Rome with children 10,13,15 top suggestions

How shortly is "shortly" and for how many days? Exact dates? What are your interests? Yes, tickets for the top couple of attractions should already have been pre-purchased if your trip is VERY soon, depending on what you want to see, or should be purchased ASAP. Tours are also possible but what are you willing to spend for them?

I do not have kids. But my wife and I visited the Capuchin Crypt on our trip last year, and I thought it was pretty cool. If I were a teen visiting Rome, I'd want to go there. (FYI, I also like Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne so full disclosure!!). It is the "Bone Church of Rome" 3,700 skeletons on display. It is very unique!!! Not too expensive and only takes about an hour or so...

The tours of the forums of Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar are amazing, It is a nice thing to do at night, out of the heat of the day. Also the nighttime tours of Castel Sant'Angelo would be fun for everyone.

I would reserve the forum tours in advance. An afternoon rest after late lunch, followed by dinner at dusk, then a nighttime activity is a good way to handle the heat.

I was in Rome with my two teen boys in early June for 4.5 days. Here's a list of their favorite things:

1. Colosseum Underground Tour - We had a great coopculture tour guide who kept the boys captivated with gory tales of the games. They loved it but were "done" afterward and I let them skip the rest of the tour (Forum and Palatine Hill) and go back to the hotel

2. Basilica di San Clemente - a fascinating place to go that will get you out of the heat. It really caught their interest

3. St. Peter's Basilica and Square - this was their favorite part of our Walk's of Italy Pristine Sistine Tour. It was at the end of the 3.5 hours tour and I was surprised at how much time the boys wanted to spend there looking around

4. Borghese Gallery - I think they enjoyed this so much because I told them they could go on their own with the audio tour and only had to look at the Bernini and Caravaggio works on the 1st floor. I think they were expecting the worst and were pleasantly surprised. They spent about 45 minutes looking around then got a cold drink and waited for us in the park.

5. Spanish Steps - they were happy to be able to sit and just "hang out". They got a kick out of watching the police blow their whistles at people who were trying to eat or lay down :).

6. Vittorio Emanuele Monument - Rome from the Sky Elevator and viewing area - we went on the afternoon of our last day. They really liked getting a panoramic view of the places they had been. Added bonuses are that the building is air-conditioned and the ride up the elevator was free for them

We basically had a deal that if they gave me their "best" for the morning until after lunch (3:00ish), I would let them walk/cab back to the hotel and relax until we headed out for dinner (7:30ish). Funnily enough, my in-laws followed the same plan :). That left time for my husband and I to wander around, visit smaller churches, and enjoy aperitivo. Have fun!

Lynne gave you some good suggestions. I would probably eliminate the Villa Borghese for the Gardens instead unless they're really into art.

https://www.livitaly.com/10thingstodo_villaborgheserome/

For perhaps the best gelato in Rome, try Old Bridge. The shop is located across the street from where people line up to get into the Vatican Museum.

Roman Gladiator School is at the top of my kids list!

hey nikime
look at tripsavvy.com in search box type rome beaches and a list come up that you can take a train from rome termini. you can look at what they offer, maybe a restaurant/cafe or pack a picnic lunch (baguette cheese meats, wine, beer, drinks for kids) and the whole family can have a great time. how shortly don't know, summer time, but it will be hot and crowded. make the best of it, now the kids owe you in behavior and a tour with no nagging.
aloha

Thank you all for the suggestions. Looks like i have more homework to do. Less then 2 weeks to go!

Should i buy tours on tripadvisor? Or is there a better site?

Should i buy tours on tripadvisor? Or is there a better site?

Personally, I'd never use TA for booking tours. Some perfectly fine + most affordable tours can be booked on the websites for the attractions themselves. In other cases, tours by specific companies which see a lot of favorable recommendations pop up umpty times on the forums. They may offer benefits such as privileged entrance times, smaller groups, child-friendly presentations, coverage of multiple attractions, and /or cater to interests such as specific historical eras, art, architecture, etc.

Just curious: have you purchased a good guidebook for Rome? A good book is going to be REALLY helpful for finding your way around the city and figuring out the what/where/when/hows of sightseeing it.

Guide book good idea it is a 8 hrs flight from where we r going

I am sure you realized this is a very busy time to go. If you want any tours you should book them now. Go directly to the sites. I would read a Guide book before your trip and look at RS’s videos on Rome. He also has podcast tours you can download for Rome.

We had our teens in Rome in Aug two years ago. It was very hot & very crowded. We only had a few days there at the end of a RS tour. My kids really liked the Forum and liked the museums for the art & the limited air. (Not like at home) just be prepared for down time.

We did not go to the Vatican because our free day was Sunday & the museum is closed. We are going back in Dec. enjoy!

Your toughest tickets to get at this point will be the Colosseum, Vatican Museums, and Borghese Gallery (if you wish to go). Look at tickets on the official sites to see what you can get. If they are sold out, look at some of the tour companies and decide whether what they offer is "worth it" to you to pay more. For me, in some cases, it was worth it (Pristine Sistine) and in some cases, it was not.

