Trip Report
Rome for Families
Rome, Italy
DAY
1:
Our March 2007 trip included grandparents (in their 60s), parents (in their
40s) and three kids (ages 11, 8 and 4). We did Rome-Tuscany-Venice
in 12 days. The other portions of our trip are filed under Tuscany and Venice.
We left Denver at 6:00pm and arrived in Rome (Leonardo da Vinci/Fiumicino)
at around 3pm the next day. By the time we got our luggage, we were in traffic,
heading into Rome, so it took a good hour to get into town, which was frustrating
(so close…and yet, so far!). However, we’d probably do it again in the same
way. In our experience, it’s best to leave in the evening from the U.S., since
everyone can try and get some sleep on the plane (passes some time too), and
when you arrive, adrenaline keeps you rolling until you go to sleep—which
helps to immediately pop you into the proper time zone.
We got to our hotel, the lovely Bella Suites Rome (www.bellasuiterome.com)
on the third floor of an old building within walking distance of the Termini
station (bus and underground). The hotel also owns the Adler, on the 2nd and
3rd floors below, but the Bella Suites rooms are a bit nicer. The Bella Suites
(and Adler) offer a continental breakfast (pastry, cereal and yogurt), so
that’s a definite plus for a family. The kids loved the old lift (old-fashioned
elevator).
The hotel is nice and a good value—and it’s in a good location. The front
desk people, especially Alessandro, speak “hotel English” pretty well. I had
asked for two rooms, side by side, but somehow, that request was lost. This
was frustrating, since we had the girls (11 and 8) in a room by themselves.
Fortunately, it’s a very small, boutique hotel, and with my parents on the
floor too, and the kids just fifteen feet away, we decided to risk it. Next
time, I’d press the issue, however. I was just too tired to battle it. Having
heard some horror stories since then, I would battle it next time.
TIPSTER:
Bring ear plugs for everyone; if you’re not used to city noises, it might
be shocking to hear car horns and occasional sirens.
My parents, who had arrived a few days before, were waiting in the hotel for
us. Our intent was just to give the kids a brief “visual” of the city—you
could spend weeks here, but I wanted to return when they were older and could
absorb more. Our goal was to get their eyeballs on the icons of the city and
some semblance of the deep history they were seeing. We had dinner at Target,
a restaurant around the corner, which was so convenient that we went back
again the next night.
Wiped out, we tried to get the kids to eat something—anything at all!—and
then hustled them back to the hotel and into bed. The adults went to the nearest
room, leaving our door open in case the kids needed us, and opened some more
chianti.
DAY 2:
My parents had scoped out the city and discovered the open-air-top double
decker tourist buses. Just head toward the Termini station and purchase tickets
at the tobacco stand on the edge. I had to designate children by gesturing
height with my hand to get a discount on their tickets. These buses were great—they
offered hop-on/hop-off options in many key areas of the city, and I’d recommend
just riding the loop to get a handle on the city. We got off on the other
side of the river and wound our way up the hill to St. Peter’s Square and
entered the insane lines to get in.
TIPSTER: Be prepared for lots of people and to have a hand
on kids at all times—it’s a madhouse, with everyone trying to find their way
in. You enter St. Peter’s from the Square and have to check big bags before
you enter. Have kids go to the bathroom here—it’s hard to find a restroom
inside. Once you get inside, the crowds aren’t so bad!
TIPSTER: Read up on the hours of St. Peter’s and the Vatican
Museums/Sistine Chapel and be aware that either can close at 1:00 in the afternoon—begin
early for both! And if you want to spend a decent amount of time in the Vatican
Museum, plan to be in line a couple of hours before it opens (it snakes down
and around the hill for _ mile, sometimes longer). One thing you could do
is send an adult to hold a place in line, and then join that person an hour
later via taxi with the rest of the family (send a picture of the clan with
the line holder so he can show the people behind him, warning them that they’re
coming with an image, if not a shared language!)
TIPSTER: Engage the kids’ attention in St. Peter’s and create
a scavenger hunt (with some sort of prize if they lay eyes on all of these):
have the kids look for Michelanagelo’s Pieta, the embalmed (and visible) body
of a pope, Bernini’s massive baldicchino (altar covering), bees carved into
sculpture in at least three places (the family crest emblem of a powerful
family, who placed three family members as pope and funded much of the artwork),
Saint Peter’s golden chair, and a skeleton, carved beneath Pope Alexander
VII’s monument, symbolizing our own mortality. Outside, have them count the
number of figures they see atop the portico (all saints and apostles). All
of this will help them remember what they’re seeing!
