Rome With Kids: Tips To Love The Eternal City

I’ve just wrapped up my third visit to Rome with kids – this time with a young teen! After experiencing The Eternal City across so many stages I wanted to share some of my top tips for visiting Rome with kids to help you have an incredible time. 

I won’t lie – Rome can be a challenging city for families in some ways. It’s fairly spread out, there are lots of hills and during some of the most convenient times of year it’s hot and crowded. But hopefully after reading my tips you’ll be ready for a great trip!

Plan your tours strategically

When you first set out to plan your Rome with kids itinerary, think very carefully about the timing of any tours you want to do and what’s most important to you. 

If you’re coming from the U.S., try to avoid anything too early on your first morning (or even two). While it’s tempting to pack everything in, I’m writing this from a cafe at 10am while half of my family is still asleep after arriving in Italy yesterday! Your first day or two in Rome as a family is an excellent time for a low-key activity like the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition and an evening food tour (this was one of my son’s favorite activities on our recent trip).

Pro tip: I love doing a food tour or cooking class the first evening in a new city because it helps us get the lay of the land and find great food with zero overwhelm.

If you can, save your big activities like visiting the Vatican and the Colosseum for subsequent days when everyone is feeling more human. For those two activities specifically, I think it’s worth investing a little money to have a seamless visit when kids are involved. You could opt for a kid-oriented scavenger hunt for maximum engagement, or skip-the-line guided tours and behind the scenes opportunities to minimize waiting time… which is when so many kids lose their cool while traveling in an unfamiliar environment!

On that point, be sure to reach out to tour providers a day or two in advance to confirm details. I did not do this for our Colosseum Underground tour and it turned out that the tour provider’s messages went through on some booking platforms but not others. They had reached out a few days before to change the meet-up time nearly an hour later, meaning we could have slept in! Sometimes with the tickets that are very hard to get (even for guides) they have to switch times based on availability. 

Which brings me to my next tip for planning tours… I really recommend that you plan an unscheduled activity after those long tours. The aforementioned Colosseum tour (which included the Forum) was technically scheduled for 11am to 2pm, with a 10:30 arrival. In reality my son and l didn’t finish until closer to 3 because we wanted to see the arena itself. But that was fine! Our only definitive plans for the afternoon were eating and strolling, though we still had time for our “penciled in” option of visiting the Great Synagogue. 

Planning tours looks different if you’re visiting Rome with a toddler or other still-napping child. In that case, you’ll want to decide if it’s a tour that you want your child to sleep through in their stroller or baby carrier, or if you want them to be engaged with the experience. Don’t forget about the time difference and whether it’s the beginning or end of your trip to Italy!

If summer is your only option for a family trip to Rome, know that the afternoons can get so hot that they’ll make the whole family wilt! You can save some of your exploring on foot for cooler evenings, especially your first few days when you haven’t adjusted to the time change yet. This tour of the monuments by moonlight helped us get oriented without an early wake-up or struggling through punishing temperatures – and it was also incredibly affordable compared. to many other options.

Know your transportation options

Getting around Rome isn’t difficult but it does require flexibility, confidence and a solid map app on your phone. We’ve relied on taxis, trains, buses, Metro and our own two feet to get around Rome with kids. 

Public transportation

Public transportation is Rome is generally very good. On our most recent trip to Rome, my son and I used buses and the metro to get almost everywhere. Traveling with a younger kiddo? Up to age 10, they ride free with your fare!

We found Google Maps and Apple Maps to do a very good job at providing public transportation direction in Rome, so be sure you have them ready before your trip. Check out these other helpful apps to download for your Italy trip.

One of my favorite things about using public transportation in Rome is that you can just tap your credit card or Apple Pay when you board and that’s it! No worries about validating paper tickets (or day passes) or navigating an unfamiliar machine while your ride pulls away. If you are riding with a kid over 10, be sure to tap a different credit card for them – even if both cards are on your phone’s Apple Pay.

Taxis

Taxis can be pricey but every now and then, they are a really important option, especially if your whole family is exhausted from travel or you can sense a meltdown coming on. A quick taxi ride instead of a lengthy bus ride can save the day! We did not take taxis when visiting with a 2 year old, as we didn’t have a safe option to transport him by car when we were out and about for the day. By the time we returned with a 4 year old and 6 year old, we brought the Ride Safer Travel Vest and Bubblebum in our daypack if we thought there was any chance we’d need a taxi on a given day.

