From picnic-ready parks to al fresco cinema screenings, Rome is bursting with family-friendly things to do during the summer. If you’re heading to the Eternal City with your loved ones this season, follow our essential guide.
Make Italian pizza at a cooking class
Get a literal taste of la dolce vita by trying your hand at making authentic Italian pizza, pasta or gelato at a private cooking class at InRome Cooking. At their stunning palazzo school, you’ll learn Italian culinary secrets from an expert, perfect your techniques and—of course—taste your creations.
Bioparco
With exotic birds and rare breed animals from all continents, Bioparco will inspire young, nature-loving minds. The whole family will adore its colourful botanical displays, cool Komodo dragons and seeing the smallest monkeys in the world, emperor tamarins.
Picnic in Villa Borghese
Spend a sunny afternoon together basking in the beauty of the Villa Borghese gardens, just moments from Hotel de Russie. Throw down a blanket in a shady spot near the picturesque lake and tuck into a tasty hamper organised by the hotel. Afterwards, take a rowing boat out on the lake.
The Colosseum
No family day out in Rome would be complete without a trip to the Colosseum. Journey back in time together to ancient Rome and immerse yourselves in the world of brave gladiators and emperors. The best way to explore the historic amphitheatre is with a guided walk, where you can visit the atmospheric underground tunnels.
Isola del Cinema
Located on the pretty Isola Tiberina in the middle of the River Tiber, Isola del Cinema is an outdoor movie theatre open throughout summer until September. Screening a host of family favourites, it’s the perfect destination to head with your loved ones and catch a film together as the sun sets.
Set in the heart of Rome, by Piazza del Popolo, Hotel de Russie is an enchanting location for your family, from which you can explore Rome’s many highlights. Call +39 06 32 88 81 or email reservations.derussie@roccofortehotels.com
Photo Credit:
Villa Borghese fountain © iStock/bwzenith
Family at Coliseum Rome © iStock/travnikovstudio
Homemade pizza © iStock/AleksandarNakic
Colosseum in Rome and morning sun, Italy’ © Istock/vwalakte
Discover how to make the most of a long weekend in London, Florence and Rome, pairing celebrated landmarks with experiences beyond the city. A few days offers just enough time to settle into a destination’s rhythm, while still leaving space for a thoughtfully chosen day trip further afield.
To understand Baroque, you have to understand its ambition. To fully appreciate it, you have to go to southern Italy. Emerging from the Counter-Reformation in early 17th-century Italy, the movement harnessed drama, ornamentation and light in service of devotion – art designed to engage the senses as much as the intellect.
Some travellers fall in love with a city all at once. Others come to know it gradually, season by season, until they understand not just where to go, but, perhaps more vitally, when. London, with its Royal parks and cobbled courtyards, layers of heritage and history, rewards the latter handsomely.
