Rome with Kids: 7-Day Family Itinerary

You will love visiting Rome with kids! Rome is one of the world’s most iconic cities and is literally bursting at the seams with world class cultural attractions. We loved our family trip to Rome so much, we named it the most family-friendly city in Europe!

Rome isn’t all just museums and churches… there are tons of great things to do in Rome with kids. You’ll have no problems creating a fun and balanced itinerary for your Rome family vacation.

The secret to a happy family vacation in Rome is to make sure everyone has something they enjoy each day. It’s easy to overlook the needs of children while travelling, but even a small effort goes a long way. For example, you’ll find that kids are more likely to behave at the Vatican Museums if there is a promise of a visit to one the fun Rome playgrounds or gelato afterwards. 

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A Practical 7-Day Rome Itinerary with Kids

Here’s an honest look at what we actually did during our 7 days in Rome with kids, fromfamous sights and piazzas to parks, playgrounds, gelato stops, and practical family travel tips. We hope it helps you plan a Rome itinerary with kids that feels fun, realistic, and not too rushed.

Day 1: Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and Campo de’ Fiori

Piazza Navona

We woke early on our first day in Rome with kids as we were a little jet lagged after our long flight from Canada to Rome. In our experience, waking early due to jet lag is an excellent opportunity to get out early and see the popular Rome attractions before they get busy.

With our 20-month old son in his backpack carrier and our 4-year old daughter on foot, we set out to see Rome with our kids for the first time.

We love exploring a new city on foot as it allows us to get the lay of the land. We give some of our tips on walking around Rome with toddlers below. 

Our first stop was Piazza Navona, one of Rome’s most beautiful and popular piazzas.

We arrived at Piazza Navona with our kids around 8 am and we seemed to be the only tourists around. With the early morning sun illuminating the fountains, it was a magical first experience in Rome.

We spent time soaking in the beauty of Piazza Navona while our kids began chasing pigeons, which quickly became their favourite thing to do in Rome!

The Pantheon

We got to the Pantheon with our kids a few minutes before it opened. One of the reasons Rome is so fun with kids is that there always seems to be a wall, step, fountain edge, or open piazza where they can burn off a little energy. Just make sure they stick to places where climbing is allowed. What kid doesn’t love walking along a wall?

Visiting the Pantheon with kids at opening time was great as it was not very crowded. We let our kids out of their backpacks as we walked around and admired the beautiful domed ceiling, columns and sculptures within the Pantheon.

While we soaked in the ancient culture at the Pantheon, our kids had fun doing down dogs on the marble floor. It also didn’t take them long to figure out the Pantheon had great acoustics, so they started to make loud noises and laughed at the echoes they made.

We had to try and shush them, but they thought it was so funny!! No one really seemed to mind… Italians love kids!

Fontana del Pantheon

Afterwards, we sat on the steps of the Fontana del Pantheon, a fountain in the piazza in front of the Pantheon, and had a little snack. 

Largo di Torre Argentina

One of the great things about walking around Rome with kids are the unexpected discoveries along the way. On our way from the Pantheon to Campo de’ Fiori, we stumbled across Largo di Torre Argentina, a large Roman archaeological site with the ruins of four temples.

In any other city in the world, this would be a major attraction, but in Rome, it is largely overlooked.

A visit to Largo di Torre Argentina is a fun thing to do in Rome with kids who love animals. These extensive Rome ruins are home to many cute stray cats, thanks to the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary.

And of course, more pigeons to chase…

Campo de’ Fiori

The Campo de’ Fiori market is a great thing to do in Rome with kids. It has everything you’d expect in a Roman street market; fresh fruits and veggies, pasta, flowers, wine and souvenirs. Italians take their food quality very seriously and it shows, I’ve never seen tomatoes that were so red!

One of the many reasons why your kids will love a family vacation to Rome is that Italians love kids! The vendors at Campo de’ Fiori love interacting with kids, making this a special Rome activity for them.

