Short trip to Rome with Teens-itinerary review?

I don't think you're allowing enough time inside St. Peter's or inside the Vatican art museum, even if your family really isn't into art. and you're also allowing too much time at the Trevi fountain and Spanish steps, considering that you already allow plenty of time for strolling around. Maybe you expect to picnic? Volunteer to take group photos for the crowds?

I think your plan is reasonable, given your (unfortunately) limited time in Rome.

Two years ago I took my then-14-year-old grandson to Europe. We spent four nights in a convent, centrally located on Quirinal Hill; then took the train through the Alps for five nights in Munich. He was already in his third year of Latin study, and I gave him guidebooks and Rick Steves videos of Rome, so he was primed for the trip and helped plan the itinerary.

We learned the key was to get to the major sites as early in the day as possible, then walk around and explore the city at our own pace the rest of the day. We got to the Colosseum when it opened at 8:30 (I had a Roma Pass, so we skipped the longer line already forming); and the same the next day at the Pantheon, and had the whole place to ourselves for a few minutes. 8:30 AM arrival at St. Peters the third day still had us in the security line for about 45 minutes, though. We opted to skip the Vatican Museum and the Sistine, to spend the rest of the afternoon at Ostia Antica.

We only had one backpack apiece, so we took advantage of that and made our arrival to Rome as dramatic as possible. Instead of arriving via Termini, we took the FM1 train from the airport to Ostiense, and walked into the city past the Pyramid of Cestius, Porta San Paolo, the Baths of Caracalla, Circus Maximus, and Colosseum. It was unforgettable.

Photos of the trip, and maps of our walking adventures here.

Although I've been to St. Peters already, it was a long time ago. I don't remember taking more than an hour inside the basilica. I've read several accounts recently that seem to indicate that as well, unless you want to climb the dome or visit the grottos. That would be nice, but as you noted, we are short on time. If we can get to the basilica by 5:00, I think we could get an hour and a half inside if the lines aren't too bad. I read that they are pretty manageable in the late afternoon. Perhaps I am wrong? I could choose a 7:30 entry into the Vatican Museum if needed, but the chapel might be more crowded by then.

The Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps are the must-sees of the evening, not the only thing. Any extra time we will fill by wandering, getting gelato, relaxed dinner, etc. but I didn't want to over reach. I think we'll pass on spending the time taking group photos.

Jeff, your pictures are amazing. I'm going to show them to the kids tonight. Thanks for sharing. We are staying a 10 minute walk from Circus Maximus, so are including that in the "local ruins" portion of our wandering during the first morning or after the afternoon nap if we do the night tour. My son is very interested in the chariot racing.

Jeff loved your photo essay of your trip to Europe with your son ! So many nice shots !

Jeff, I also really enjoyed looking at your photos from your trip with your grandson.

Jeff, your photos are amazing! Do you mind me asking what kind of camera you took them with? I am debating between my DSLR and mirrorless SLR. Thanks!

Thanks all for the kind words.

Funny (well, not at the time) story about the cameras. My "primary" was to have been a pocket-sized Canon S120 point-and-shoot with zoom. As usual, I packed my old Samsung WB150 point-and-shoot in the backpack as an emergency backup. Well, on the flight over to Rome, a huge dust spot suddenly appeared on the Canon's sensor in the middle of the frame. No way to clean it on the road, so it was unusable for the rest of the trip. The Canon went into the bag and the Samsung came out.

Over 90% of the photos in that album were taken with that little old pocket-sized Samsung WB150.

Within an hour after we arrived in Rome, I noticed a dust spot on the Samsung's sensor, as well. But this one was at the very top of the frame, so for the rest of the trip I just composed every shot expecting to crop or edit the spot out of the image back at home. On the last day in Munich, the Samsung's dust spots got worse; so the last handful of shots were taken with my iPhone 6. My grandson brought only his iPhone 4, and he came back with some absolutely wonderful images.

The extreme wide-angle photos (e.g., inside St. Peter's) were taken with a GoPro Hero 2.

All of the photos were cropped and edited with Photoshop and enhanced with a software called Aurora by Macphun (now I use Luminar by Macphun, which handles most of the functions of both Photoshop and Aurora). Editing covered a multitude of sins, including some embarrassing finger smudges on the lens during the train trip through the Alps (grrr). Just for fun I posted an album of before/after versions of some of the photos, so you can see the original image from the camera, compared with the final edited version: https://goo.gl/photos/43MXQgeGCHdVmAFj8.

I've just purchased a mirrorless camera, an Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II. So far I really like it, but I'm still experimenting with it and haven't taken it on a trip yet.

Hello!

Having just returned from 2 back-to-back trips to Rome, plus having a history degree and a massive love of Italian history from ancient to post-Renaissance times, I am excited for your family's upcoming trip to The Eternal City! Your history buff teenager will be in sensory overload, in all the best ways.

For a very unique ancient Roman history experience, consider booking tickets to visit Nero's Domus Aurea on the same day that you tour the Colosseum. The Domus Aurea site is above the Colosseum in the Parco Del Colle Oppio. They just reopened the Domus Aurea site, and the tour now includes an amazing virtual reality experience! It's a fantastic and fascinating way to bring ancient ruins to life. I had goosebumps after my own experience 1 week ago. Reservations are required, and they fill up quickly, so better to book soon if interested. You can find out more here.

I look forward to hearing about how your tour of the Teatro di Marcellus goes! That site is on my list for the next visit to Rome. Also, if you're visiting that theatre, consider visiting The Capitoline Museums. Amazing, amazing museum packed full of amazing ancient art, sculpture, and the most unique pathway filled with funerary inscriptions that give you an incredible connection to the ancient Romans in a very unique way. The views of the Forum from the Tabularium under the museum are not to be missed!

Have a wonderful trip!

Joanna

Jeff, thank you for sharing these brilliant pictures. They look amazing! My question is a little bit out of the topic but still want to ask it. How long do you edit pictures by Photoshop?
I am non-professional, wish to learn some tips. Maybe I should use something easier than photoshop. What do you think?

You're very kind, thank you. So as not to take the thread too far off topic, I've replied with a private message.