There are two ways to get a taxi in Rome: by hailing one on the street (sometimes easier said than done) or by using the Uber app which partners with the local taxi services. We’ve done a mix of both and they each have their pros and cons. Recently for trips between our hotel and the train station, I took taxis two mornings in a row. I requested via Uber both times; the first day an Uber taxi (not Black) arrived promptly and cost €13 (about $15), while the second day Uber wasn’t able to connect with a taxi but I grabbed one around the corner and paid just $10. You can expect a bit of a markup for the supposed convenience of requesting a car from your phone, so only use Uber if you don’t see any white taxis around. 

Walking/strolling

Rome is basically one huge museum, with modern Italian culture filling in the crevices between ancient sites. You’ll definitely want to get out there and experience some of it on foot.

Of course that’s easier said than done with young kids in tow!

One of Rome’s nicknames is the City of Seven Hills, so chances are good that you’ll be going uphill and downhill repeatedly as you enjoy on foot. Thankfully the hills aren’t too steep, but when visiting with a stroller we definitely felt the burn – especially with two kids in a double stroller on our second visit! When you’re choosing your route, Apple Maps does a particularly good job of showing the topography of each option and you can even choose to avoid hills (though in many cases in Rome it will warn you that they can’t actually be avoided).

I definitely recommend bringing a comfortable, high-quality baby carrier with you if your child doesn’t walk independently for long distances. Some days you might want to use the stroller, other days you might want to use the carrier. And if you’re traveling with two kids it can be a great plan to bring a single stroller and a carrier rather than a double stroller.

It’s important to know that you’ll need to fold your stroller if you want to take it on a bus or metro train in Rome. If you like to put a lot of small items in your stroller basket, it’s a good idea to throw reusable grocery bag down there just in case!

We found the Baby Jogger City Mini to be a good blend of portability and capability, as its wheels handled Rome’s cobblestones much better than a small umbrella stroller would. The quick one-hand fold is amazing if you’ll be hopping on and off of buses!

You may be wondering if you can bring a stroller to the Colosseum or how stroll-friendly the Vatican is. When we did the regular tour of the Colosseum with a stroller-lover, it was just fine – there are elevators to take you to the upper level that are only for use by young families and those with mobility impairments. If you choose to visit the underground or the arena floor, I recommend using a carrier instead as those visit aren’t stroller (or wheelchair) accessible.

The Vatican Museum is technically stroller-friendly… but not really, in my opinion. It can be incredibly crowded even in the shoulder season and the typical route has a number of stair cases. If you do bring a stroller you may have to frequently ask a guard how to get from one room to the next because the accessible routes aren’t always visible. The Sistine Chapel is possible to access with a stroller but requires a very circuitous path and is jam-packed once you’re inside.

This will make me sound like the heretic that I am, but I didn’t enjoy visiting the Vatican with a toddler in tow and have no need to ever visit again. If you really want to go and will have young kids with you, I’d opt for an express tour or save the whole thing for when they’re teens (and only then if they are interested). Feel free to tell me I’m wrong in the comments!

Book your accommodations early, especially if you’re picky or price-conscious

Rome is always an in-demand destination and unfortunately many of the city’s hotel rooms aren’t built to accommodate families. Your best defense? Start looking early for a family-friendly hotel in Rome. While my son and I recently had an excellent stay at this hotel, our room was just big enough for the two of us; our family of four would have needed a more expensive suite. That’s unfortunately common thanks to a combination of older buildings, fire codes and maybe even cultural differences.

Vacation rentals in Rome are an option but they are heavily regulated for numerous (good) reasons. If you go this route, be sure to look for one that shares its registration number up front and you can expect them to request a copy of everyone’s passports in advance. A new rule requires in-person check in for vacation rentals in Rome, so keep that in mind if your flight is arriving very early or very late. A good compromise might be an “aparthotel” that offers the space of a vacation rental combined with professional management by a front desk staff. That prevents you from being stranded in the street waiting for a host who’s running late and ensures that you can leave your bags if you arrive early or depart late.

When choosing where to stay in Rome with kids, I recommend cracking open Google Maps in a tab of your web browser and pulling up walking and transit directions to the sites you plan to visit. Consider what transfers are involved, the amount of time to walk versus ride a bus and other factors that may be specific to your family. Be sure to use the “depart at” or “arrive by” setting to make sure you’re looking at daytime transit schedules rather than overnight options!

