Rome with teenagers: where to go, what to do

Planning a city break with teens? We headed to Italy’s capital and spent three days in Rome. Here are our top tips for visiting Rome with teenagers which apply if it’s your first time in Rome too. Read on for our essential 8 sights if you are visiting Rome in 3 days. Plus extra must-sees if you are staying for longer. 

• World famous historic sights
• Classical ruins, palazzos, fountains
• Warm Mediterranean weather
• The Eternal City with a sense of theatre
• Pizza and ice-cream!

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Who went, where and when: Nancy, Nick 15 and Ed 13 spent 3 days in Rome during an October half term. Post updated in 2020.

Why Rome: Of all possible European city breaks I thought the best bet was Rome for teenagers.  Even so I was worried we might have missed the boat. The boys had already ‘done’ the Romans at school a few years earlier.  They’d been keen to visit then, but now? Not so much. But once we got there, just walking the cobbled streets and spotting the iconic curved wall of the Colosseum was pretty magical. These are our favourite things to do in Rome with teenagers. But they also apply if it’s your first time in Rome too.

Places to visit in Rome in 3 days

We spent three days in Rome. This is a reasonable amount of time, especially if it’s your first time in Rome. We did quite a lot of walking and factored in plenty of breaks for gelato! Some of these sites are really big so I wouldn’t recommend trying to do in-depth tours of the Forum, Colosseum and Vatican all in the same day if you can avoid it. If you can’t stay in Rome for 3 days and only have one or two to spare then I’d suggest getting a guided tour that will give you an entertaining overview of the city without the legwork! This one, click here, sounds interesting: it’s a 7 hour tour, covering the major sights and including tickets and private transport to the Vatican.

Here are our top 8 sights for Rome in 3 days which covers all the bases for a first time in Rome visit. At the end I’ve listed the sights we didn’t have time for – the one’s that got away.  Or rather the ones we can see on our next visit!

Trevi Fountain

Toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain and according to legend you are sure to return some day

If you do nothing else in Rome, grab a gelato and visit the fountain. Maybe it’s a cliche but somehow the spectacular Baroque sculpture (gods, leaping horses, crashing waves) and the cheery buzz of tourists in the sunshine adds up to the full Roman Holiday and Three Coins in the Fountain effect.

There’s a famous saying that visitors who toss a coin in the fountain are sure to return someday. Plenty of people must want to – around 3000 euros a day are collected from the water and given to a charity for Rome’s needy. To do it right you need to turn your back, hold the coin in your right hand and throw it over your left shoulder. A newer version of the legend says you should throw three coins – the first to ensure your return, the second for a new romance and the third for marriage. All easier said than done in the daytime crush of selfie-takers.

But the Trevi fountain is lit up dramatically at night and there’s less of a crowd then too.  I’d put it top of the list of places to see in Rome at night.

Early birds (or jet-laggers!) who can manage an 8 am start might be interested in this tour of crowd-free sights which takes in the Trevi Fountain and includes a complimentary breakfast.

The Colosseum and Forum

See where the Romans watched the games and ruled the world

The Colosseum has to be one of the must-see places in Rome for teens.  We all agreed, in advance, that we might as well do this properly so we bought combined tickets for the Forum, Colosseum and Palatine Hill. They work well together but to do them properly is properly tiring. All three of us were visibly sagging after a morning’s walking in the sun. To help you decide how to tackle these epic sites yourself here’s our feedback. We’d suggest you don’t plan anything else for the day!

Top tips for visiting the Forum

The Forum is a bunch of ruins scattered around a large terraced site. They are indeed venerable but they’re ruins nonetheless and it takes a bit of effort to figure out what kind of buildings they represent.

Buy the guidebook We recommend that you nip into a souvenir shop and buy the spiral bound guidebook called Ancient Rome Past and Present. It has photos of the present day sites and acetate overlays showing how they once looked. Yes, it is slightly heavier than you might prefer to carry around with you all day!  But armed with this you can settle down at a vantage point on Palatine Hill, identify the buildings as they are now and turn the pages to see what they once looked like. Suddenly it all makes sense and the lost grandeur of the Forum is revealed.

