If you are planning some serious sightseeing then leave the kids with their grandparents! They don’t take kindly to being dragged from ruin to ruin and church to church. A common sight in Rome is miserable looking kids traipsing after their parents. Also, push chairs/buggies are difficult to use because of the cobbled streets. If you are a family, do not try to do too much. It will be a big strain on kids and in the end everyone will be tired.
Apart from the major attractions Rome has relatively little to entertain kids. If you noticed a big Ferris wheel on your way in from Fiumicino Airport, think again. Lunapark at EUR was closed down in 2008. A few of the other ways to bribe your kids, however, are:
Children's Museum. Via Flaminia 82. Just north of Piazza del Popolo. Controlled entrance at 10.00, 12,00, 15.00 and 17.00 for visits lasting 1 hour 45 minutes. Closed Mondays and for much of August. Best to check the web site for up-to-date info and to book in advance. Hands-on science, mainly for pre-teens, housed in a former tram-car depot.
3d-Rewind, Via Capo D'Africa 5 (just behind the Colosseum), . 9.00-19.00. provides a three-dimensional look at what the Colosseum and the Forum were like in the days of the Romans. Kids really like it but parents beware that you have to brave a large "merchandising" area after leaving the show, with overpriced souvenirs.€15 for adults and €8 for kids. �.
Bioparco. The renamed Rome Zoo. On the edge of the Borghese Gardens. From 09.30 to 17.00 or 18.00 depending on the month. They try hard, but San Diego this isn't. If you are a regular zoo-goer you will be disappointed.
The Time Elevator. Via dei Santi Apostoli, 20 on a side street between Piazza Venezia and the Trevi Fountain. Daily 10.30 to 19.30. "Five-dimensional" shows on the Origins of Life and on the History of Rome, plus "The House of Horrors". Not for the faint-hearted: your seats move all over the place. Kids love it.
Rome's Wax Museum. 67 Piazza di Santi Apostoli, next to Piazza Venezia. Few good reports about this museum. Comments invited.
Planetarium at EUR. This also has an excellent astronomy museum and is conveniently next to the Museum of Rome's Civilization .
The Vatican is, by and large, not a great idea for kids although they often enjoy the Sistine Chapel and are impressed by the beauty and the fact that it was all done in just four years. However, the Sistine Chapel is very crowded and getting there through the corridors of the Vatican Museum is even worse. It is easy for families to get separated so determine a meeting point. The best part of St. Peter's Basilica is that kids can go to the top of the dome. It is 500 steps but you can take the elevator up to the third floor. From there there are another 323 exhausting steps. So it is fun for older kids who can both climb up all the stairs and walk down as there is a huge line for the elevator.
Zoomarine. Dolphins, sea lions, exotic birds, splashy rides and swimming pools, some 20km south of Rome near Pomezia. A good day out, but is this really why you came to Rome? Free transport from EUR and Pomezia railway station. Check web site for details.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Rome
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Rome - updated Apr 2024
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Rome Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
