Rome w/3 kids - any tips?

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[Post New]02/15/2017 10:41
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Anonymous
Has anyone been to Rome with kids? Any tips or ideas on things to see or do? We are going for a week (with 3 kids - 7, 5, and 2). It will be enough of an adventure for us to travel to Europe in the first place so we are not going to travel much outside of Rome but I might be interested in one day trip.

Thanks for any ideas!

[Post New]02/15/2017 11:19
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Anonymous
When are you going? We went two summers ago with our boys (then 9 and 7). It was not the best trip - very crowded and not many places for them to run around and just play (unlike London which they LOVED). We did rent a great AirBnB near the Parthenon.
[Post New]02/15/2017 11:33
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:When are you going? We went two summers ago with our boys (then 9 and 7). It was not the best trip - very crowded and not many places for them to run around and just play (unlike London which they LOVED). We did rent a great AirBnB near the Parthenon.


Thanks! Sorry I meant to say we are going in April.
[Post New]02/15/2017 14:08
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Anonymous
April should be a good time-- not too hot.

We thought Rome was a good place to visit with kids because the Italians love kids generally and there are a lot of outdoor sites and restaurants-- the forum/Palatine Hill, the Colosseum, Piazza Navona, Spanish Steps, Fountain of Trevi, the Pantheon, mouth of truth etc.

The main indoor museum thing I remember doing was the Vatican, and we got a tour for that which basically let us skip the lines and go straight to the Sistine Chapel (looking at a few things on the way).

One thing we did was find a list of ten great gelato places, so every day we made sure that we stopped at one or two (or swapped in something else for an snack stop). Helped us keep a slower pace and everyone happy.

[Post New]02/15/2017 14:10
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Anonymous
PS with kids I would definitely look at finding an apt, and my own view is it should be somewhere central to save time/energy (near Pantheon, Piazza Navona, maybe Campo dei Fiori)
[Post New]04/19/2017 04:24
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Anonymous
I am updating this post for anyone who wants future advice. We had a good time! April was good because it was not too hot (70s every day).

I took the PP's advice and we got gelato every day which the kids liked. We also tried not to overdo it in terms of activities each day and allow time for the kids to relax/play.

A few things we did that were particularly good for the kids included: Villa Borghese and renting a big bike to ride around the park, getting tickets for the Vatican museum before it opened to the public (including breakfast), doing a Pompeii tour through a kid-friendly tour company, and having a nice, long meal at a working organic farm with outdoor play area for kids. The kids also enjoyed drinking from the public water fountains all over the city.
[Post New]04/19/2017 05:25
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:When are you going? We went two summers ago with our boys (then 9 and 7). It was not the best trip - very crowded and not many places for them to run around and just play (unlike London which they LOVED). We did rent a great AirBnB near the Parthenon.


Did they relocate the Parthenon to Rome?
[Post New]04/19/2017 08:59
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I am updating this post for anyone who wants future advice. We had a good time! April was good because it was not too hot (70s every day).

I took the PP's advice and we got gelato every day which the kids liked. We also tried not to overdo it in terms of activities each day and allow time for the kids to relax/play.

A few things we did that were particularly good for the kids included: Villa Borghese and renting a big bike to ride around the park, getting tickets for the Vatican museum before it opened to the public (including breakfast), doing a Pompeii tour through a kid-friendly tour company, and having a nice, long meal at a working organic farm with outdoor play area for kids. The kids also enjoyed drinking from the public water fountains all over the city.


So glad you enjoyed your trip! We went when our kids were about the same age and the gelato was the highlight for sure! Villa Borghese is also wonderful and we also went to the Vatican museum before it opened to the public (highly recommend this to anyone going to Rome - it is a nightmare otherwise). Florence is also a quick high-speed train ride away from Rome on the Italo train and I'd recommend that to anyone traveling to Rome as well. Much smaller than Rome and lots to see and do there, too.
[Post New]04/19/2017 15:17
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Anonymous
A few things we did that were particularly good for the kids included: Villa Borghese and renting a big bike to ride around the park,


Good for you, OP! We did this last year with kids 9 and 14. It was great!
[Post New]04/19/2017 21:05
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Anonymous
Glad you had a great time!
[Post New]08/02/2017 10:54
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Anonymous
Share the list of gelato places if you don't mind!
[Post New]08/02/2017 13:44
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Anonymous
The only one I can remember to share is Come il Latte.
[Post New]11/24/2017 13:36
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I am updating this post for anyone who wants future advice. We had a good time! April was good because it was not too hot (70s every day).

I took the PP's advice and we got gelato every day which the kids liked. We also tried not to overdo it in terms of activities each day and allow time for the kids to relax/play.

A few things we did that were particularly good for the kids included: Villa Borghese and renting a big bike to ride around the park, getting tickets for the Vatican museum before it opened to the public (including breakfast), doing a Pompeii tour through a kid-friendly tour company, and having a nice, long meal at a working organic farm with outdoor play area for kids. The kids also enjoyed drinking from the public water fountains all over the city.


What's the name of the kid-friendly tour company and the organic farm you've used? Thank you!
[Post New]11/24/2017 13:44
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I am updating this post for anyone who wants future advice. We had a good time! April was good because it was not too hot (70s every day).

I took the PP's advice and we got gelato every day which the kids liked. We also tried not to overdo it in terms of activities each day and allow time for the kids to relax/play.

A few things we did that were particularly good for the kids included: Villa Borghese and renting a big bike to ride around the park, getting tickets for the Vatican museum before it opened to the public (including breakfast), doing a Pompeii tour through a kid-friendly tour company, and having a nice, long meal at a working organic farm with outdoor play area for kids. The kids also enjoyed drinking from the public water fountains all over the city.


What's the name of the kid-friendly tour company and the organic farm you've used? Thank you!


Outside of Rome:
I Casali del Pino

https://rome4kidstours.com
[Post New]11/25/2017 22:00
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Anonymous
I highly recommend tours with LivItaly in Rome: https://www.livitaly.com We went over the summer and the tour guides (we had 3 different ones) were fantastic! If you can afford to splurge, we thought the private tours were well worth it to cater to the kids’ interests and pace. We did the golf cart tour the first evening while fighting jet lag and it was the perfect introduction to the city.

For gelato, they are all delicious, but two of our favorites were Old Bridge Gelateria by the Vatican and Gelateria Giolitti.
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