Book your Colosseum and Forum tickets before you go We didn’t and wasted about 20 minutes in the queue. The Palatine entrance on Via di San Gregorio does have a shorter queue than the main entrance but it wasn’t short enough on the day we visited!  You also need proof of age/nationality of children for a reduced rate so bring passports/ID cards. I had photos of our passports on my phone but the real thing would have been much much better. You can book skip-the-line tickets here or see below for more ticket and tour info. Nb: children under 18 go free although you pay a booking fee for priority tickets.

Bring water and snacks There are no snack facilities and not much shade either once inside the complex.  On a warm day bring bottled water as the mobile vans outside are eye-wateringly expensive. You might want to take snacks too. If you forget or run out there are water fountains to be found inside, also loos.

Take a break Determined adults could do the Palatine plus Forum and Colosseum in one take but it’s still a big ask. We took a pit stop between the two, at a touristy café just across the road, with a close up view of that famous façade. Copying the Italians at the next table, we skipped the burger menu and ordered tramezzini – sandwiches – from a chalkboard on the bar which were a lot cheaper and delicious.

Book a Colosseum tour:  Click here for more info on tours and to pre-book entrance tickets to the Colosseum and Forum

Inside the Colosseum

Personally, and given its bloodthirsty history, I find the Colosseum rather grim and menacing. The massive amphitheatre, built in AD 70

was the scene of regular barbaric ‘sport’ in which wild animals, gladiators or criminals fought and were killed.  The exterior is magnificent but inside it looks a bit of a wreck – it was basically used as a quarry for centuries – and leaves a lot to the imagination.

With hindsight I think a guide could have helped bring it all to life for us.

The Past and Present book – see above – would have been a bonus here too. It’s possible to book, well in advance, for tours of the underground areas and the third ring of the exterior wall. However for those who don’t plan ahead there’s museum-style info and displays to browse including (my personal highlight) ancient Roman graffiti – with translations.

Finally watch out for the centurions! They add historical colour but photos with them are not free so check the price before you pose.

RECREATE ANCIENT ROME ON THESE TOURS:

Visiting the Pantheon Rome 

Some of the glory that was Rome is still intact

Surrounded by tourist shops and restaurants it’s hard to comprehend at first that the Pantheon is a truly Ancient Roman structure built by Emperor Hadrian in 118 AD.

We visited on our first night when it was closed but it was still an impactful start to our trip.   By day it is equally impressive with its vast concrete dome and central oculus (opening) to the sky.

Worth a look if you’re ever there in a rainstorm, just to see it raining indoors – the water drains into ancient Roman pipes. Try visiting in the evening just before it closes and then have supper in the square beside it. It’s free to enter too!

Visiting the Vatican Museum 

The Vatican Museums house one of the greatest collections of art in the world. Classical statues, frescoes, Old Masters and modern works plus Michelangelo’s Creation on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

This is another epic outing! The Vatican City is the smallest state in the world, residence of the Pope and nerve centre of the Roman Catholic Church.   St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel are the must-sees, as well as the distinctive Swiss Guard who wear uniforms that were originally designed in the 1500s.

The Museums complex includes the Sistine Chapel so we booked our Vatican Museums tickets from the UK to avoid the very long morning queues click here for a link to the Vatican Museums website. Alternatively you might decide to book a tour.

Book a tour of the Vatican

As you’ll see as you read on, we found the Vatican pretty overwhelming. Even though I’d been before and we had guidebooks. I don’t always book tours when we travel but in this case I think a guide would have been helpful. A good guide would have directed us to the must-sees and helped to navigate the rest. With a guide we would have probably not missed the short cut into St Peter’s Basilica (see below for that far-reaching error). He or she might have also ensured that we didn’t miss the Popemobiles! Nb: a selection of Papal vehicles are on display in the Carriage Pavilion.

Book a tour of the Vatican:

For more info and to book a selection of tours of the Vatican click here 

What to see in the Vatican

Once inside there are over 50 rooms and most of them are full of visitors.  We had planned in advance to skip many of the galleries and concentrate on reaching the Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo’s globally famous fresco of God and Adam. However this is easier said than done. There are no real short cuts to the Sistine Chapel and I think it’s unlikely that you could reach it in less than an hour.  A one-way system for visitors led us remorselessly through a long series of rooms and museums.

