My 12 year old daughter, 69 year old father, and I (aged between them!) lucked out in Rome with Lavinia Collodel, who took us around Rome two mornings in a row.
The first morning we met at Vatican City and she walked us through the immense museum there, ending with the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica. She seemed to know a backstory about every little thing in the museum--my favorite back room she showed us, far away from the crowds, were the Encrustan period pieces. Also, the Egyptian mummies were pretty cool as well. We scheduled her for three hours but ran to four hours! I'm not sure if this tour would be enjoyable for younger kids as it's a lot of art...and then some more art. I heard, as we walked around, many 4 and 5 year olds asking their parents, "Can we go home now?" My 12 year old soaked it all up, though.
The second morning we met at the Colosseum, then walked through the Emporer's Palace and on to the Forum. This was incredible and I'm disappointed only because I could have spent 5 hours with Lavinia, learning all the history of Rome and the backstory to each and every building in the Forum. I was blown away by all the details in the Colosseum--about who sat where, what sorts of "shows" happened in it, and how the building was used after it was "retired" as a gladiator zone. I wished that my two younger boys (aged 8 and 10) had been there for this tour--they would have found it fascinating. I highly recommend this one for kids 8ish and older.
My father has been to Rome three times before and he learned a TON of information that he'd not on previous visits and tours. This was my daughter's and my first time. Lavinia included my daughter--she didn't just speak to us grown ups--and easily responded to our questions and inquiries and changed her track to accommodate our interests. I will never go to a major city without first scheduling a tour guide, and I only hope that that person is half as wonderful as Lavinia.
Her contact information: Lavinia Collodel, [email protected]. tel. +39 339 8825190
I actually booked Lavinia's friend through a friend of my father's (who has a connection to the Vatican as he works with the Catholic Church here in the States), and he booked all the tickets and arranged the pricing, etc. Christiaan had to then go out of town for the days when we were in town, and he arranged for Lavinia to cover for him. Christiaan assured me that Lavinia was an even better guide than he was--I can't vouch for him but he comes highly regarded and I'd book him in a heartbeat as well. (His personal website is pretty cool.)
Christiaan Santini, [email protected]
www.christheguide.com
tel. +39 347 8769063