Rome In February With The Kids . Not sure if it was the best idea for a break

[SonnyHoney]

I've booked a trip to Rome for February 19th - 23rd of Feb.
Little apartment in the Trastevere .
I've never done a city break somewhere in winter, We would normally book a lodge with a hot tub and pool complex or go somewhere hot.
kids are 10 & 16.

It's dawned on me that it's not really sitting outside cafe watching the world go by kinda weather.

I would love recommendations on what to do to make this a memorable little break for cooler days.
Obviously the colosseum, Trevi fountain, Pantheon.

Thank you!

The temperatures are likely to be in the low to mid teens, pleasant enough “sitting outside cafe watching the world go by kinda weather” if one dresses appropriately. One advantage of visiting Rome in February rather than the summer is that the jackets you’ll be wearing will have inside pockets, which means phones and wallets are less likely to be pinched by the city’s pickpockets. I was going to recommend the Forum as it had free admission when we last visited but I’ve discovered that you have to pay to get in nowadays. It’s still worth a visit.

We are off to Rome 1st to 5th March with a 16 and 11 year.

Weather wise you could be lucky, 15 degrees in the middle of the day and sunshine, so warm enough for sitting outside. All the walking around and sight seeing, you dont want it too hot anyway. Just take layers. We have booked a golf cart tour with gelato, which I think would be fun with the kids. Its our first time going to Rome, so its new to me too but there is so much to see in Rome. Make sure you book the collusuem in advance though and the vatican(except st peters) if you want to go.

Pantheon, museums, art galleries. Also you could book a spa day if you want a day off from sight seeing. You can also do day trips to Pompeii.

We went last February, one day it rained, another it was lovely and we sat outside and had a glass of wine in the sunshine. You’ll love it, lots to see, do and eat and probably fewer crowds in February than spring/summer

You can walk around the big sights in central Rome in a day, if you're organised and book timed tickets in advance to the Colosseum and the Forum. Then you can walk by Trajan's column, Trevi fountain, Pantheon, etc. The Capitoline Museums are good, if your teens will tolerate museums (mine are philistines and generally won't). My top tips for something a bit different are the Capuchin Crypt (gruesome and popular with teens) and the Galleria Doria Pamphilj, which is stunning and not one of the 'big ticket' places, so tends to quieter. You'll probably need a light jacket in Feb, but if you're lucky it will be sunny and not too cold. We've certainly sat at a pavement cafe at that time of year and enjoyed a spot of people watching while sipping a beer or an Aperol spritz. Somewhere as busy as Rome is actually best visited out of season now.

My tweens enjoyed a pizza making workshop and the Circo Maximo virtual reality experience.

Also, the Venchi cafes do the best hot chocolate.

The “Welcome to Rome” experience is really worth doing too.

This is what we do:

Each child researches, and pitches a half day itinerary. They have a budget.

Job done!

I love Rome!

Do a Segway trip if you can, we used Unlimited Biking (previously Fat Tire Tours) and they were fantastic. The owner/tour guide is really knowledgeable and friendly, think he runs lots of other tours too but we only did the Segway. It was a really fun way to see some of the sights, and at one point we put VR glasses on so we could see the Forum as it was in all its glory.

I've been to Rome in February and September. It was much more pleasant in February to walk around. Less busy but the weather is nice and cool.
If you want to see Roman ruins but don't fancy the long journey to Pompeii, I'd recommend Ostia Antica. You can get there on the metro.

Took our 10 year old last year. Her favourite things were:

• Roman Domus at Palazzo Valentini (an underground interactive tour of an excavated ancient Roman home using multimedia)
• Climbing the dome of St Peter's Basilica
• Castel Sant'Angelo
• writing postcards for grandparents at the Vatican, buying stamps in the unique Vatican post office in St Peter's Square and posting although the cards took 2 months to reach the UK!
• food and gelato!

The Colosseum wasn't much fun as it was so busy and we didn't have a tour (although we did have access to the arena) although DH and I have enjoyed visiting pre-DD (we had a tour that visit). Didn't bother with the Vatican Museum as, while beautiful , it's a bit dry for tweens although would have loved her to visit the Sistine Chapel

Just make sure to plan itineraries by area as centre of Rome is huge. You can use contactless cards on buses (use "Citymapper" app to plan routes).

I second Galleris Dora Pamphilli! its amazing

you will have a great time!

my husabnd used to lead tours for teenagers in Rome! they loved it. except moaning a lot aobut all the walking.

I think the poster who talked aobut the Segway trip had a good idea to save their feet.

We went in February a couple of years ago. We were very lucky and it was 19 degrees and sunny. I was in a vest top as we were very warm from all the walking around. The Italians were in coats and scarfs. 😂

There's so much to see and it's actually a small city. We walked everywhere.

A couple of things that are a bit different that my teens enjoyed were the park at The Villa Borghese. You can hire 2 seater and 4 seater bikes and cycle around the park. It's quite hilly in places so going downhill was quite hair raising at times. It was a lot of fun and laughter and a break from lots of walking.

There's also a cat sanctuary in Rome where the cats all live in amongst some Roman ruins. You can go in and stroke the cats.

Try not to eat too close to places like the Colluseum. They will charge you so much more. If you walk a few roads away you get a much nicer experience.

https://trovatrails.com/

A family friendly app to save money on walking tours etc. has quizzes, clues, lots of fun!

How about a gladiator school? https://www.getyourguide.com/rome-l33/gladiator-school-in-rome-for-kids-and-adults-t34663/?ranking_uuid=510f6cec-f52b-4b91-87b8-db7f397243a7&closeTabOnNavigationBack=true

DS was 10 when we took him one October half term.

He loved the gladiator school. Getting the glass lift to the top of the ugly monument was something we all enjoyed.

I'd recommend the tour of Nero's Golden Palace too.

Trastevere is a great location. So many restaurants and cafes. A young vibrant vibe.

Love Rome. Love Trastevere, it's pleasant to walk around and has plenty of small cafes etc. The Vatican and St peters are unmissable. I second the Cat sanctuary and Pamphiji Palace. We also used to wander in and out of random small churches, they often have amazing artworks. Also agree with Villa Borghese. Colosseum should have less queues in February - it is horrendous in summer.
There is a church with a feature where you place your hand and make a statement , if the statement is a lie the feature will bite you. Teenagers may enjoy that. Forget the name of the church but you can google it.
If you don't enjoy walking there are hop on hop off buses which take in all the sights - expensive I'm afraid .
You will find that time flies and you spend longer than expected at places you visit.
Would they read Dan Brown's 'Angels and Demons' ? Teenagers used to love Dan Brown. They may get inspiration for things they want to see.

We did this Segway tour too it’s an absolutely brilliant way to cover a lot of ground. I do not advise going into Vatican museums/ Sistine chapel. It’s a soul destroying experience shuffling around endless corridors so by the time you get to the Sistine chapel you really couldn’t care less about it. Honestly don’t bother, you’ll thank me!

We went it was absolutely lovely!

Day 1- Exploring Trastevre (The area we were staying in)
Day 2- Largo di Torre Argentina (Where cesar was assasinated) , pantheon
day 3- Walk down by the river Tiber, Mosey into central rome, Gelato, Trevi Fountain
Day 4- Long walk, Lunch at Testaccio market
Day 5- Colosseum and caught up with friends who were staying in rome too!

The weather was absolutely beautiful, We were incredibly lucky.

This is an excellent thread - so many good ideas and general inspiration !