Hello---My husband and I will be traveling to Rome next year with our son. He will be 3.5 years old at the time. Any good ideas of activities/sights that would be appropriate for a child of this age? My husband and I have been to Rome before so aren't stressed about having to hit all of the big tourist sites. Thanks in advance.
Need Help with Rome Activities with a 3.5 Year Old
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Let him play in fountains. Let him climb steps. Buy him lots of gelato. Let him run in parks. I don't think he will remember any of it, so do what suits you and your husband best.
i think that i would probably want to stay near the Borghese gardens - a lovely place for your son to run around.
You might try the Explora il Museo dei Bambini di Roma -
http://www.mdbr.it/en.html . Great for children of all ages.
The zoo in Villa Borghese is also great - I've been there many times. Small, but visitor friendly: Bioparco at
http://www.bioparco.it/english_site.html
In Villa Borghese you can rent pedal-carts, wagons, tricycles, etc... so a great place to blow off steam (or as mentioned) just run around.
Some kids like to see the 12 o'clock gun from Janiculum Hill. Although it's over pretty quickly...
The cat Sanctuary at Largo Argentina is fun for kids and they cats are "usually" quite social-able. Unfortunately the city of Rome is trying to close this "sanctuary." Not sure if it will still be there when you arrive.
But there's also a cat sanctuart out at the Non-Catholic cemetery; more like a garden out there so it probably would not intimidate a 3.5 year old. There's also a real-life pyramid! See this article for directions: http://tinyurl.com/Cestio
You might also look for the book, "Rome with Kids: An Insider's Guide by J.M. Pasquesi. She also has a blog at http://romewithkids.com/. She posts on many travel boards and has been a great asset when I was helping groups with children.
At 3.5 years old, I'd also look at skip-the-line options for those available sites - if you choose to visit any this trip... that would decrease the stress for you. Good Luck!
We were just in Rome for a week, with a 2.5 year old, and it was marvellous. The Italians are incredibly kid-friendly, and our toddler got smiles and waves where ever we went. We stayed in Campo dei Fiore, and she enjoyed the markets, the fountains (Piaza Navonne was a big adventure), gelato, of course, and being able to choose her own fresh baked pizza every day. She was very happy on the little city bus that went from Campo, past the Pantheon, and all the way to Borghese. (The zoo was fun for her, especially the little train.) We took an umbrella stroller with us, but she wanted to walk most places, so our expeditions were limited. The cat sanctuary was on our list, but we never got there. Her fave places were Circus Maximus ... running around the Ben Hur track ... and St. Peter's Square; also good running around opportunity (one of the advantages of this time of the year, no crowds). Definitely a memorable trip for me, though most of our friends said we were mad to take a 2 yo to Europe. (Still got a week in Florence before heading home ... I might eat those words.)