Rome with kids
Travelling with children? Rome has more for kids than you might think. Here are 5 family favourites, with ages, prices and opening hours, plus ideas for a rainy day and practical tips.
Colosseum Outdoor
Gladiators and lions are an easy sell for children, and the arena is big enough to run around in the mind.
- 👧 Ages: all ages (under 18 free; under 12 must be accompanied)
- 🎟️ Price: Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine ticket: €18 (full); visitors under 18 enter free; EU citizens aged 18 to 25 pay €2
- 🕗 Hours: Daily 08:30–18:30 until 24 October (last entry 17:30); from 25 October to 28 February last entry 15:30 and closing 16:30; closed 25 December and 1 January
- ⏱️ Visit: ~1.5 h
- 💡 Tip: Book the Colosseum time slot online on the official site, even for free tickets. The visit on this ticket is limited to 75 minutes.
- 📍 Piazza del Colosseo, 1, 00184 Roma RM
- MapWebsite
- 🚶 Near Colosseum: 🚶 0.2 km · 2 min walk
Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel Indoor
Maps, mummies and Raphael's rooms keep school-age children busy, though the Sistine Chapel is silent and crowded.
- 👧 Ages: children under 7 enter free; the long galleries suit ages 8 and up
- 🎟️ Price: Full €20, reduced €10 (without online booking); booking on the official site adds €5; free for children under 7; free on the last Sunday of the month 09:00–14:00
- 🕗 Hours: Mon–Sat 08:00–20:00, last entry 18:00; last Sunday of the month 09:00–14:00 (last entry 12:30); closed other Sundays
- ⏱️ Visit: ~3 h
- 💡 Tip: Book online for the time slot, skip the ticket-office queue, and cover shoulders and knees. Skip the last-Sunday free day with small children: the queue is very long.
- 📍 Viale Vaticano, 00165 Città del Vaticano
- MapWebsite
- 🚶 Near Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel: 🚶 0.2 km · 2 min walk
Capitoline Museums Indoor
A giant marble statue of Constantine's head and foot, the she-wolf and a view over the Forum, all on one hill.
- 👧 Ages: children under 6 enter free
- 🎟️ Price: Free for everyone under 6; non-residents aged 6 to 25 pay the reduced rate; non-residents pay half price on Wednesdays in the last two opening hours
- 🕗 Hours: Daily 09:30–19:30, last entry 18:30
- ⏱️ Visit: ~2 h
- 💡 Tip: Even free children need a ticket: ask for it at the ticket office or through 060608. The Piazza del Campidoglio outside is open and free.
- 📍 Piazza del Campidoglio, 1, 00186 Roma RM
- MapWebsite
- 🚶 Near Capitoline Museums & Piazza del Campidoglio: 🚶 0.1 km · 1 min walk
Explora, the children's museum of Rome Indoor
A hands-on museum where children play and experiment, the best rainy-day stop for ages 0 to 12.
- 👧 Ages: ages 0–12 with an adult (children cannot stay alone)
- 🎟️ Price: Adults and children from 3 years €12; 12–36 months €8; 0–12 months free; Thursday €8 for adults and children (not on holidays)
- 🕗 Hours: Tue–Sun in four timed slots of 1 h 45: 10:00–11:45, 12:00–13:45, 15:00–16:45, 17:00–18:45; closed Monday
- ⏱️ Visit: ~2 h
- 💡 Tip: Booking is required on weekends and holidays and recommended on weekdays. The ticket is for one date and time only and the visits are not guided.
- 📍 Via Flaminia 82, 00196 Roma RM
- MapWebsite
- 🚶 Near Explora Children's Museum: 🚶 0.2 km · 2 min walk
Bioparco di Roma (zoo) Outdoor
A zoo inside Villa Borghese with animals from around the world, an easy half day for young children.
- 👧 Ages: all ages (children under 1 m tall free)
- 🎟️ Price: Adult €19; child over 1 m up to 10 years €14; children under 1 m free (ticket office, fixed date)
- 🕗 Hours: 29 March–24 October 09:30–18:00 (Sat, Sun and holidays until 19:00 up to 4 October); 25 October–31 December 09:30–17:00; last entry one hour before closing; closed 25 December
- ⏱️ Visit: ~2.5 h
- 💡 Tip: Combine with the Villa Borghese gardens. Check the day's feeding times on the events calendar of bioparco.it.
- 📍 Viale del Giardino Zoologico 20, 00197 Roma RM
- MapWebsite
- 🚶 Near Galleria Borghese: 🚶 0.3 km · 4 min walk
Rainy day? Go indoors
Tips for families
Children up to 10 travel free
Within Rome, children up to 10 ride ATAC buses, trams and the metro free with an adult who has a valid ticket. On Trenitalia trains the free limit is 4 years.
Under 18 free at state sites, under 7 at the Vatican
The Colosseum park and other Italian state museums and sites are free for visitors under 18; the Vatican Museums for children under 7; the Capitoline Museums for children under 6. Carry proof of age.
First and last Sundays are free but crowded
Italian state sites list the first Sunday of the month as free entry; the Vatican Museums are free on the last Sunday 09:00–14:00. Expect long queues with children. The Domus Aurea is closed on the first Sunday.
Folded strollers ride free
ATAC carries folded children's strollers free. The centre is cobbled: a light, foldable buggy is easier than a big pram, and many metro stations have long stairs.
Take a break at the Bocca della Verità
Children enjoy putting a hand in the marble mask in the porch of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, open daily 09:30–17:50. Whether it is free is not stated by the tourist office: ask at the church.
Villa Borghese for a break
The tourist office lists bike hire, small boats on the lake garden, the Bioparco and the Casina di Raffaello play space (ages 3 to 14) in Villa Borghese. Prices and hours are not stated there.
Plan your trip → Put these places in a day plan with walking times.
More guides
- Free things to do in Rome
- Hidden gems in Rome
- Delicatessen in Rome
- Rome on a rainy day
- Which museums are open today in Rome?
- Rome on a Sunday
- Opening hours of the sights in Rome
- Which clubs are open tonight in Rome?
- Parking in Rome
- Where to eat near the Colosseum
- Where to eat near the Pantheon
- Where to eat near the Trevi Fountain
- Where to eat near St. Peter's
Checked: 10 October 2026. Prices and hours can change; check the official site before you go.