Unless you are a big shopper, a visit to Campo de’ Fiori with kids will be reasonably quick. Campo de’ Fiori is surrounded by cafés and restaurants, so it’s a good place to come for lunch or a cappuccino. 

Our morning walk around Rome with kids took 3.5 hours and we walked 3.7 miles / 6 km.

Spanish Steps

Kids need time to play even while travelling, so after nap time we decided to take them to the Villa Borghese Gardens park. The famous Spanish Steps were on our way, so we decided to stop there first.

We arrived at the Spanish Steps with our kids at 3 pm and it was very crowded. From the Barcaccia Fountain at the bottom to the very top of the Spanish Steps, people were everywhere.

We’re not really into crowds, nor just sitting around, so we slowly climbed the Spanish Steps with our kids, took some pictures, enjoyed the views and then left to go to the Villa Borghese Gardens park.

Villa Borghese Gardens

All families should find time to visit Villa Borghese Gardens on a trip to Rome with kids. It’s one of the easiest large parks to reach from Rome’s historic centre. Villa Borghese Gardens is well-treed, making it a great activity on a hot day in Rome with kids.

We entered Villa Borghese Gardens in the southwest corner and immediately started seeing lots of families riding four-wheel bikes. This looked like such a fun thing to do in Rome with kids, that we tracked down the bike rental shop and rented a four-wheel bike of our own.

The kids sat up front where they had their own “steering wheel” (which didn’t actually work). Our bike had safety buckles for the kids, but we noticed that some of the other rental bikes didn’t have safety buckles, so be careful if you rent one.

The kids absolutely loved our four-seater bike rental in Villa Borghese Gardens! They laughed so hard and had a great time ‘steering’ the bike. They waved at everyone, who always waved back, making the experience that much more special for them.

As for us, we enjoyed finding such a unique & fun thing to do in Rome with our kids. Plus it was a great way to explore the huge Villa Borghese Gardens with our kids in a short time.

Along the way, we stopped at a Villa Borghese Gardens playground near Casina di Raffaello to let the kids play. Casina di Raffaello is a recreation centre for kids and they were kind enough to let our kids use their bathroom.

Other fun things to do in Villa Borghese Gardens with kids include a train, a zoo, several playgrounds and tons of pigeons to chase.

Our afternoon outing in Rome with kids took approximately 2.5 hours and we walked 3.5 miles / 5.6 km.

Day 2: Colosseum and Janiculum Hill

Walking to the Roman Colosseum

On the second day of our Rome family holiday, our main activity was to visit the world-famous Roman Colosseum with kids. We had so much fun exploring the streets of Rome on foot the day before, that we decided to walk from our apartment to the Colosseum. Again, walking the streets of Rome with kids is so fun, you will be rewarded with endless discoveries.

Backpacks are not allowed inside the Roman Colosseum, so we guessed this meant that backpack carriers would not be allowed either. So we walked to the Colosseum with our kids with our son in his Ergo carrier.

The stretch of road from the Altar of the Fatherland to the Colosseum is especially fun for everyone. There are Roman ruins all along the road, fun street art and even ‘scraps’ of marble columns the kids will love to climb on.

Visiting the Colosseum with Kids

Wow! Despite being one of those iconic buildings that we’ve all seen in pictures a million times, the Roman Colosseum doesn’t disappoint in person.

When visiting the Roman Colosseum with kids, watch them closely. The walkways in the Colosseum are quite narrow and are often filled with tour groups who are not paying much attention to where they are going.

Everything inside the Roman Colosseum must look so much fun for kids to climb, but watch for the “Do Not Climb” signs, they are everywhere.

We had a lot of fun exploring the Roman Colosseum with our kids. They climbed everything they were allowed to (which wasn’t much).

Our visit to the Rome Colosseum with our kids was a big success. The beauty and importance of the Colosseum was lost on our young kids, but it’s fair to say they were really impressed and had a fun visit here. 

Our daughter did great walking from our Rome apartment to the Roman Colosseum. By the time we left the Colosseum, we had already walked 4.6 miles / 7.4 km, so we decided to take a local Rome bus back to our apartment.

