Rome with Kids: An Insider's Guide

If you are planning to take your kids to Rome, J. M. Pasquesi's Rome with Kids: An Insider's Guide (Austin, TX: Synergy Books, 2008) is a highly recommended resource.


The challenge of traveling with young children is familiar. Their physical endurance is limited. Attention spans are short. The summer weather in Rome is hot and humid. Streets are crowded, and lines are intermindable. Combine these factors with an endless succession of museums interpersed with Romanesque churches, and even the best kids in Rome will eventually melt down. Author J. M. Pasquesi fully understands the challenge and helps parents plan a Roman visit that is fun, educational, and enjoyable.

Each of the eleven chapters focuses on one area of the city and proposes a basic walking tour whose length and scope keeps young children in mind. She suggests activities that will appeal to children (such as climbing to the dome of St. Peter's) and gives explicit directions on how to get to that tour once you pass security (p. 149). You'll end up back in St. Peter's once you descend from the dome.

Pasquesi provides suggested activities at each attraction to make things interesting for children: questions to ask, scavenger hunts, things to look for, stories to tell. For instance, when at the Trevi Fountain, challenge your children to look for the built-in drinking fountain that comes out of the fountain; hint: it's on the right side (p. 107). She suggests good places to go for a snack (pizza or gelato) or eat lunch, and she provides valuable time-saving tips for all visitors to Rome. (Example: avoid the long ticket lines at the Colosseum by purchasing your entrance ticket at the Palatine Hill, right off the forum). She offers sound advice on when to visit attractions; the lines at the Vatican Museum are notoriously long in the morning. It is better to schedule your visit in the afternoon or on Wednesday mornings when the Papal Audience is taking place in St. Peter's square (p. 162).

This book is for everyone. Even adults traveling without children can find Rome's heat and lines oppressive and (admit it, it's true) sometimes have short attention spans. Pasquesi's suggested tours would be helpful for anyone planning a visit to Rome. Even a frequent visitor to the Eternal City will discover new sights and attractions to visit the next time they return to Rome.


copyright (c) 2007 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

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