Rome For 3 nights with Older Teens

Having taken both a 16-year-old daughter and a 20-year-old son to Rome (separate trips), by first read this itinerary looks doable to me. Your plan looks good to see the "main" sites at an enjoyable pace. However, be aware: Rome in August will be very very hot. I mean - hot. Now, I live in southern Louisiana, and am outdoors frequently in my home environment, but there was something about Rome heat ... There are also far fewer opportunities to cool down. Museums may be air-conditioned, but not to the point where they are actually "cool." Ditto cafes. Please wear hats, and drink lots and lots of water, and pay attention if one of your party gets red in the face and it doesn't go away. Also consider taking a cab and foregoing the 2-mile walk from the Vatican area back to Campo Di Fiori (or Borghese) if one of y'all is feeling the heat... And on Colosseum/Forum day, get going early so that you are back in some shade by mid-day. On Day 4, with kids into art, consider the Capitoline Museum (much ancient Roman art) and the nearby view from the top of the Vittorio Emmanuele II monument.

It looks ok. Since you are there over a Sunday you might consider the Appian Way with bikes. And one of the catacombs in that area. Another possibility would be Ostia Antica. Most churches you just walk in. Just be sure knees and shoulders are covered. A great church often over looked because of location is St. Pauls Outside the Wall. It was the first Vatican.

You do need to acquire the Borghesi tickets as soon as possible.

For some excellent gelato, try Old Bridge. The shop is across the street from where people line up to get into the Vatican museum.

Thank you all for the great suggestions. Has any of you done the Vatican museum evening visit? I have done the daytime visit many years ago.
@jmauldinuu, Will the Capitoline museum be open on Monday (day 4)? Is it better to purchase tickets ahead of time?

@Frank, I am in the process of investigating the Borghesi tickets... Was trying to make sure the overall plan is somewhat set so I can pick a day, but perhaps I should look for Borghesi availability first.

Thanks for the Gelato Suggestion, Bob. I have take note :)

Any suggestions for best Colosseum tour? is the group tour offered by Colosseum worth it? I am assuming you can linger after the tour ends?

Thanks again!

Borghesi tickets are very limited so I would get your schedule in place, then check availability and be extremely of the date you select. As I remember the Borghesi ticket calendar does not start with Sunday as is common with US calendar. It starts with Monday and ends with Saturday, Sunday. Focus on the date and remember also that Europeans go day,month,year.

Doing the Vatican and Borghese is feasible on the same day, as I just did them together, on a Saturday no less. But I wanted to give some advice if you do decide to do them on the same day. As has already been said, you need to lock in the Borghese tickets now. I would see if there is any availability on timed tickets for the Vatican as well and if not, consider a tour. Or be there very early to stand in the public line.

There is no great way to get from the Vatican to the Borghese. You can take the metro (Flamino, Spagna are nearest stops to the park) but each stop still drops you about a mile from the Borghese Museum. We just said screw it and took a cab from the Vatican. Gave us time to rest our feet and grab some lunch in the lovely Villa Borghese gardens. I would not walk... it’s 45-60 minutes depending on your pace and it will be very hot. Even with the Roma Pass, you need to make a reservation at the Borghese.

I’ll vote for the Capitoline Museums as well. They were the highlight of a wonderful Colosseum/Forums/Museums/Trajan’s Market day. I don’t often follow the RS routes for museums but he has a good walk through in his Rome book.

Speaking as someone who lovessssss art (and art in churches), if you’re staying near Campo di Fiori, then you are near some good ones. I would recommend Gesu (my favorite), Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Sant’ Ignazio, and San Luigi. All are wonderful. All have blockbuster art and decoration. And all are free! But check the times they are open as some close midday.

The Via del Corso also has churches you can walk into. If you’re interested to hear, there are others more to the eastern side of Rome I could recommend. The National Museum of Rome and that area (Baths of Diocletian, Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Prassade) could be an option for your last day depending on how you are getting out to the airport.

Thanks again for the wonderful info.
Speaking of departure day on Monday. Safe to assume that we need to be at the airport 3 hours in advance as usual. We will probably take a cab to get there. So the “day” will end around 3pm and we will proceed to the airport at that time.
I will look into a Vatican tour as well.
Still debating the Vatican night visit...

Thanks!

If tickets are still available for the night tour, go for it. It's not nearly as crowded as a daytime visit, but without the masses of people it's much cooler. Since this is your kids first visit, I'd go for a tour. They'll get so much more information about important pieces.

https://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?action=booking&codiceLivelloVisita=17&step=1

Utilizing the nite visit, opens up more tour time for other sites during the day, which are not open in the evening.

You might check out a nighttime visit to the Colosseum.

Edit. Colosseum.

https://www.tickitaly.com/tours/colosseum-rome-night-tour.php

Re. whether the Capitoline Museum will be open on a Monday: according to their website, they are open every day. (However, I'm betting that that does not include Christmas.):

Opening hours

Open daily, from 9.30 to 19.30
24 and 31 December: 9.30 - 14.00;
Last admission 1 hour before closing time.

The Viaggio nei Fori are a wonderful way to spend the cool evening/nighttime hours. There are two tours/shows. One is in the Forum of Augustus where you are seated to view a multimedia show, and the other is a walk through Caesar's Forum again with media support. Both supply headsets with an English option.

There are also special evening openings at Castel Sant'Angelo through Sept 9.

It is always nice to find an evening activity you can enjoy after the heat of the day has passed.

Re the Vatican night visit: go if you can! My 20 year old daughter and I are here in Rome for our first European trip, so complete novices, as it were. I only booked a few tours, but the night visit at the Vatican was one. We booked directly through the Vatican website. We also took a few tours, with Walks of Italy (early entry Sistine Chapel & St Peter's Basilica), & City Wonders (Castel Gandalfo). We enjoyed walking around on our own, but I enjoyed the tours more than I thought I would. Although very busy, both the night and early morning visits allowed us to see as much as we liked, & to move around without bumping into others. The tour guides were extremely well educated and very enthusiastic. For churches, we enjoyed San Giovanni in Laterno, San Clemente (where you can see 4th century church remains & a first century Roman house, layered below the church). There are so many beautiful churches, & most seem to be open for visitors. Have a wonderful time!

Enjoy! Another note be prepared as others have said for the heat. It really wore my teens out in Aug a few years ago. One fun activity we did was Eatwith. You eat in cooks homes with other people. We did Eatwith Barbara it was a very interesting experience. We skipped the Vatican since we had very limited time in Rome and heard how hot & crowded it was in Aug. I would really consider a tour so you are not in line as long with the hot masses.

Absolutely take taxi's between points of interest, they aren't that expensive, saves time and nerves and contributes to economy. Also, loved talking with drivers who all spoke english. We were in Rome 1st week of June with our 20 year old twins and it was hot. Lots of walking makes for very grumpy teenagers.

We had no problem just hailing taxis at stands or just waving them down.

Loved Villa Borghesi Gardens and Museum, less crowded late afternoon. Bernini works shouldn't be missed! Walk the garden to the end for a fabulous view of Piazza deli Popolo, get gelato and even rent a four seater bike to ride around if time permits.
Have a great trip!