We grabbed a pizza lunch outside the Square and then I took the girls and
headed back in to get a quick view of the Sistine Chapel (my parents had seen
it already and Tim took our 4-year-old back to the hotel for a rest). By getting
in line so late, the line was MUCH shorter, but we were in serious danger
of running out of time. Be aware that it takes a LOT of winding around to
finally land in the famed chapel—warn your kids that it’s a maze and make
them think it’s kind of fun!—and that once inside, they’ll demand silence
(it’s a chapel, after all), so be prepared to whisper. It is a good way to
glimpse the vast museum—again, you could spend a couple of days here. I just
wanted the girls to see the Sistine Chapel. Before you get too far, be sure
to have them look down the serpentine snail stairway, just after you buy your
tickets. If it’s open, it makes for a very cool picture, shooting down at
them. Once in the chapel, have the kids find a figure they especially like
and sketch it (there are benches on the side that you may have to help them
find a seat on). This will help them remember it.
It was late afternoon by the time we got back to the hotel. We grabbed a drink,
went to the bathroom, and set off to see Piazza Navarro (an oval piazza where
they had horse races and occasionally flooded to make mock sea battles); the
Pantheon, and the elephant obelisk outside Santa Maria (right behind the Pantheon—at
least walk by!). By the time we got there, the kids were EXHAUSTED. Way too
much in one day. We grabbed dinner at the easy/convenient restaurant (Target)
and got the kids to bed. If I had to do it over again, I’d spend one more
day in Rome so we could just see the Vatican/St. Peter’s in one day and do
the other major sites the next.
DAY 3:
Up
early, we met our guide from Context Rome (www.ContextRome.com)
and she took us on a great pre-arranged kid-friendly tour of Palatine Hill,
Forum and the Coliseum, engaging the kids as much as possible in the deep
history. You can see the girls’ pictures on ContextRome’s web site under family
tours! It was cold and rainy, so that was hard, but we very much enjoyed the
tour—excellent to have a small group and a guide dedicated to answering all
your questions, etc. vs. the mass group tour. Expensive splurge, but worth
it; we adults all love history and understanding where we are standing. If
you do the same thing, be sure to take snacks. It gets long and can be draining
for all—and you’ll remember more if you’re not worried about your stomach!
The guide had a “scavenger hunt” pamphlet where the kids had to find all the
things mentioned in there and did a good job helping them get a glimpse of
history.
TIPSTER: Get a copy of Rome: Then and Now and take
it with you. It will do a ton for kids—and adults—trying to visualize Palatine
Hill, the Forum, and the Coliseum as it once was. We took a prearranged van/cab
(arranged through ContextRome) back to our hotel, grabbed our bags, and then
got back in the cab to get to the airport, where we picked up our two rental
cars. Then we drove north, to Tuscany!
| HONK!!! When we were in Italy and on the highway, we were puzzled by several other cars honking at us, even when we were in the slow lane and people could easily pass us. I just read in Conde Nast's Traveler (June 2008), that road etiquette dictates that you not drive too slowly, nor leave too much space between your car and the one in front, or you'll get honked at or passed. Apparently, the farther south you go, the more this happens. Now in that same issue, a reader warns of speeding fines that show up on credit cards associated with rental cars (some as high as $200). The Italian government has installed sensors and cameras on highways, particularly A-1; if you trip the sensor, you get a fine. Italy has 6 sensors; the UK has many more! It is FamilyTripster's view that it's better to go more slowly and endure a few honks, especially if you're unsure of where you're going! Farther south, where drivers can be downright aggressive, it might be prudent to hire a driver. |
TIPSTER: If at all possible, don’t drive into/out of Rome, Florence or Venice. Very difficult with the traffic, congested streets, signs, etc. Best to get into/out of via taxi or train.
If We Went Back:
• We’d spend a full week in Rome and go to the catacombs (kids would love it), do a full-day trip to Pompei, and see many more of the sites around this fascinating city
• We’d go through The Time Elevator, off of Via del Corso, a 45 minute interactive ride that gives you a comprehensive understanding of the city’s history (ck to see if they’ve added English before you go—right now, it’s just in Italian, but it sounds so cool, we’d probably still go!)
• We’d plan to tour 2/3 of the day and play/rest 1/3 of each day
• We’d stay at the “Hive” in their bunk room to save money! www.the-beehive.com
• On transfer days we wouldn’t do anything but spend time traveling to a new region and relaxing/following our nose so it would be less stressful
| Don't Miss: • The touristy double-decker buses; great way to get around and get an overview of the city for a family • A day in the Vatican museum/St. Peter’s and the Square 
• 1/2 day to do Coliseum and Forum. It’s amazing how often you see these
classic, iconic locations on TV, in books and online and the kids can say,
“Hey, we’ve been there!” |