Rome recommendations for a teen! Help?
 

Hi guys, we will be in Rome in late August for 3 nights with our 13 yr old, it's our first time there and I have all the usual sites on my list but I'm looking for any ideas/recommendations for something fun to do with my daughter when the queues get too much;) she can't wait to go but I'd just like some extra options!
Thanks

My son was 14 when we went to Rome. He liked the Crime Museum (you can see torture instruments there and that was interesting for me too), the Pasta Museum and the Time Machine, a movie about the history of Rome. For a great view of Rome near the Colisseum, go to the top of the "Wedding Cake", the Victor Emmanuel Monument.

http://www.romeguide.it/mostre/time_...r/indexeng.htm

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/1abc34/

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/1abc34/

http://www.museodellapasta.it

These might not be the best websites, but they will get you started.

And of course gelato!

Thanks, Will have a good luck at these links , gelato is definitely on the agenda!

At 13 she is certainly old enough to do her own research - we did the first time we took out 11 and 14 DDs - ad they had very strong opinions are sights - and shopping - they had to see. She can look here - or any basic guide book - but may want to look at the Le'ts Go student guides as well,

My daughters both oved the catacombs...

Nytraveler- Thanks, have told her to start researching too;) hopefully she will have something to add herself!

Our trip report/blog:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...log-photos.cfm

We liked http://www.palazzovalentini.it/index.php?lang=eng in addition to the regular attractions.

Ostia Anitica was also a nice break from the city, but we weren't there in August!

Be prepared for it being hot and humid in August with alot of folks closing their shops or restaurants to go on vacations. Be sure you have a hotel with A/C too!
There is so much to see and do in Rome that I think that your 13 will be entertained everyday with the history,people watching,shopping and basic "dolce vita". Have fun!

Does your daughter like to bicycle? If so, you can rent bikes and ride along the Appian Way.

If you do a google search you can come up with info about nice public swimming pools in the center of Rome (near the Colosseum).

The Castel Sant'Angelo at night is set like an outdoor summer fair, with music, book booths. You can go to the movies on the island in the Tiber outdoors at night, or to the opera in the baths of Caracalla. In general, I would encourage all of you to enjoy Rome at night in August. Take a break in the middle of the day so you can stay up and have fun in a piazza.

It is not hard to get to Lago Bracciano or a nice beach like Sperlonga from Rome using public transportation.

Just a crabby remark, but while I've nothing against taking teens to difficult, painful places because difficulty and pain is part of human history on needs to know about, I do suggest kids not be taught to associate torture with entertaining stuff done by other cultures that happened a long time ago.

Build in some time for her own time, like looking at clothes and shoe shops along Via del Corso.

Yes definitely looking for hotel with a/c ! Had a quick look at hotels with pools which would be a nice break from the afternoon heat in August but they are quite far out so would add to travel time, so I'll concentrate my search around the Patheon/ Spanga areas I think


Castel Sant'Angelo sounds good, will check it out too, thanks all

We only have 3 nights so I want to make the most of it.

I remembered after Steve's post... we rented bikes by the Merry Go Round in Villa Borghese and had a lovely afternoon riding... it was one of our best days in Rome :)

Cycling in 90+F in Roman August isn't my idea of fun!

My daughter is only turning 12 this month, but we just returned from Italy, and a European cruise. She had a lot of interest in the ruins and history, but a kid her age can really only take so much of that (we were away for 21 days). Something she loved, as well as my son who is turning 14 next month, was a Pizza and Gelato cooking class. We did this in Florence, but I'm sure you could find something similar in Rome. The class had a mix of adults and kids from young to teens in it. We all had a great time! And it was a great break for everyone!

We also did a Food Tour, which both kids loved! They enjoyed sampling so many varieties of foods and seeing the city and learning the history in a much more relaxed setting. I just wrote about that in my trip report - it's on our day one! You can find it under my name if you're interested.

Both kids enjoyed the Catacombs and Crypts (we did a tour with Walks of Italy).

More than anything though, my daughter just wanted to shop. She didn't want to necessarily buy anything, but just browse the shops or even the windows. Even just the souvenir stands. She wanted to stroll the streets and eat gelato or sit by a fountain and people watch.

If she likes cats, even just walking by the Largo Argentina ruins can be a nice change of pace. My kids, and my husband even - loved stopping there and watching all of the cats. It sounds silly maybe, but I think it connected them to home. We have 4 cats at home, so they got their fix there! They enjoyed spotting all different kids in the ruins!

Both kids did have that itch to "do something fun"...though. I had a hard time finding that in the midst of this type of trip. Not to say they didn't enjoy it, but it wasn't the type of vacation they were used to.

I have been to Rome twice in summer, and last trip took my 11 yr old daughter..

It was so roasting hot ,, that basically we ate gelato twice a day, found shade when we could and soldiered on with sightseeing. .

Having a/c is not a luxury, its a must.. an absolute must. After a hot day you need some cool downtime.

My daughter enjoyed the Coliseum and St Peters most of all( the Vatican was interesting but so very hot and crowded( no, its not air conditioned.. as many public places are not)

ShellD - A food tour sounds excellent , will definitely be reading your report
Thanks all, will be researching all these options!

Also, When you went with kids did you stay in an apartment or hotel? I'm wondering if an apartment might be a better option, more room to chill out?
I'm looking at Patheon/navona areas?
While I think we would love the Trastevere (lots of cafe etc) I think with our time so limited (3 nights) maybe we need to be more central?

I think staying in the area near the Pantheon and Piazza Navona is a good idea.
Our younger son was a few years older than your daughter when he finally persuaded us to rent an apartment in Rome for a week. He had a really strong interest in ancient history but I think he was surprised at how much he enjoyed the piazzas and people watching at different times of day. We all enjoyed the Largo Argentina and counting the cats lounging in the ruins.

We rented an apartment in the Jewish ghetto neighborhood and were glad to have the extra space and a place to enjoy breakfast, drinks and snacks. The rental agency we used, realrome.com, was very good with reasonable prices. (The apartment we rented does not have A/C so I wouldn't recommend it in August)

We stayed in a hotel for our first night, but then we returned to Rome after a cruise and stayed in an apartment for 3 nights. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Definitely the space in the apartment was nice and do make sure you get a/c as others have mentioned! We used Sleep In Italy and found a place overlooking Largo Argentina that was perfect. Even had two terraces!