This post is part of my Traveling Tuesday Series.
Our last trip while living abroad was a Mediterranean cruise which culminated in Civitavecchia which is the nearest cruise port to Rome. After disembarking the ship, we spent three days exploring Rome with the girls. Honeybun was a few months shy of 4 years old and Sugarplum was nearly two.
Here are the basics of traveling to Rome with kids:
Getting Around
Our first full day in Rome, we hired a tour company to pick us up from the cruise ship port and take us to see the Colosseum and to the Vatican. The following days, though, we walked everywhere covering more than 10 miles on foot over our few days in the city. Pretty much everything is within easy walking distance (the miles traveled came from seeing so much!) and many of the streets within the city centre are pedestrian streets so getting around is fairly easy.
Kid Accessibility
Traveling in Rome with a stroller/buggy isn’t difficult though there can be large crowds and some of the sidewalks are narrow. There are also a lot of cobblestone and brick sidewalks and roads so a sturdier buggy with bigger wheels are definitely better!
Getting in and out of some of the shops was challenging with the buggies as there can be many narrow steps getting in and out. And though we had two buggies with us, we usually only took one along for our outings because one of the girls always walked or I could carry tiny Sugarplum in my sling.
Eating in Rome with kids
We loved dining out in Rome. We almost always chose to sit outside and watch the crowds and city bustle. We tried all sorts of Italian delights and loved every bite. We also found the staff at most restaurants very welcoming and kind to us and our girls.
Preparing for a trip to Rome with Kids:
I’m big on planning our trips ahead of time because traveling with kids makes things just a little bit more complicated as they aren’t always very patient when you don’t have a plan so I always did a lot of research and planning before our trips. Check out my tips and advice for:
- Finding the perfect hotel
- Pre-Planning as much as possible and finding the best Sights to See
- Packing for the kids
Attractions in Rome can be very busy and the lines to buy tickets can get very long so whenever possible, try to buy your tickets ahead online which allows you to skip many of the lines.
What to see and do in Rome with Kids:
Our three days in Rome were spent seeing a lot of things. We didn’t do a lot of museums but rather spent most of our time wandering the streets and visiting historical sites.
We filled our visit to Rome with kids as follows:
Day 1:
Colosseum
Our first stop after a driving tour of the city was the Colosseum. Our tour driver has pre-purchased tickets for us so dropped us at the entrance and we spent the morning exploring. I was intrigued by the size and age of the Colosseum and day dreamed about this history that was made there. And while Sugarplum was more than happy running around and exploring, Honeybun was not so agreeable and was in a pretty crabby mood throughout our visit (but we didn’t let it ruin our experience! 
Victor Emmanuel Monument
We then passed by the Roman Forum (but didn’t visit) on the way to lunch near the Victor Emmanuel Monument. The monument is enormous and hard to miss when wandering in that part of the city.
Vatican Museum
Our last stop for the day was for a visit to the Vatican Museum and Sistene Chapel. We wandered through almost the entire museum (with no buggy!) before heading into the Sistene chapel. The line to get into the chapel was long and inside was dark and crowded and truthfully, we enjoyed the rest of the museum much more than the chapel (though I’m glad to be able to see I’ve “been there, done that!”) Honeybun especially liked the gallery of Popemobiles.
Day 2:
Castel Sant’Angelo
The second day of our visit in Rome, we were on our own. Our hotel was very near the Castel Sant’Angelo so we decided to make a visit there. We were not disappointed! What we thought would be a quick stop was an all-morning excursion and probably my most favorite thing we did in Rome.
It was not crowded at all and there were tons of little nooks and crannies for the girls to poke around in. Plus the history and architecture is fascinating (if you’re into that sort of thing, which hubby and I are!)
Spanish Steps
After the Castel Sant’Angelo we walked along the Tiber river towards the Piazza del Popolo then did some shopping as we wandered towards the Spanish Steps. One of the many landmarks in Rome, the Spanish Steps are beautiful to look at and take some pictures but are not a long visit unless you choose to sit and watch the crowds stroll by. We chose instead to get some gelato and coffee at a nearby cafe!
We then wandered back up by St. Peter’s Basilica but decided not to go in for a visit (the girls were tired and very grumpy!)
Day 3:
Pantheon
We started our third day with a stroll through Piazza Navona which is a beautiful, quiet plaza hidden in the middle of everything then headed to the Pantheon. We happened to visit on a day when there was a concert scheduled so we did a pretty quick in and out, just enough time to poke around a little and see everything before we got caught up in the chaos of the concert crowd.
Trevi Fountain
Our next stop was the Trevi Fountain. Another Roman landmark, we spent just a few minutes snapping some pictures before escaping the crazy crowd.
Mostra di Leonardo Da Vinci
We also visited the Mostra di Leonardo Da Vinci which is a cute little interactive museum hidden back inside a little plaza but which houses many of Da Vinci’s ideas and inventions, many of which can be touched and played with. While Sugarplum slept through most of our visit, Honeybun loved exploring all the inventions.
Largo di Torre Argentina
We had a nice lunch in Campo de’ Fiori and checked out the market and after lunch we accidentally stumbled upon the Largo di Torre Argentina which is the supposed site of Julius Caesar’s assassination which was cool to see.
Parco Adriano
We had a late flight that night and couldn’t get back into our hotel room so spent the rest of our day wandering the west side of the Tiber River. We crossed at Ponte Sisto and walked all the way up along the river back to Castel Sant’Angelo and Parco Adriano where we let the girls play at the playground until it was time to head to the airport.
We covered a lot of ground (literally) in our three-day visit to Rome. There is so much to see, it’s definitely not a city where you get bored!
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