hi, my husband, my 13 year old daughter and me are going to Rome and Venice. My husband is not a museum lover, we are planning to go to the coliseum, the Vatican, Spanish steps, Trevi fountain. What else can it be done instead of museum in Rome? and What about in Venice?
thank you
Hi Veru9 -
So you've told us what he doesn't like to do but can you tell us what he IS interested in doing? It's tough to make suggestions when we don't know what that is. For instance, there are more crazy beautiful churches in Rome than you can shake a stick at but if he doesn't care for those, producing a "best of" list wouldn't be helpful. Make sense?
The Vatican, by the way? Aside from St Peter's Basilica, the majority of if it is the largest museum in Rome and one of the largest in the world; nearly 4 walking miles worth of collections, and it's going to be mobbed in June. Are you sure that's something he would want to do?
How long are you going to be in Rome?
In Rome you could do a day trip to Ostia Antica and in Venice you could go to the islands of Murano and / or Burano. From Venice a day trip to Verona is another possibility. Google them and see if they hold any interest for you.
We are going to be 3 full days in Rome. about what does he like to do, anything but the museums, I'm also afraid my daughter will get bored.
OK, well, there are some pretty wonderful churches. Some I'd recommend of the top of my head are Pantheon (a must do), Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Maria del Popolo, Santa Maria in Trastevere and San Giovanni in Laterano. There are many more, and I'd strongly suggest getting a guidebook if you haven't already. I can't imagine doing Rome (or Paris or Venice) without one!
Trevi and the Spanish Steps are just walk-bys that won't take much time.
Take a walk around Trastevere, Piazza Navona and Campo de Fiori. Ostia Antice was mentioned about and is a nice daytrip if he likes excavations. He might also like the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla (Terme di Caracalla).
Along with the Colosseum, do the Forum and Palatine as your ticket covers all three. There are all in the same area.
You all might enjoy going to the top of the Vittorio Emanuele Monument (Il Vittoriano) for a lofty view over the rooftops of Rome and an interesting perspective of the Forum.
But just walking Rome is a treat. There's something interesting (and often very old) around every corner! Oh, and have your daughter spend some time with the guidebook as well; young people are not nearly as bored if they have an idea of what they'll be looking at and what those things are all about.
Hi Veru9,
3 days is so little time that just exploring by walking could take a lot of time. I was there last summer with my 9, 12, and 14 year old's for 5 days. The Coliseum was a hit. We also did a Vatican tour so that we could get in without waiting in lines. We spent one day going to the Borghese museum (wait) and then exploring the park it sits in. The kids and hubby rented - what are they called; those stand-up scooter things. We had a picnic and walked around. And then we walked from there back to our base-neighborhood (Trastevere), passing the Spanish steps, Trevi fountain, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, and Campo de Fiori - even though we had already visited the Pantheon on another day - but that walked gave us a great sense of orientation in Rome. Walking around the Trastevere neighborhood was another pleasure, especially in the evenings. The day we visited the Vatican (we started the tour at 7:30a, so were done mid-morning), we walked from there to the Pantheon. The day we visited the Coliseum, we walked from the Trastevere neighborhood there (30 min). You get the idea. By the time we left, we'd visited sites but also just immersed ourselves in the central city and felt like we knew our way around and had a feel for the place.
You could take a day trip to Ostia Antica. We considered this, but in the end, it took those 5 days to feel sated on Rome.
Finally, I'll make a plug for the Capitoline museum. This was an add-on (we hadn't planned to visit ahead of being there), and it was stunning. Its mostly artifacts and sculpture, as opposed to artwork, which tell a story of the history of Rome. It brought everything we were seeing into relief. (The Borghese museum was also stunning but much more artsy)
And while not all the kids wanted to do all the activities (meaning, my 12yo son!), he really appreciated it after we were home (despite complaining much of the time while there)...
hope that helps,
Jessica
Thank you very much for all the ideas..
Would add to the list of churches, San Pietro in Vincoli, ( St Peter in Chains) for its statute of Moses, by Michaelangelo.
Did you say if you've arranged any tours in Rome? You can do ALL of that by yourself easily enough, but those places are all going to be crowded in June. Sometimes a walking tour can speed up the process for you a bit if you land a good guide.
Depending on your daughter's interests, she might enjoy the Capuchin Crypt in Rome. It would have been just the right blend of scary but cool for my household at that stage. Please note that there are real bones in there. And if there are a lot of people, it may feel a little close by the end of the walk. But it's generally a good one with multiple age groups.
The Roman Forum is open air. If you get a good guide book, you can find the most interesting parts yourself and find out why they are interesting.
Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome is nice, and it's more walking than strictly museum.
You might also consider a food tour in either Rome or Venice. A guide takes you around to taste local specialties and gives you a little background and history. So there's a little culture, a little education and food! ;-)
In Venice, check out the shops where they make masks. Some of them do a great job of explaining how masks were made.
I hope you have a wonderful trip!!
thanks to all of you.. every idea is very helpful.
For a nice and informative free tour of Venice, look at these tours.
In Rome Coliseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill can take up the better part of a day. The Villa Borghese Park where you can rent bikes. Castel S'Antangelo is much underrated in my opinion. Pantheon, Centro Storico. Also generally, walking around Rome.
In Venice, the Doge's Palace and Basilica of St. Mark. Also walking around Venice.
A good guidebook like Rick Steves Italy will give you lots of ideas. Rick has good walking tours in his book, I traveled to Italy with it a year ago in October-November.
