4 year olds and getting into sights in Rome?

Italians are very child-oriented and tolerant. I think you'll find they let him in without paying almost 100% of the time. For the Colosseo, the rules say this: "Newborns and very young children pay nothing. The authorities in Rome state that if a child is being carried then they qualify for free entry, irrespective of nationality." Assume you will have a stroller. See what happens and remain flexible. HOWEVER, when you need reservations (Borghese, Vatican Museums) be sure to let them know you have a small child along. That way there will be no surporses. Best way to reserve the Borghese is to call, anyway, with or without the Roma Pass.

Thanks, information seems to be very inconsistent, some sites mention you have to be EU citizen, some sites don't even mention what's happens. I know he'll be way more interested in gelato than the sites, but we have to visit some, and I think he may enjoy the colosseum.

You won't be required to pay for him at the Vatican museums. You can book your entry tickets or tour online. You don't need to mention that there will be a child with you. They will just waive him through with you. That being said, the museums are horribly crowded and unless you carry him the whole time all he'll see is the back side of the people in front of him. He'll also run the risk of getting walked on because people are paying more attention to the artwork than to the people around them. As for the Borghese gallery, I'm not really sure that's a place I would take a small child. It's not child friendly at all and you'll probably end up carrying him most of the time. I would just save that for when he gets older. Donna

While I'd love to save the borghese and not bother with it this visit, trying to make sure we see it next time (or even have a next time) in italy could be difficult, so I think we'll see it whatever. I'll call the borghese and make the reservations, so they can charge, what they charge. Based on all the info I think going for just individual sites gives us the best option, the Roma Pass doesn't seem like it's going to save a lot for one a two full day stay in rome (one of which is a Sunday, the other a Monday, so lots of things only open on one of the two days) our hotel is somewhat centrally located (nearish to the Termini station) so we should be able to walk quite a bit too.

Be sure to post a review after your trip! We are traveling with our 3 and 5 year old this fall as well. Happy Travels!

In Italy they most certainly check to see if the child is an EU citizen before allowing them free entrance. We went two years ago and showed an EU Driver's License and our kids got in free. This year, they wanted proof of citizenship and not just residency. This was in Rome, Pompeii and Florence. For whatever reason, we did not run into this in Venice. Your child will be admitted free only if there's a blanket policy that children under a certain age are admitted free.

I was at the Borghese a couple of weeks ago and it was not crowded at all. The two children in our group did have to have tickets, but they are older (youngest was 11). Our appointment was in the afternoon, there were no busloads of tourists at the time (3-5pm), so everything went very smoothly and we were able to move about comfortably. I would be prepared to do some child-carrying, however, just in case.

Thanks for the info, will definitely post how it goes when we get back, although we are lucky that for the majority of the trip we have the grandparents in tow, so while my wife and I are wandering around art museums in Florence, the 4 year old will be eating lots of gelato. Rome is the only stop where we will not have the grandparents in tow, so are trying to make sure we see what we want to, but in a 4 year old friendly fashion. Dina, to your point, is just a parents EU citizenship accepted? If so I should be okay because I can provide that, it's just my wife and son who can't prove EU citizenship.

James - I would expect that if you go to the ticket officed and show your proof of EU citizenship, your child would get admitted free.

I did Rome with a three year old and we had a lot of fun. I don't think we had to pay for him to enter sites, but Rome is one of those places with lots of variability. It really depends on whether people are in the mood to enforce rules, often they are not. I would also recommend the Roman Forum, my little guy really enjoyed that, to him it was a huge sandbox and he had fun playing in the dirt. Also the Explora children's museum is fun. But you need to reservation for Explora, so you need to plan ahead in terms of when you will visit. It is small so they use reservations for crowd control.