Rome with kids is the best idea for family holidays, travel and cultural programs. In our travel guide you will find all the information about where to go in Rome with kids.
Rome is definitely a unique city. This is a real open-air museum, as kids and adults like to call it. At first glance, it may seem that the Eternal City can be appreciated only by lovers of history and art, while little travelers only get bored here. However, like in the case of treasure hunting, you just need to arm yourself with a map that contains secret hints. Our guide is exactly this «map» that helps you to find worthwhile options for family holidays in Rome with kids.
Let’s discover the treasures of the Eternal City together! 
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Think about your last family vacation. What do you remember most about it? A marathon race which supposed to be a guided tour? Dinner at a tourist restaurant? Squeezing through the crowd to catch a glimpse of a masterpiece in a museum? Highly unlikely!
A unique experience and unforgettable emotions are exactly what turns an ordinary vacation into a trip of a lifetime! Our team is gathered to show you Italy as Italians love and know it. We want you to exclaim «WoW, Rome!» at the end of your Italian holidays and to come back again and again.
The sightseeing treasure hunt "History of Ancient Rome"
What’s the best way to plan your family wow-vacation? We present the TOP educational entertainments in Rome that your kids will definitely like.
We recommend starting your holidays in Rome with a sightseeing treasure hunt tour for the whole family «History of Ancient Rome».
This is an ideal way to see all the main attractions, learn the uncommon history of the city, and what is more important, to involve your kids for 2-3 hours into the fascinating history of the Ancient World, creative tasks and treasure hunt.
Price: €50 per person (minimum 3 people or €150 per tour).
Recommended age of kids: 6-12 years.
In the video below, you can see how fun and useful our Rome sightseeing tours are. You can also read the reviews and find out more details here.
5D-cinema "Time Elevator"
You can continue your acquaintance with the history of Ancient Rome in the 5D-cinema «Time Elevator».
«Time Elevator» is a time machine that will take you 2000 years back into the past. In a 40-minute session you will learn, see and even feel how, when and who lived in Rome.
The cinema is located next to via del Corso, the main shopping street of Rome. Shows take place every hour (available also in English).
Address: Via dei SS. Apostoli, 20.
Ticket price: €12 for adults, €9 for kids.
Recommended age of kids: 6-10 years.
The Interactive show "Welcome to Rome"
An alternative option is an interactive show Welcome to Rome Experience.
Welcome to Rome Experience is a movie and spectacular video projections on the walls, ceiling and floor, accompanied by a narrative voice telling you about the history and evolution of the Eternal City over time that you can hear in your headphones (available in English).
Address: Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 203 (it’s next to Piazza Navona).
Tickets: €12,5 for adults, €10 for kids (from 6 to 14 years).
Recommended age of children: 10-18 years.
Visit the Colosseum and the Roman Forum with kids
We do not recommend visiting the Colosseum and the Roman Forum on your own without planning it in advance. The fact is that the present Colosseum is just a shadow of its former self. Nowadays, only the «skeleton» remained of the largest amphitheater, which had been consistently destroyed by people and the force of nature over the centuries.
Even the best imagination can’t help to imagine what the Roman Forum look like 2,000 years ago.
By the way, on our sightseeing tour for the whole family, we will certainly tell the history of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, watch a short but informative video, and perform different creative tasks related to the history of the Colosseum.
You can also add to this sightseeing tour our Colosseum Treasure Hunt Self-guided Tour. Join your kids on the adventure in the largest amphitheater in the world!
Price: only €19 (for each smartphone, the number of people is not limited) + tickets to the Colosseum.
Visit the Vatican with kids
The Vatican Museums are one of the most visited museum complexes in the world. Unlike other major attractions and landmarks in Rome, such as the Colosseum (maximum 3000 visitors at a time) and the Borghese Gallery (maximum 300 people in a 2-hour interval), the Vatican Museums have no limit on visitors.
The situation is especially extreme in summer. Many people think that they can hide from the heat in the Vatican museums, but museums don’t have air conditioning! But museums don’t have air conditioning! In summer, the number of visitors increases up to 30,000 a day, while the temperature is not much more comfortable than outside because of the sizzling heat. In such conditions, it is not surprising that someone can lose consciousness, and it is even possible to get an injury in a crowd.
Therefore, we do not recommend visiting the Vatican Museums with kids under 12 years of age.
However, if you decided to visit museums with young children, here are some useful tips:
- Avoid the Vatican Museums Free Days which take place the last Sunday of every month. Your children won’t see anything because of a crowd but will only get bored of art once again.
- Choose the right time for your visit. It could be early in the morning before the main flow of tourists at 08.00-09.00 or in the afternoon at 14.00-15.00. Text us, and we will help you to organize an interesting tour for children to the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica.
- Start your excursion on a full stomach. A visit to the museums and to St. Peter’s Basilica will take at least 3 hours of your time plus the time for entry/exit and moving. Take with you some snacks, a bottle of water and bananas for kids. There is a cafe in the Vatican, but the range of dishes is quite limited.
- Please note that large backpacks and bags are not allowed in the Vatican museums. You must leave everything in the cloakroom (the service is free of charge).
- Access to the Vatican Museums is allowed for families with strollers. The staff will direct you to special elevators that provide transportation between various museum spaces. The Vatican museums also have nursing rooms and folding tables in the toilets for changing your baby’s clothes.