The Rome public transit bus was VERY crowded, but was a nice treat after so much walking. From door-to-door, it took us about three hours to visit the Colosseum with our kids.

Janiculum Hill

After 36 very busy hours in Rome with kids, we were already itching for a little peace and quiet in nature, so we set out to walk Janiculum Hill.

The Janiculum Hill walk is across the river, just south of the Vatican. This kid-friendly walk in Rome starts here and ends at the beautiful Fontana dell’Acqua Paola in the trendy Trastevere neighborhood.

Janiculum Hill is a pleasant kid-friendly walk in Rome which follows a tree-lined path through some parks and plazas.

The views of Rome below are worth the climb alone, but there are also some interesting sights along the way including a beautiful large fountain, a carousel, statues and a park full of white marble busts.

The Janiculum Hill walk is approximately 1.5 miles / 2.4 km long and has an elevation gain of 200 feet. This refreshing activity for kids in Rome took us about 45 minutes from end-to-end.

Day 3: Palatine Hill, Roman Forum and Piazza Navona

Palatine Hill

We arrived at the Roman Forum with our kids before it opened, so we explored the nearby Palatine Hill. One of the Seven Hills of Rome, Palatine Hill is one of the most ancient parts of the city.

Visiting Palatine Hill early in the morning is a great thing to do with kids in Rome as they can run around this well-treed natural area without worrying about the usual hordes of tourists.

Our son loved watching the green parakeets eating flowers off the trees and our daughter enjoyed running through a garden maze. The views of the Roman Forum are excellent from the various viewpoints on Palatine Hill.

Roman Forum with Kids

Next, we walked back down Palatine Hill to explore the ancient government buildings of the Roman Forum with our kids. The incredible Roman Forum was much busier than Palatine Hill, especially along the Sacra Via.

We were impressed by the ancient ruins at the Roman Forum, but the kids were less impressed. They had more fun running around on Palatine Hill.

If we were to do it again, we’d visit the Roman Forum with kids first as it’d be less busy and gets the less kid-friendly sightseeing out of the way. Then we’d ‘reward’ the kids with some playtime up on Palatine Hill.

Piazza Navona

We’d packed a lot into our first few days in Rome with kids, so after their nap time we did their favourite thing to do in Rome, chasing pigeons at Piazza Navona.

This time our visit to Piazza Navona with kids was much busier. We didn’t mind as this Rome activity was for just the kids.

We ended our third day in Rome with kids with a visit to Frigidarium, our favourite gelato place. If only we would have had this post on finding the best gelato in Italy, we could have spent so much more time taste testing the best gelato!

Day 4: Family Photos, Via Appia and the Tiber River

Rome Family Photo Shoot

Early this morning we met up with Jake and Dannie, two very talented family travel photographers for a family photo shoot near the Roman Forum. The photos below are examples of their outstanding work.

We were lucky to be in Rome with kids at the same time Jake and Dannie were there. A family trip to Rome is a once-in-a-lifetime event. We highly recommend you document your family vacation with a private photo session.

Cycle the Via Appia with Kids

Some of the best things to do in Rome with kids combine culture with outdoor activity. We wanted to cycle the Appian Way with kids, so we were happy to find Jake and Dannie did as well.

After our Rome family photo shoot, we all hopped on the 118 bus to Eco Bike Roma. This Appian Way bike rental shop is located near the entrance to Via Appia. We chose Eco Bike Roma as they had 7-speed rental bikes with child seats and helmets for the kids.

After a short section with road traffic, we passed through the Appian Way entrance gate. The next two miles of cycling the Appian Way with kids was very tranquil with only the odd car or bus going by.

We turned our rental bikes around at that point as it seemed to go back onto a busy road again. Besides, we wanted our kids to have a chance to get out and play with each other.

As with the Janiculum Walk, cycling the Appian Way is a great thing to do in Rome with kids if you want some physical activity outdoors away from the madness of central Rome.