There were plenty of highlights on the journey though! In the Octagonal Courtyard we searched for…

…the Laocoon and also tracked down  the Apollo Belvedere…

It’s in the Museo Pio Clementino.  

…This was obviously going to happen.

We loved the Room of Animals, Sala degli Animali, a zoo of carved marble with handsome hounds

When we needed a breather we had a minute’s rest in the beautiful Gallery of Maps.

Much of the art is heavy on suffering and martyrdom – though we also found images we recognised from Christmas cards.  But it’s a lot to take in and as time went by we speeded up. We hurried through the Egyptian rooms and bypassed many statues until we eventually arrived at….

Visiting the Sistine Chapel

By the time we got here we were all tired. But we were also a bit underwhelming despite the presence of the world’s most famous ceiling. This awe-inspiring space is carefully protected – no talking, no photos, no loitering – and the constant shushing of the Sistine’s guardians as tourists of every nationality suddenly find themselves adjusting to this new set of rules creates an uneasy atmosphere.  It spoilt the sanctity of the place for us and we were quite glad to get out.

We passed three hours effortlessly in the Vatican – whilst still missing out whole tracts of breathtaking art. It’s really not something that can be digested properly in one visit.

To manage your visit better than we did our top tips for visiting the Vatican are:

Get a guide Pack a decent app or guidebook if you don’t take an audio guide or a real live one with you. The Vatican lets the art speak for itself: labelling is unpredictable and sometimes missing altogether. For a selection of guided tours click here.

Go to the post office early We did this! A post office counter beside the Museums shop makes it easy to buy cards to post with Vatican City stamps. There’s also a branch outside in St Peter’s Square. We went at the start of our visit and there was a long queue by the time we left.

At the end of the tour We were relieved to find that the cafeteria is airy and spacious and the loos are also a highlight.

But, don’t make the same mistake as us! There’s a theory that you can take a short cut from the Sistine Chapel straight into St Peter’s Basilica, bypassing the long queues. It’s a route taken by tour guides but we weren’t able to test it as we forgot at the crucial moment and exited along with everyone else.

It was too late to go back and the entry line to St Peter’s Basilica snaked around Bernini’s wondrous colonnades in the piazza.

Long queues aren’t an option for us so we re-grouped and headed elsewhere. To be honest I don’t think any of us, teens or mother, would have had the stamina to manage another site straight after the Vatican.  Some winding down was required.

HERE ARE SOME POPULAR TOURS FROM GET YOUR GUIDE:

Where to stay in Rome Italy

LOOKING FOR A HOTEL IN ROME? Click here for a selection from Booking.com. You can set the filters you prefer then scroll through to view photos and reviews. Here’s a selection to start with:

Daphne Trevi – urban, contemporary B & B that lies between the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps.

Internazionale Domus – elegant rooms, suites and apartments overlooking the Spanish Steps. Have breakfast at the historic Babington’s Tea Room.

Albergo del Senato – 3 star hotel in a great location near the Pantheon. Excellent reviews. Triple rooms, suites and a mini apartment available.

Palazzo Scanderbeg – Elegant aparthotel, close to the Trevi Fountain that offers suites with kitchens and even grocery delivery.

Hotel Palazzo Manfredi Relais & Chateaux – 5 star Colosseum and Forum views from this historic palazzo with family suites. Self-catering options in a separate building – and you can rent a Lamborghini from reception!

Gran Melia The Leading Hotels of the World – a 5 star luxury option with garden and summertime outdoor pool. In the Gianicolo area, so handy for the Vatican but you’ll need to cross the Tiber to the other historic sights.

If you’re looking for truly budget accommodation in Rome you’ll usually need to compromise on such things as wi-fi quality; size of, or indeed existence of, lift (elevator); ditto breakfast. If any of these are especially important to you do check the small print before you book.

Castel Sant’Angelo

This is where we walked after failing to get into St Peter’s Basilica. Built in Roman times as the mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian, over the centuries Castel Sant’Angelo has been a fortress, a prison and a refuge for Popes in hiding.

It overlooks the Tiber and there are lots of souvenir stalls along the river bank with a selection of human statues too when we visited.

