was in a museum where our kids got to try on helmets, breastplates, and hold the weapons. second hour was in the arena learning fighting tactics. all five of us participated and the instructor got a huge kick out of "Mommy"...apparently most of the time the moms and girls watch and only the boys participate. we had a blast and have some great home video:) Here were the favorite activities - 18 yr old son- Capucchin Crypt, Gladiator school 15 yr old daughter - Vatican Museums, shopping, Gladiator school
13 yr old son - Gladiator school, Pompeii, Zoo Hope this helps!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
FWIW, I just noticed that the OP date for this was January of this year. Presumably, Jacque has been to Italy and back now, since they were traveling in June.
Posted by
Catadupa Alamere, CA
515 posts
we did enjoy the gladiator school...it was 2 hours thru the grupo storico group, but we booked thru viatours.com. thank you, I was wondering how to do this. It is definitely on my to-do list now. thanks
Posted by
New York, NY, United States
16 posts
This might be a little bit out of the way, but I really enjoyed Ravenna. You can get a museum pass and free bikes for the day at the tourist office and then ride around the city checking off the sites which include really cool mosaics. I enjoyed it a lot at 18 and would recommend it for kids if they have any interest in art. It's much easier to appreciate than a big museum. In general, I think finding a smaller city (like Ravenna or Ferrara), renting bikes and letting them have a little independence is a nice thing for a day or two with kids of that age. -Rose
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
Seriously, guys, this was originally posted in January. Jacque has already been to Italy and back by now.