Tiber River Walk

Even on a family vacation to Rome, it’s very important to give our kids time to play every day. We hadn’t found a Rome playground yet, but we had noticed the Tiber River had wide walkways along its banks.

We thought letting the kids run and play along the Tiber would be a fun thing to do with the kids in Rome to burn off some energy.

The section of the Tiber River walkway we visited was quiet, so there was tons of room for the kids to run and play. Both sides of the Tiber River have wide walking/biking paths. One side is cobblestone (and seems to be less used) and the other is paved and much busier.

A Tiber River walk may seem like an unlikely thing to do in Rome with kids, but our kids had a great time. Just be sure to watch out for people on bikes and for occasional pieces of broken glass.

Day 5: Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and Villa Borghese

Trevi Fountain with Kids

The Trevi Fountain is one of the most beautiful sights in Rome. Kids may not fully appreciate the Trevi Fountain, but it’s still worth including a little culture in the day?

We arrived at the Trevi Fountain with kids at 8:40 am and it was already noticeably busy. There were still spots open near the front of the Trevi Fountain for the kids to play and get some decent pictures of the family.

We enjoyed the stunning beauty of the Trevi Fountain, while the kids simply enjoyed sticking their fingers in the fountain water and getting wet.

There’s a famous legend that states if you throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain with your right hand over your left shoulder, it will ensure that you will return to Rome in the future. Guess who forgot to bring some coins? Us.

Maybe your kids will be more impressed by the Trevi Fountain if they know it has its own Lego set?

Spanish Steps

By the time we finished at the Trevi Fountain with our kids it was around 9 am, so we stopped by the nearby Spanish Steps again. This time the Spanish Steps were much less busy and we had a chance to actually enjoy them.

When they are not crowded, the Spanish Steps are a great thing to do in Rome with kids. The kids had a lot of fun climbing the Spanish Steps themselves and interacting with the always-friendly Italians along the way.

Villa Borghese Gardens

We love visiting Rome with our kids, but it is incredibly busy and tiring. After five very busy days exploring Rome with our children, we were craving fresh air, nature and trees…

One of our favourite things to do in Rome with our kids so far was Villa Borghese, so we wanted to take them back for more play time in the park.

It was a Sunday, which is always a great time to visit parks in Rome with kids as that is when the locals also show up with their kids.

After a few cappuccinos and pastries, we walked to the beautiful Il Giardino del Lago (Lake Garden) where the kids enjoyed listening to local buskers play music and looking at the birds in the water.

A quick potty break at Museo Carlo Bilotti (complete with live piano music!) was followed by some much needed playtime at a Villa Borghese Gardens playground.

Our morning was finished off with a quick walk through Piazza del Popolo on our way back to our Rome apartment.

Our morning outing in Rome with kids took us roughly 3.5 hours and we walked 6.2 miles / 10 km.

Day 6: Aqueduct Park

Aqueduct Park

When travelling with our kids, we love mixing culture with outdoor activity. The Rome Aqueduct Park is a perfect blend of the two and was our favourite thing to do in Rome with kids!

It takes about an hour to get to the Aqueduct Park via bus & metro from central Rome, but it is worth the effort. Dating back to AD 52, these ancient superstructures are an amazing sight.

Set in a beautiful meadow filled with wildflowers, the Aqueduct Park is an excellent place for a family walk in Rome the kids won’t soon forget. Even if your kids find it boring, you can buy them off with a visit to the playground at the end.

Starting and ending at the Subaugusta metro station, we walked 2.6 miles / 4.2 km through the Rome Aqueduct Park in about two hours.

Day 7: Vatican City and Castel Sant’Angelo

Vatican Museums with Kids

Our intention was to start our day with a visit to the Vatican Museums, but when we got there 30 minutes before opening, the lineups were already huge. Not a great feeling.

Given we’d have to wait in the Vatican Museums ticket line and then again to check our backpack carriers, we made the difficult decision to skip the Sistine Chapel (a great reason to come back to Rome! Oh wait… we forgot coins to throw into the Trevi Fountain… oops!)