Just when we were all feeling rather hot and grumpy, Ed paused at the square in front of the castle and said: “I’ve been here before!” Thanks to Assassin’s Creed (and I’d never thought I’d say those four words) it turned out that Ed had already explored Renaissance Rome thoroughly via PlayStation and had climbed most of its principal buildings. With renewed interest we walked around the castle and found the other side was surprisingly peaceful and shady.

We didn’t feel up to it after our marathon walk through the Vatican but there’s a museum of weapons inside Castel Sant’Angelo which Assassin followers might find interesting. As well as a terrace with fabulous views of Rome and the Tiber.

The Leonardo museum

It’s a two minute walk from Castel Sant’ Angelo to the Leonardo Museum. We arrived as Piazza del Popolo was bathed in warm late afternoon light.  After a coffee bar stop we decided one small museum was still do-able. This is an excellent space for anyone interested in how things work. Lots of Leonardo’s inventions are on display and many are life-size working models that can be tried out! The machines themselves are beautifully crafted. We didn’t spend long there but it’s worth a visit. Piazza del Popolo 12

MORE FUN THINGS TO DO IN ROME THAT’LL APPEAL TO ADULTS AND TEENS

Gianicolo Hill and Trastevere – one of the best views in Rome

After a second shot at St Peter’s Basilica, arriving at 10.15 am and finding the queue already an hour long, we changed our plan once again. Instead of viewing the city from the dome of the Basilica we walked up (there are buses too) Gianicolo Hill. This is under-publicised in tourist guides – at the top there’s an airy terrace with a wonderful view of the sprawling city and, for once, no crowds. Apparently at noon each day a shot is fired from a cannon by the Garibaldi statue which does attract an audience! We managed to miss this but instead spread out the map on a balustrade and took in one of the best views in Rome. After we’d identified all the landmarks we strolled on down into Trastevere.

This really does feels like a different country after the tourist hustle of the Vatican.  Dogs bark, locals argue, and instead of St Peter’s we investigated the hushed and peaceful Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere with its astonishing glowing mosaics and golden coffered ceiling.  It was almost empty, an antidote to the crowds of the Vatican City and in its own way just as awe inspiring.  Then we went for lunch in a neighbourhood pizza restaurant. Which brings us to:

Pizza and ice-cream

Pizza and gelato are a big feature of Rome and just as important on any Rome with teenagers itinerary as the ancient sites

Rome in 3 days equals three different pizza experiences! On our first night we ate a touristy pizza in the centre of town by the Pantheon (which was still good). The next day we tried pizza slices from a hole-in-the-wall takeaway where you pay by weight (mine was €1), then eat in a sunny spot in the street. And on the third day we went to an authentic locals-eat-here type pizza place in Trastevere. All were delicious.

As far as ice-cream is concerned Gelateria Della Palma, Via della Maddalena 19-23, taps into the Roman Holiday vibe yet again. Personally I loved its 50s décor and huge black and white posters of Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck whizzing round Rome on a Vespa. But the 50s nostalgia was largely lost on my boys who were more interested in the 150 flavours. There’s a new wave of artisanal pizza and ice-cream makers in Rome using organic ingredients but for nostalgia alone these old-school purveyors are still worth seeking out.  Strolling through ancient squares in the cool of the evening in search of the next gelato fix is high on our list of things to do in Rome at night.

TRY OUR LONDON GUIDE: 105 Things to Do in London with Teens by Londoners. Click here for some inspo for your next visit to our capital city.

More things to do in Rome with teenagers

We didn’t have time to visit:

St Peter’s Square and Basilica – we saw the beautiful square and uniformed Swiss Guards but chose not to join the long queue into the Basilica. If we had we’d have seen Michelangelo’s Pieta and – after a lift and a lot of stairs – the wonderful view from the dome.

Bocca Della Verita the Mouth of Truth is a huge marble disc with a human face that was possibly once a manhole cover. Legend has it that if a liar puts their hand in the mouth it will be bitten off! Obviously a great photo opp but it isn’t particularly near any other landmark except Circus Maximus so you may have to make a special trip to see it.

Capuchin Crypt – the bones of 4000 monks arranged in decorative patterns around the underground chapels of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini. Not something for the faint of heart.