- Don’t forget about the dress code. Visiting the cathedral is not allowed if you wear shorts, short skirts, clothes with bare shoulders and knees, and flip-flops.
The Vatican treasure hunt "Angels and Demons"
An alternative option to learn the history of the smallest state in the world is to complete the treasure hunt «Angels and Demons» with the whole family.
Recommended age of children: from 10 years.
What is the difference between a treasure hunt and an ordinary tour?
№1. The main advantage of the treasure hunt is that you can feel real emotions. Just imagine that you are the main character of the treasure hunt, and you and your family must save the Vatican from the evil Illuminati.
№2. It is a way of learning and perception of information. Let’s see it on the example of the university lectures. If during a lesson you just listen (and, let’s be honest, what you hear doesn’t always remain in your memory), then after a seminar when you answer different questions and think, you will remember almost everything. Thus, the information obtained with the help of your own intellect will remain in your memory.
But don’t be afraid! The treasure hunt tour doesn’t require special knowledge or any previous preparation. Only your observation, logic and sense of humor will be needed.
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№3. The treasure hunt usually includes both well-known tourist places and also secret attractions and «itineraries» that not every tourist knows about. You have to find them all!
№4. Ordinary tours usually do not include long stops along the way, and they are time-limited. During the treasure hunt, you can go to a gelateria or a coffee shop, refresh yourself, take a selfie.You are the ones who choose the pace of the game and the number of stops.
№5. There are no gifts in usual tours, but of course, it’s not about our treasure hunts! Indeed, having solved all the riddles of the Vatican, you will find the Holy Grail and the main secret prize! The Eternal City treasure hunt will remain in your memory as an exciting game that can be played with the whole family.
Visit the zoo in Rome
The Roman zoo is called a biopark, because it is the first place in Europe where animals began to live without cages.
Some useful tips for you:
- Buy your tickets online in advance (the line can be very long, especially during the summer and weekends)
- Don’t forget to dine in the picnic area and spend half an hour relaxing on the playground in Noah’s Ark.
- We recommend visiting the reptile house and taking the park train that provides a general overview of the Villa Borghese.
- Don’t miss the opportunity to feed animals together with the biopark staff! Come to the biopark on Saturday or Sunday, and you can feed these animals with a delicious lunch:ch:
11:00 Japanese monkeys,
11:30 lemurs,
12:00 elephants,
12:30 bears (in spring and summer),
14:00 chimpanzee,
14:30 hippos,
15:00 animals living on the kid’s farm,
15:30 grey seals.
Where to go in Rome? Take a training session in a real Gladiator School
Everyone knows that the Colosseum is located in Rome, but not everyone knows there is a real Gladiator School here, where it’s still possible to learn ancient roman fighting traditions and techniques!
Your little recruits will be trained by an experienced Master Gladiator who will explain the history, traditions and daily life of the Colosseum’s most famous fighters. The class is held using training weapons and gladiator armor, which are absolutely safe for training activities.
The Gladiator School in Rome is a unique experience for your kids that includes learning fight techniques and the history of Rome!
The pricing details of an individual master class at the Gladiator School:
- 80 € per 1 kid 6-16 years old (min. 2 persons)
Minimum age of participants: from 6 years old. Comfortable shoes for active games and sports are required. More details can be found here.
Make your own pizza, pasta or gelato in Rome
All kids just love to cook! How many times have they made you happy with a cake made of sand or a soup made of water and leaves? It’s time to learn how to make a real meal, finding out all the secrets of an Italian chef.
The duration of the master class is 1-1.5 hours, plus some time to enjoy a freshly made pizza and a homemade pasta with your favorite sauce or taste the most amazing Italian gelato!
Recommended age of kids: from 6 years old.
Master classes are held at restaurants in the historic center of Rome. More details can be found here.
An amusement park in Rome
Have a fun day at an amusement park in Rome!
LunEUR, one of the oldest amusement parks in Italy, will be appreciated by young guests of the Eternal City (recommended age: 3-11 years old). The park was opened in the 60s and completely renovated in 2016.
Today LunEUR includes 7 hectares of greenery and 26 attractions for kids under 12 years old. The park is located next to one of the largest shopping centers in Rome — Euroma2.
Ticket price: €5 (and + €1 for every attraction) or €18 for all attractions with no limits.
Family ticket: from €46
You can buy tickets online on this website.
Other amusement parks in the neighborhoods and suburbs of Rome:
- The best amusement park for the summer holidays is Zoomarine
Everything that kids love is located in one place: a water park, a zoo, an amusement park, dolphin and bird shows, an acrobatic show and a large beach.
Recommended age of kids: from 3 years old.
Ticket price: from €12.
- Rainbow Magicland is the largest amusement park in Rome (38 attractions, daily shows and entertainments). We recommend combining a visit to the park with shopping at our favorite outlet in Rome that is Village Valmontone / Via della Pace, 00038. You can read more about shopping in Rome here.
Recommended age of kids: from 5 years old.
Ticket price: from €24.
More details and information on how to get to the Rainbow Magicland amusement park can be found here.
- Cinecittà World Roma amusement park, which is fully dedicated to cinema and TV.
It is smaller than Rainbow Magicland (there are about 20 attractions), but is also conveniently located next to the famous Designer Outlet Village Castel Romano / Via del Ponte di Piscina Cupa, 64.
Recommended age of kids: from 5 years old.
Cost: from €24.
More details and information on how to get to the Cinecittà World Roma amusement park can be found here.