Here are some centrally-located family-friendly places to stay in Rome that you should consider:

• Hotel Mozart – Offers both hotel and apartment-style accommodations and a beautiful terrace; close to Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain
• Splendor Suite Rome – Suites and apartments for up to 6, so it’s the perfect place for big families to stay in Rome; close to Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain
• History Suite – Family suite close to Pantheon with a useful bus stop right in front
• Sonder Antinoo Apartments Piazza del Parlamento – If you’re a Marriott lover, consider these apartments near the Pantheon

If you’re trying to save money on a family-friendly hotel in Rome, you might want to check out CapitalOne Travel if you hold a VentureX credit card. This is a great opportunity to use your $300 annual travel credit and book a boutique hotel or vacation rental through that portal. If you find the same place cheaper on another platform, you can call in right away and get credit for the difference (which never expires). After booking, if you decide you want to save some more cash you can choose to “erase” the rest of the hotel cost using your points.

There are a few things that aren’t standard in Rome (or elsewhere in Italy) that you’ll want to look out for if they’re important to you – especially if you opt for a vacation rental. First up is an elevator. Millions (or perhaps billions) of people around the world certainly manage in walk-up apartments, but if you have a lot of luggage, a stroller and a tired or cranky child then hiking up a few flights of stairs might not say “vacation” to you.

The other feature that can be hit and miss in Rome Airbnbs and vacation rentals is air conditioning. Mere days before our July trip to Rome, the city experienced a dangerous heatwave with 95 F temperatures all day. That doesn’t sound so unusual for those of us in the Midwest, but I promise that it hits different when you’re out walking through ancient sites all day. That peak is a full 15 degrees above normal for that time of year, so a lot of the infrastructure isn’t designed with such extreme heat in mind. I strongly recommend booking accommodations with air conditioning if your family will visit Rome over summer break.

Plan age-appropriate breaks

Unlike many cities in Europe, Rome feels much more adult. Of course there are kids who live there but it doesn’t have the same infrastructure in the historic center that you might find elsewhere. It’s also an intense, busy, often crowded place and kids of all ages need breaks.

For my teen, the best break always involves a gelato stop. I knew our visit would be tour-heavy so I promised him that for every tour we completed we could get a gelato (or sorbetto). Sometimes that meant he got two or three treats in a day, but he certainly earned them by walking upwards of 10 miles!

Finding appropriate places for younger kids to burn off energy requires a little more planning. The Borghese Garden (Villa Borghese) is the city’s largest green space and it also has fun boats you can rent to paddle around for an hour, though on our recent summer visit we found the area to be too hot and dry for much recreation. There are kid-oriented activities like a playground and toy library just north of the Porta Pinciana entrance to the gardens but don’t go in promising/expecting the massive playgrounds you’ll find in northern Europe or in the suburbs of America. If you’ll be on the other side of the Tiber River, there’s an itty bitty playground on the back side of Castel Sant’Angelo.

A better option is to visit one of the many wide-open piazzas in Rome. In particular, we loved taking our kids to Piazza del Polo. Not only is it huge and beautiful, but in the evening you’ll find street performers doing everything from making giant bubbles to juggling fire. I swear my daughter ran around in circles for an hour taking it all in when she was four!

If it’s raining and you have a preschooler who needs a fun, safe option check out Explora: Il Museo dei Bambini. It’s not far from Villa Borghese and our kids found it engaging despite the language barrier.

Understand how to meet everyone’s basic needs

Let’s face it: when you’re traveling with kids – especially young ones – it feels like their physical needs are half the battle. It’s even harder when you’re away from home in a place with cultural norms that are different from your own.

Got a thirsty kid? One of the coolest things in Rome is that there are thousands of free, public drinking fountains spread around the city. The water quality is excellent and the cool temperature is perfectly refreshing on a hot day, whether you splash it on your neck or stick your bottle underneath for a refill.

But for the most fun, walk up next to a nasoni (a fountain with a long “nose” sticking out) and block the bottom of the water spout with your hand. Be sure to warn anyone nearby! You’ll see a stream of water arc out of the top, much like a modern water fountain provides but on a more impressive scale. Some locals even put a bucket out the fountain to capture the extra spray and then use it for their plants.