Cycling on the Appian Way – the Via Appia Antica is the quintessential Roman road that stretched all the way to Brindisi. Outside the city it is lined with the tombs of the rich and famous of ancient Rome as well as Christian catacombs. It’s a short metro/bus ride away from the centre and bikes can be hired to explore.

Sundays are best as it’s closed to private vehicles but there is still traffic and as it’s a very bumpy road this is one for teens rather than younger children.

 Glass Elevator – Romans rather despise it and call it the ‘wedding cake’ or the ‘typewriter’ but the massive white marble Vittorio Emanuele II monument is difficult to miss.

Now it offers the Roma dal Cielo glass elevator to whisk you up to the top terrace for panoramic views of the city.

Take a day trip from Rome

I’d wondered about taking a day trip from Rome to Ostia Antica. Once the harbour of ancient Roman it’s now an archeological site only 20 minutes away by train. It also features in the wonderful series of books for children aged 8+, The Roman Mysteries.

Equally it is possible to reach Naples, Pompeii, Vesuvius and the Amalfi coastline on day trips from Rome. Check below for some examples of organised tours from Get Your Guide.

 

What to read next about Italy

• Find out more about our trip to the ancient and awesome lost city of Pompeii here.
• Our stay in Naples included visits to Pompeii, Vesuvius and Sorrento. Read about day trips from Naples here.
• Discover the hidden gem on the Amalfi coast: the impossibly pretty island of Procida, here.

What went wrong

You might have noticed I haven’t recommended any restaurants. We had delicious meals everywhere but, back in the UK, I found out my credit card details had been hi-jacked. I only used the card three times, in three different restaurants, and in one of them I clearly hadn’t kept an eye on it. My fault for being careless but that sort of thing happens on holidays. We had great food and friendly service at all of them which makes it even more irksome.

Rome with Teens: Top Tips

Getting around: We flew British Airways from London Heathrow to Rome Fiumicino and caught a train into Rome.

The boys did all the navigating with maps and apps.  Teenage eyesight is an added bonus when street names are often carved in stone and twenty  feet up a wall!  We did a lot on foot and used the metro several times.

First Time in Rome

If it’s your first time in Rome, know that it is less confusing than Venice. Although not actually built to the Romans’ famous grid system we found it pretty easy to navigate.

We bought the 3- day tourist tickets for unlimited bus and metro travel. In fact we didn’t use the buses and got around pretty well on foot and by metro. Rome has only two underground lines forming a roughly X shape across the city. But one metro stop was close to our hotel so it proved quite handy for us. Some key sites aren’t served by the metro so we’d have certainly used the buses if we’d stayed in Rome longer.

Rome felt pretty safe to walk around in the evening. If in doubt take advice from your hotel reception. We stuck to the main routes and found it a good way to see the sights with fewer crowds.  And at night the lighting is very atmospheric.

Planning an itinerary for teens in Rome

I thought I’d researched quite well but the itineraries I’d planned were too optimistic.

You need to reconcile yourself to the fact that there is way too much to see in Rome in 3 days. In fact there’s enough to do in Rome with teenagers to fill several trips. It’s especially true with children and teens that it’s always better to stop, take stock and have a gelato than plough remorselessly on to the next destination on the itinerary.

Unless you’re on a specific one day tour, I’d hesitate to visit more than one big site per day. Both the Vatican and the Colosseum and Forum are substantial places and there’s a lot to take in. And even though you’re in Rome teens will want some downtime to check their phones or touch base with friends. You might want to absorb all the Italian culture that you can but they’ll be just as happy to watch tv for a bit or check out the shops.

We hadn’t left it too late to enjoy the magic of Rome – it’s there whatever your age.  And don’t forget – especially if it’s your first time in Rome – as long as you’ve tossed your coins into the Trevi fountain there’ll always be another time!

Please note that all visitor information here is for guidance only. Please check the venues’ websites for the most up to date information on tickets, entrance requirements, opening times etc. 

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Looking for more inspiration for family city breaks in Europe?

• How about Venice with teens? Click here: 3 Days in Venice: City Break with Teenagers 
• Or beautiful Florence,  click for our budget guide to Florence.

Photos, unless otherwise credited, by Nancy and family, all rights reserved.  Photos may not be reproduced without prior written consent.