Need help in finalizing Rome itinerary (4 days) with 2 kids
 

We are traveling with 2 kids, ages 7 and 10. I would appreciate any feedback on the itinerary. I ordered a street wise Rome map and Fodors guide for Rome.

We are staying at Albergo Del Senato..

Also, I would love to do a food tour on Sunday, but none is available for Sunday and I am afraid I might crowd it too much on that day.

Any suggestions on good restaurants in and around the hotel we are staying?

Rome Itinerary:

Friday (8/18): Arrive to Rome from Zurich at 7:00 pm, check in and rest


Saturday (8/19):

Private guided tour at 10:00 covering Colosseum, underground plus top tier, Forum and Palantine (4.5 hrs).
Rest in the hotel after lunch.
May be just wander around in the afternoon ? We are staying at Albergo Del Senato.. May be some sight seeing since I hear this hotel is in the midst of everything..
Any suggestions here ?


Sunday (8/20):

This is our "free" day. So, planning on doing

Trevi fountain
Spanish steps
Borghese gallery and bike riding
Pantheon
Shopping

Monday (8/21):

Private guided tour for 3 hrs to Vatican city, Sistine Chapel starting at 7:45 am.

Lunch and rest in the hotel.

Explore some neighborhoods or anything that we couldn't get to see by now. How about "hoho" bus tours ? Or anything that we could see in the night?

Appreciate suggestions here too..

Tuesday (8/22):

Leave to US.

Thanks
Shubha

Hi Shubha,

We will be leaving the Senato as you will be arriving!

From your list, I see that the following are not there that you may want to add:

Campo de Fiori, check out market
Palazzo Valentini for tour
Walk and explore Trastevere
Go to Capuchin Crypt

There is a festival along the Tiber River called Lungo il Tevere and they have pop up restaurants where you can eat outdoors, and entertainment, shopping kiosks, etc. Here's the link:
http://www.lungoiltevereroma.it/

As for dining, I am also looking for places to eat around the hotel but think that I may have to wait until we get there, as many restaurants that I wanted to visit are closed mid-August.

Remember to get your Bourghese reservations as soon as possible. You also have to arrive a half hour before your entry time or you risk losing your reservation. The museum is in a park, so you need some pre-pre-arrival time to get to the museum itself. It's a nice park, by the way.

see this other thread for more ideas
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-you-help.cfm

I would get some guide books with walking tour suggestions out of the library and use them for suggestions about how to put together some interesting walks and for information about what you are seeing along the way. Your hotel is right in the middle of the historic center so there is plenty to see close by.

Jamierin, thanks for the additional sites to visit and hope uinhave a great time in Rome ..

AJPeabody and Vttraveler, thanks for both of your suggestions.

Now, looking at RomaPass, if we buy these, I don't have to buy online tickets for colosseum and Vatican ? How does that work ?

If you are near the Mouth of Truth at the church of Saint Mary in Cosmedin, your kids would probably enjoy seeing that

Since you will be in Rome over the weekend, I believe you can see a puppet show on the Janiculum (Gianicolo) hill as well as going up to Piazzale Garibaldi for the view, as I suggested on the other thread.
I found this link to a description of the basic walking tour I was suggesting you could do on your own, with pictures
http://nuke.romeheritagetours.com/JA...2/Default.aspx

When our kids were about the ages of yours, we visited friends in Brussels and went on a walk with them and their children. They put together a small map of things for the kids to find/look for, and they were all excited to follow this. Rome is full of things to look for so if you have time to mark a few landmarks on a map, that might be fun.

Vttraveler, both of your suggestions, i.e puppet show and walking tour sounds awesome , kids would love it..


How far would be the mouth of truth from our hotel ? Is it walk able ?

Thanks again,