5 Days In Rome

It would be helpful to know when you're going to be there. The weather will influence your options.

We'll be there Fri 5/22 - Tues 5/26
Thanks

Well I'm sure your kids, and you, will enjoy the Colisseum. I'm not sure how crowded it will be in late May compared to when I was there -- but I would plan 2-3 hours there for sure.

Thanks for the reply.
I've spent the afternoon pouring over Rick's book and other websites and there's conflicting info - ie. one person says can spend a whole day seeing the Forum/Colliseum, and another recommends seeing those sights plus a whole lot more in the afternoon.
I'm looking for a "real" person's opinion of what they've actually done and how long it took.
Thanks

This is a little hard for me to say because I didn't do this with three kids, but my assumption is that you can do it a little quicker because they might get bored before an adult might. I would recommend on the first day, see the Colleseum (1.5 hrs) and then head over to The Forum (1.5 hrs) and skip Pallentine hill. You can appreciate it from the outside. Then do the night walk across Rome (3 or more hours). There you can take in the people watching, your kids can try gelato, you the wine. Spend some time at Trevvi fountain and end at Spanish steps in the evening.
The next day go to the Capital Hill Museum (2 hrs). Even if your kids are not into all the art, the view from the roof cafe is worth it. I advise you get an expresso and take it in. But I think the art will keep their interest at least for a little bit. Then check out the Pantheon, we had great pizza right to the left of the front (if you are facing). The Pantheon would take less than one hour, but lingering out front at a cafe might take longer. Then I would head back in the direction of the Spanish Steps and see the Cappucin Monks crypt. The kids should find that interesting. Skip the National Museum, your kids will thank you.
Then day three can be the Vatican...all day. The museum is exhausting, I would try to get thru it in 2 hours or your kids might get cranky. St. Peters is where you really want to spend time just looking (3 hrs if you include the climb to the top, the line for the elevator can take an hour). And the Sistine Chapel - maybe an hour.
After that, I got nothing. We were only there for 3 nights. So hopefully that gives you something to work with.

It would also be helpful to know how old your kids are.

One thing that they might enjoy if they're 15+ is wandering around the Trastevere neighborhood south of the Vatican. It's on the opposite side of the Tiber from the Pantheon/Forum/etc.

Thanks for all the replies!
My girls are 11, 10 and 8. I appreciate all your advice and wisdom!

Hi Merritt, We spent four days in Rome this summer with our three kids, ages 4, 7 and 10. First of all, Rome is a big, noisy, dirty city, comparable maybe to New York City (with no Central Park). There are few open, grassy, run-around areas for kids. That said, Italians in general are very friendly to kids, and Rome holds some fascinating history, which your kids might be at a better age to take in than mine were. Here's what we did: Day 1: arrive by overnight train at 10 am; check into hotel, have lunch. After lunch we walked around our neighborhood, visiting the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and the Pantheon . We returned to our hotel for a late afternoon rest (necessary in Rome) then had a nice dinner nearby. Day 2: We had previously hired a tourguide through Angel Tours to take us through the Forum and Coliseum. She met us at our hotel at 9am. We all went by taxi to the Forum, where we started the tour. We spent about an hour to an hour and a half in the Forum. She did a great job of explaining the ruins there in a way that was engaging to our young kids. A group with a longer attention span could have gone into much more detail, and spent a lot longer there. We then went on to the Coliseum, where we spent about 45 minutes. My younger two kids were running out of steam, so I left early with them. Again, older kids would have been able to stay longer (it was also extremely hot; hopefully you'll have better weather in May). We finished with the tour guide about 1:00. We had a picnic lunch in a park nearby, then took taxis back to our hotel to collapse in the AC (we used taxis more than we expected to in Rome). Day 3: St. Peters and Vatican. We went to St. Peters first, arriving about 10am. Waited in line about an hour. Very hot and crowded inside. spent about 30 minutes touring the inside, then found a restaurant for lunch. Then went to the Vatican museum for 2 hrs (grandparents were with us and took the kids to a park). (continued in next post)

(continued) Day 4: the grandparents took the kids to the Borghese Gardens for the day (bless them) so the parents could enjoy a little more sight seeing on their own. They reported the zoo at the Borghese gardens was tired but not bad; and there were a few play areas that were not the best, but a nice change for the kids. Overall, we all really enjoyed and appreciated the Italians' friendliness towards kids. Gelato breaks, taxis and air conditioning were vital for surviving Rome with kids. In addition to the RS books and this website, we used "Take your Kids to Europe" and "Italy with Kids" to help plan the trip. Our older daughter enjoyed the "Italy Discovery Journal", "Groovy Greek and Rotten Romans" and the "Roman Mysteries" series. The website travelforkids.com also had helpful suggestions of kid-friendly activities in Rome (and lot of other cities). Good luck and enjoy!

Rick's podcast covered this subject - Travel with kids and there was lots of good information. It's probably available somewhere on this site. I got it from iTunes.

The Forum and Colosseum can be seen in an afternoon, but you will probably all need a break after that. If you keep walking back toward Via Cavour there is a store on the corner with two gas pumps in front of it. Good gelato. We had it almost every night we were there. While enjoying the gelato you can contemplate if you want to tackle another site.