Rome with DH and 9 up DC

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Hi. We are off to Rome for a few days soon.

I am utterly hopeless at organising itineraries and often try and cram too much into a short space of time resulting in tetchy DH who can't keep the pace.

Could any of you please recommend the absolute minimum we simply must visit.

A couple of quirky off the beat things for DS would be good too.

Thanks.

The Colosseum, the Pantheon, The Trevi Fountain, St Peters and the Vatican are 'don't miss' items IMO. Try climbing the dome at St Peters.

Quirky for the kids would be the Crypt of the Capuchin monks is different! Displays made from the bones of dead monks. And it's near the Hard Rock Cafe if they're into that (the ceiling in there is fun!)

The Castel Sant'Angelo would be good for kids

I think there's also a gladiator school which might be worth a look (not sure of ages for that).

Lots of lovely icecream shops as well. Mostly just wander the streets, popping into churches and cafés as you go - take very comfortable shoes.

Try the Borghese Gardens for something a bit different. You can hire electric buggy things and scoot around in them, which is fun. And the usual park stuff there, plus a couple of nice cafes, which sell sandwiches and drinks. Lovely place.

Book the Colloseum in advance, I think. You avoid the queues then, and there's an audio tour, which is very good.

The Vatican is amazing, but again, book in advance, and be prepared for lots of crowds because it's just chocca.

But there's just something amazing about Rome. I've got all nostalgic thinking about it

If you can watch any of Mary Beard's series "Meet the Romans" before you go, it's very worthwhile. If you go to places like the Forum, you'll enjoy it so much more.

When we were there we managed to prebook tickets for Friday evening for the Vatican. It was a great time to visit and didn't seem that busy.

We hadn't pre booked for the Colloseum and the queues were long but quite a lot there to stir the imagination of a blood thirsty child I would imagine.

We did the Borghese Gardens - it was an all adult trip and tbh I could have skipped it, but did think that if you were going with DCs it made a perfect distraction.

Do stop for frequent ice creams - absolutely amazing and only 2 euros.