Rome

[Noidea1]

Has anyone been to Rome and have any tips my DS will be 15 months when we go?
Where's best to stay and any tips on what to see and do?

Thank you

Rome is amazing! We go every year. What time of the year as you going? We usually go in Feb so the weather is not ridiculous but summer can be extremely hot. And it can be very, very, very busy in summer.

As to where to stay, it's not a massive issue as almost everywhere is within walking distance, but we like to stay near the Spanish steps.

There is so, so, so much to do (but it's mostly sight seeing) so don't worry. The Italians LOVE children so your DC will be fine (DS was 3 months last time we went), but there are very few places with baby changing and highchairs. DS was changed on a lot of floors!

Just check what the lift is like in your hotel...! A lot of the smaller hotels have very tiny lifts which is a struggle with a pram.

Thank you we go in April, I may take the little booster seat we have at home

Good idea! The weather will be lovely then not too hot. You will have a blast!

So pleased I found this DH & I are planning to go in Feb for my birthday.
What is the best way to pay for excursions ?is there a website that's good ?do you get fast tracked ic you pay in advance ?

Rome is so lovely. If you want to be properly central, but not on a street that's so busy you never get peace, we stayed in a lovely apartment on via Frattina, which is close to Piazza di Spagna. As a pp says, Italians are lovely with children.

Not exactly a highbrow cultural activity, but one of the best things we did in Rome was go to Eataly, a huge indoor food market with great cafes in it where you can buy the most ridiculously amazing cheese, bread, wine, everything.

Thank you for the tips

Also checking in . We just booked for after Easter.

There's lots of ice things to do with a toddler around Villa Borghese - playgrounds, little roundabouts, a play centre, zoo, boating lake with ducks in. It's nice for picnics too (don't eat in the cafe in the middle of the park).
The children's museum is near there too, on via Flaminio.

Looking for hints too (don't need kid friendly as they are staying home with grandparents but do need budget-friendly!)

Rome is beautiful - my absolutely favourite place of all time! Both airports are some way from the city and from experience can cost a heck of a lot in taxi fares. Terravision run a v regular bus service from both airports which will cost you a lot less, can be booked on line and drops you off at the main train station. There's a lot of taxi's at the train station (but agree a price first - we were ripped off for €25 for about a 5 minute journey last time).

Can't recommend a hotel - none of the ones we've stayed in we'd go back to but your best bet is looking for one room with a cot bed on Expedia or Booking.com and checking your favourites out on Tripadvisor.

Viator offer a range of tours but as you've got a toddler, you're probably better off with a good map and a Rough Guide. It's a magical city & you'll have a great time. My one final tip would be ear plugs - the traffic noise is something else!

We've been twice, and stayed once near Termini , and once near the Ponto Sisto bridge. If I was to go again without kids, I'd choose the second location as it was walking distance to Trastevere, which was a wonderful place to spend the evenings. With kids, I'd try to stay near to the Villa Borghese.

If you are staying near a metro or station, getting the Terrevision bus is easy and cheap. Or , depending which airport you land at, the train is easy and cheap - we got a train to Trastevere, then a tram.

If you want to visit the Vatican, book online before you go. It can save a long time queuing.

Besides all the usual tourist sites, if you get time, take a walk through the Rose Garden to the Piazza of the Knights of Malta, and peek through the keyhole of the gate there for an amazing view of St Peters.

Be prepared to walk a lot - it's the best way to get around. Take comfortable walking shoes/trainers. Just wander and see what you come across, we found so many beautiful churches, little shops etc

Have a great time - Rome is a beautiful city.

Can anyone give me the official site to book Colosseum tours please? There are umpteen sites which claim to offer them but I suspect you pay over the odds to these rather than to book direct.

www.mdbr.it/en/

This place (kids hand-on science museum) is fab for a rainy day or a break from the touristy stuff. The zoo (and surrounding parks) is great too. And the wooden toy shop Bortolucci.

You can take a pushchair around most of the Vatican Museum but not St Peter's Basilica (there is a place to leave pushchairs though) so don't time it with nap-time unless you want to carry him round!

"Be prepared to walk a lot - it's the best way to get around. Take comfortable walking shoes/trainers. Just wander and see what you come across, we found so many beautiful churches, little shops etc"

This ^^

We used the metro, but there are only two lines so we walked for miles. The Vatican museum is very busy and it would have been difficult to negotiate a pushchair through the crowds.

We loved Rome and would go back.