If your kiddo needs a snack, you can always go for the aforementioned gelato stop. Otherwise you’ll find plenty of easy options to satisfy a hangry kid on the go, from budget-friendly pizza by the slice to arrosticini (roasted meat skewers – my son’s favorite). Of course popping into a local market will also field a wide array of familiar comforts like cookies, crackers, yogurts, cheeses and more. I hope you enjoy that collage of my son eating his way through Rome over the years!

Bathrooms are the most basic need of all, of course. I always recommend keeping up couple of Euro coins on you when traveling in Italy, as there are plenty of restrooms that you have to pay to enter. Thankfully you can tap a credit card or Apple Pay to enter some of them now, but that’s not universal.

We’ve also had a lot of success all around Europe just showing a desperate-looking child and saying “excuse me, toilet please” in the appropriate language. Restaurants and hotels are a good place to pop in if you have a child with an emergency, and they’re often cleaner than public restrooms you access by paying. Don’t forget the smile and grazie mille on your way out!

If you have a child that’s still in diapers, life is definitely trickier. Our son was two years old on our first family trip to Rome and unfortunately just at the beginning of toilet training. We found very few public changing facilities in the city.

For an older baby or toddler, switching to pull-ups can be really helpful in case you need to do a standing diaper change in a cramped restroom (been there, done that). Another reason we really loved the Baby Jogger City Mini series is that the seat goes to a near-flat position and offers generous space – perfect for diaper changes in a quiet corner when there aren’t facilities nearby!

Get kids excited to visit Rome

In many ways, Rome is one of the easiest cities in the world to get kids excited to visit! From a very young age, many of them have seen a picture of the Colosseum or have a concept of antiquity (though I won’t blame them for confusing ancient Greece with ancient Rome). But if you want to make your kids more familiar before you go, thankfully you have plenty of options for kids books set in Rome.

The youngest visitors can become familiar with Rome’s landmarks through the colorful pages of Rome: A Book of Days. Slightly older kids will get more out of Rosie’s Rome Tour, which is a fun rhyming book with slightly more realistic illustrations.

For budding history buffs, pick up The Story of the Roman Empire for Kids or 10-Minute Stories From Ancient Rome. My son has always enjoyed the Who HQ series and learned a lot from Where Is the Colosseum? and Who Was Julius Caesar?, which he read during as part of our “worldschooling” experience for 1st grade.

If you’re looking for an option that’s more focused on travel to Rome, Lonely Planet now offers travel guides just for kids! A Kid’s Guide to Rome covers sites, food, history and more in an age-appropriate way. It’s a little more sophisticated than the older City Trails offering.

But if you’ll be seeing allllll the Rome attractions with kids in elementary school, be sure you bring along Mission Rome: A Scavenger Hunt Adventure. It’s a great way to keep kids engaged as you experience different museums, churches and monuments as they’ll be looking for clues and enjoying the “gamification”.

Are you bringing a young foodie to Rome? Before you go, sit down together to watch season 1, episode 2 of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy! We watched several episodes with our kids before our most recent family trip to Italy and they really enjoyed it (much more than the old Rick Steves episodes we showed them). The newer series Tucci in Italy visited the Lazio countryside outside of Rome for the final episode of season 1 but may not venture into the city itself until season 3 – stay tuned!

Back when they were very young, my kids loved watching Super Wings to get a glimpse of new destinations before we visited. If your little ones love the show too, pull up season 2, episode 47 of them during their next snack time. The final two episodes of Let’s Go Luna! season 1 also take place in Rome, which would be great for early elementary schoolers. For older kids and middler schoolers, you can sit together and watch Curious Traveler as she takes on Rome to spill some of its secrets!

Plan your trip to Rome with kids

Ready to start planning an amazing Italy trip? Check out these helpful resources!

• 4 Ideas to Avoid the Crowds in Venice, Italy
• 7 Dolomites Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Trip
• Dolomites With Kids: The World’s Most Family-Friendly Hiking
• Italy Travel Apps That Will Make Your Trip Smoother
• Summer Northern Italy Itinerary + Recap
• Renting a Car in Italy: La Dolce Vita on Four Wheels
• Where To Go In Italy With Kids [& Important Planning Tips]
• 23 Must-Know Italy Travel Tips to Plan Your Dream Trip
• How to Travel to Italy on a Budget
• Fall capsule wardrobe for travel: what to pack for Italy in October