Where can you relax in Rome. We are going as a family to Italy for 17 days. I know we need some down time to just relax. Can anyone give me suggestions on parks or places you would suggest to just sit back and enjoy Rome quietly.
Thanks in advance for sharing.
Villa Borghese is a very nice park. Campo de Fiore and Piazza Novana are nice as is Piazza del Popolo. Any of these will be good for relaxing and people watching. And then there's St. Peter's and the Vatican.
I agree that the Borghese parks are very nice and relaxing but I wouldn't call either Piazza Navona or Campo dei fiori relaxing. They are always filled with tons of people and at night are very lively. If you just want to sit and people watch those are great places to do that but they won't be quiet/relaxing places.
Donna
You go to Rome to relax in one of the 10,000 sidewalk cafes. If you want to relax in the country you go the country side. Pack a lunch and go to Ostia Antica to escape the bustle of the city or if it is Sunday, walk the Appian Way.
Agree with Donna completely. You might also want to consider a partial day trip out to Ostia Antica. Easy and cheap to get to on public transit.
You could escape to Frascati, near Roma. In Roma itself, the Borghese Gardens are great, so is the Gianicolo. The Aventino area has a nice garden next to the church of Santa Sabina. You could go out on the via Appia Antica.
The major piazze are great for people watching but are not especially peaceful.
As the grandma of two active kids I would also say the Piazzas may not be that relaxing because a lot of people, so you would need to watch the kids closely and kids usually don't like sitting in a cafe for very long. I would take the suggestions of those who recommend park like settings. Or getting out of Rome for a period of time.
Many good suggestions from Zoe, Frank and Donna. A little more removed and less tourist-ed are Villa Torlonia and Villa Pamphilj. Both are lovely parks, the latter being HUGE up on the Gianicolo.
There's a Zoo (Bioparco) at Villa Borghese, which might be a fun experience. And you can ride bikes/4-person carts in Villa Borghese.
Villa Borghese Gardens for sure hands down. Google it now for pictures. From Roma Termini, Piazza del Cinquecento, buses 360, 910, 223, 92 will get you there in 15 minutes. Wikipedia calls it the third largest park in Rome. So there are plenty of open public spaces to go around.
Also many families lounge on the Spanish Steps. The many outside cafes offer sitting places. Piazza Venezia has park benches around it. The Piazzas already mentioned have sitting places. Yes Rome is busy. It's Rome.
Trevi Fountain has many stairs for sitting. It will reopen in October 2015. But you can go there now and take the catwalk up close to the statues. When are you going? Children have great Fun at Trevi.
How old are your children? It may be wise to push them in kiddie transport carts. Rome requires a lot of walking. Rome is Huge.
You don't have to leave Rome for rest. The bus trip to Ostia Antica is long, it's far, you have to transfer. You have to walk a lot there.
Even in busy Roma Termini, you can go to the huge Chef Express Cafeteria on the Main floor and sit at nice quiet tables for lunch and supper. There are Oases all over Rome.
Not far from Rome, are the Aqueduct Park (actually in Rome), and the incredible Villa d'Este and its thousands of fountains. If you want to actually "chill out" on a hot day the sprays of water at Villa d'Este should do the job...
Colleen, I'm going to disagree about the Piazzas in Rome not being relaxing. I find sitting near the fountains watching the people and the vendors very relaxing. Even strolling through looking at the artwork being sold, laughing at the pigeons perching on the fountains, the vendors hawking their wares, I enjoy all of that. It probably depends on the age of your family. If you have toddlers you of course have to keep an eye on them. Get everyone a gelato and just slow down for awhile. If you have teens you can let them stroll around on their own in the Piazzas and meet up at the fountains or other landmark. Of course buying an espresso at a cafe is a great treat too. If you pay for an espresso at a table in a cafe they do not expect you to slam it back and leave. You are welcome to sit and relax and people watch.
It always amazes me on the Spanish Steps how many people feel they have the right to sit wherever they want, regardless of whether they are blocking someone else's way. I'm sure you won't be one of those people, but thought I'd mention that you're likely to run into that (literally). Right next to the Spanish Steps are the Borghese Gardens, as mentioned, which are a wonderful place to relax.
The idea about sitting at a cafe in a piazza is also a good one. If you think of the (much) higher prices as being the cost to rent the chair for as long as you want it becomes easier to justify.
Happy travels.
Thanks for all of your help. My kids are 19, 15, 8 and 8. Sounds like a lot of great people watching which was exactly what I was looking for.