Here are some official sites:

• https://www.coopculture.it/en/ticket_office.cfm
• https://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do
• https://www.tosc.it/biglietti.htm?affiliate=T2C&sort_by=event_datum&sort_direction=asc&fun=erdetail&doc=erdetaila&erid=912678

Here are some tour companies (there are hundreds more, read reviews carefully):
- https://www.walksofitaly.com/
- https://www.contexttravel.com/
- https://theromanguy.com/

I usually build my itinerary around the "big sites" choosing one for each day and trying to go in the morning so as to leave the afternoons unscheduled/unstructured. There's no right way, but hopefully this helps!

Just to note, the three tour companies Lynn included links for are probably the ones I see that are most often recommended on this forum.

• https://www.walksofitaly.com/
• https://www.contexttravel.com/
• https://theromanguy.com/

I wouldn't wait until you're on the plane to crack a guidebook as there's quite a lot of information to cover so get one NOW. Maps, suggested walks and tips about getting around, keeping you valuables safe, obtaining euros, etc. in the books will be very useful. The more you know in advance, the faster and easier you'll be able to hit the ground running! :O)

I actually just returned home from a week in Rome with my 2 teens so I think I can weigh in.

First, it’s very hot there right now so plan accordingly with water, sunscreen and planning. It’s hard to pack too much stuff in each day without exhausting yourself.

One of our most favorite things we did was the e-bike tour with The Roman Guy. It was a small group (8 total plus guide) tour on bikes with electric peddle assist. We did it on our first full day and the 2 other groups there it was their first full day as well. It took us all over Rome to the top spots, gave us history and helped us learn the lay of the land. Riding the bikes was so easy and fun because of the peddle assist and it made the whole experience breezy instead of sweaty.

We also spent a day at the beach at Anzio which was a highlight. It was lovely and so easy and cheap to get to. Go to Rome Termini Station to a Trenitalia Kiosk and buy a ticket to Nettuno. They are only 3.60 each one way. Make sure to validate the ticket. Then, get on the train (one per hour so check schedules before you go). It takes about an hour. Get off at the second to last stop - Anzio. Walk down the hill from the station, through the piazza to the beach. There are lots of places to eat and lots of beach facilities. We rented sunbeds near Nero’s grotto for about 22.00 total for 3. It was an easy, fun, pretty and relaxing break from all of the touring. The water and beach are clean and pretty and warm enough for swimming. You can buy your return ticket when you get back to the Anzio station. Oh, and this particular beach was recommended by our bike tour guide. It was very Italian, not touristy.

I’m happy to answer any questions and talk about the other places we went.

If it is not too late:

These 3 items were big hits with my kids, two are free and you can do anytime, and one needs advanced reservations but sometimes if you are lucky you can get a last minute tickest for the English tour.

The Pantheon: Free and historic. Impressive, enormous round stone structure once a pagan temple now a church (little decoration so not like other "churches") with a dome very far up with an open circle in the roof for light...only source of light. This impressed my kids. Rick Steves has a good brief audio tour free (kids can use their phones/ipods to hear it and follow along).

Torre Largo Argentina: this is a square of ruins in the middle of Rome, right near bus stops, taxi stands, regular city buildings, and only 3-4 blocks from the Pantheon. Historically important because it is the site where Julius Caesar was assassinated....but my kids LOVED it because it has become an open air cat sanctuary. There are cats frolicking all over the stone ruins, laying in the sun, twisting bout and cavorting. I had to drag my kids away from there. [enter link description here][1] [1]: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/torre-argentina-roman-cat-sanctuary

Palazzo Le Domus Roman: Absolute favorite but need advanced reservations for English tour. Multi-media recreation of a Roman home using sounds, projections, music. Makes everything else in Rome (ruins) come alive. Excellent, entertaining for all ages unless you don't like some dark areas. Not scary, but part of it requires you to walk on a floor made out of glass and look down so you can see the mosaics, and part of it is narrow, and that may freak out some people. GET AN ENGLISH TOUR. In the usual center area but allow extra time to find it. enter link description here
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187791-d2179620-Reviews-Le_Domus_Romane_di_Palazzo_Valentini-Rome_Lazio.html

Enjoy!

SuzieeQQ

Not too late thank you

The kids might enjoy the "Mouth of Truth" which could be combined with the Aventine Hill Walk in the same area. MOT is a fun place for taking photos.

Remember that shoulders and knees must be covered for churches, in case your kids are planning to wear shorts and tank tops. And from personal experience(my husband was not amused, but daughter and I did this), 3 gelatos in one day is NOT too many!

i will weigh in quickly since we were there at the end of July last year with our teens. First, the colosseum at night was a huge hit, plus it was much much cooler (as previous posters have said it is very hot!) We chose a Walks of Italy tour as it was worth the time and money for us. The kids also LOVED the food tour we did in Trastevere (through eatitaly). Have a great time!! And eat lots of good gelato!