We really should have bought skip-the-line Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel tickets like everyone else!

St. Peter’s Basilica

Disappointed, we headed over to St. Peter’s Basilica. We had to go through an airport style security check, but we were allowed to keep our backpack carriers on through the process.

St. Peter’s Basilica was awe-inspiring and even the kids seemed to have a good time, likely due to the fact we were there early enough to let them walk freely.

Next up was the climb up the St. Peter’s Dome, which was designed by Michelangelo himself. We had our kids in backpack carriers for the climb up the stairs.

We love climbing domes! The 551 steps to the top weren’t too bad (took about 15 – 20 minutes) and the views of St. Peter’s Square and beyond are well worth it!

Afterwards, the kids had a great time running around St. Peter’s Square, chasing pigeons, climbing on the buildings and watching the water in the fountains. 

Castel Sant’ Angelo

For our final afternoon in Rome with kids, we walked to the park surrounding the imposing Castel Sant’ Angelo. This Rome park is in a really cool setting as it occupies the space which used to be the castle moat.

There is a lot of grass and trees in the Castel Sant’ Angelo park, but best of all was the discovery of an ever-elusive Rome playground for the kids. It’s not shaded though, so bring sunscreen or a sun hat for the kids.  

How to Get from the Rome Airport with Kids

Rome’s main airport is outside the city centre, so it’s worth planning your transfer before you arrive. When travelling with kids, it’s often difficult to find a way to get your kids safely from the airport to the Rome Old Town without car seats. Standard taxis and rideshares may not have child seats, so pre-booking a transfer with requested child seats can be easier after a long flight.

We are big fans of using Welcome Pickups private transfers when travelling with kids. Your driver meets you in the arrival area with your family name on a sign. He’ll walk you to your private car with your pre-reserved child seats already in place. It’s an affordable luxury after a long day of flying with kids.

Where to Stay in Rome with Kids

The best area to stay in Rome with family is undoubtedly in central Rome. The historic centre of Rome is where the best restaurants, shopping and the majority of the things to do in Rome with kids are located.

The downside is that accommodation in central Rome can get very expensive, but it is large enough that you’ll be able to find some Rome accommodations which meet your needs and budget.

We rented a two-bedroom apartment in Rome just a few minutes walk from Piazza Navona. Our family-friendly Rome apartment was close enough to walk to the main things to do in Rome, but also far enough away to be quiet. It had tons of great kid-friendly Rome restaurants, multiple grocery stores and shopping within easy walking distance.

When deciding where to stay in Rome with our kids, we chose to stay at a Rome vacation rental, instead of a kid-friendly Rome hotel. We enjoy the family-friendly amenities of vacation rentals like separate bedrooms, a kitchen and laundry facilities.

There are plenty of vacation rentals for your family vacation to Rome. Improve your odds of finding great family accommodation with our best tips to find a kid-friendly Airbnb.

If you would prefer a kid-friendly Rome hotel for your family vacation to Italy, we personally use and recommend using Booking. Their Top Picks for Families search filter makes it easy to find a great place to stay in Rome with kids.

Tips for Walking Rome with Toddlers

Most of the streets are cobblestone, so we do not recommend bringing a stroller to Rome. We had good success carrying our kids around Rome with our Deuter backpack carriers.

If a street in Rome has a sidewalk, and not all do, it will often be very narrow with only enough for one person in single file. Many of the Rome streets have a “sidewalk” painted on the road.

As a parent, this was often pretty scary as there is a lot of traffic in Rome. We didn’t have any safety incidents, but we were constantly watching our kids to make sure they didn’t stray from the painted walking lane.

There are many useful tourist sign posts around town which have maps with your current location, suggested walking routes and nearby attractions.

Final Thoughts on Visiting Rome with Kids

And that’s it! We hope you enjoyed reading about our week in Rome with kids and found some inspiration for your own family holiday to Rome. If you’d like to follow along, our next stop on our family vacation to Italy was a visit to the Island of Elba with kids.

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