Rome itinerary 7 days, 6 nights with kids

Our latest vacation took us to Rome. I've always wanted to go to Rome. Even before I transited there on my way to Sri Lanka back in 1981. I imagined that I could see all the ruins from the large windows in the transit area. So it was no wonder that Rome was first on my list of places to visit once we got to Germany. Unfortunately it took 7 years to get there! It was amazing and definitely worth the cost, yes Rome is expensive especially during school vacations.

We stayed at a bed and breakfast near the Vatican City. It was nice but not great, it was the best we could afford!

So here is our itinerary:

Day 1:  We arrived at our B&B at around 5 pm and headed back out at around 6 pm. I advise a quiet walk around where ever you are staying. This will give you a good feel for the place and not overload the kids senses. Flying is stressful enough. We took a stroll along the Tiber and visited Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere. After this we had some awesome pizza at Bir & Fud. The best I have tasted in a long while. Totally fresh ingredients, totally delicious.

The Tiber

Day 2: The Vatican Museums. Don't forget to book your tickets in advance and to book a slot early in the morning. It might cost you more, but really when you have kids in tow you do not want to be waiting for hours in line. They are going to be tiered out before you even get to the first exhibit.

Bramante Staircase

We spent half a day here and then went on to visit St. Peters Square. No chance of getting in after 10 am without standing in a long line, in the hot sun. We took a traditional siesta and then went back out in the evening and walked into town. We walked around Castel Sant'Angelo (going in would have been total overload for us). There is a cool playground round the back. Across Ponte Sant'Angelo and into "town". Here we just got lost in the streets and ended up at an ice cream place. After a shot of ice cream we headed to a little restaurant that served tiny but delicious portions of Italian food. We found out that small and expensive is just how food is in Rome.

Castel Sant'Angelo

Day 3: The Colosseum, Palatino Hill and the Roman Forum. Here again make sure you book tickets in advance so that you can skip the lines. Even if you have a pre-booked ticket you cannot avoid the lines to get through security. So get there early. We booked a tour for 5 Euro. The tour guide was nice but she was not very informative.

These 3 sites were amazing and took us all day. We packed a picnic and I would seriously advise you to do this because the whole thing takes so long and there are no eateries near by. The biggest problem being that you have to leave the sites to get food and then go back through the long security line if you want to get back in again.

Roman Forum - my favourite

On our way out we visited Altare della Patria. Offers fantastic views of the city (and has public toilets!).

Day 4: St. Peters Cathedral. GO EARLY! We got there at around 7.10 am. Almost no lines! We went up to the top of the dome which gives you fantastic 360 degree views. In the morning its a bit hazy but there is no one pushing or shoving and you can take your time and enjoy it.

View of the Vatican Gardens

On the way down there are immaculate toilets, a gift shop and a cafe. Great place to have breakfast before getting to the church itself. The cathedral is quite amazing and you need to have some kind of guide on you to appreciate all the art. It can get really crowed! We needed 2.5 hours for the whole cathedral and when we came out the line snaked halfway across St. Peters Square.

A light shaft

Next stop was Trevi Fountain, Piazza Colonna, Il Tempio di Adriano, the Pantheon ending up on Piazza Navona. All of which are free of charge.

Trevi Fountain

Day 5: Spanish steps, Villa Borghese (park), Borghese Gallery and Museum, shopping. Make sure you have pre-booked your tickets to the Borghese Gallery. You can only get in with pre-booked tickets. It is an amazingly small gallery with amazing pieces of art. Due to the timed tickets it is not crowded at all and you can really appreciate the pieces. Mind you the explanations are horrible. I wish we had bought an audio tour.

Borghese Gallery and Museum

Day 6: Well you could do a lot of things but it happened to be Easter Sunday so we went and listened to the popes Easter mass. Which was a lot of fun. We didn't understand anything but that was fine, we got to see the pope (in small, as my kids would say!). Then we went off to explore the pyramid, find some more ice cream and have our last dinner at Bir & Fud so that we had a nice taste in our mouths leaving Rome. If it had not been for the mass we would have gone to the catacombs in the south of Rome and then gone to Trastevere to check out the churches and street life.

The Pope (somewhere up on the balcony)

Pyramid of Cestius

Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere

Day 7: Sleep in and get ready for the trip home. Do some shopping in the local area.