Rome for the day with 'kids' aged 18 and 21

[winnies15]

Arriving 6 August for the day, cruising with Celebrity Silhouette and going into Rome via the cruise express train

Last time we were there we did Vatican etc

Looking for some 'fun'. Not looking for food tours or Segway as doing elsewhere

Any suggestions please

This is my first ever post and looking forward to your responses 🙂

TIA

Helena

[cruisemom42]

Hi and welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

What kind of things do you have in mind when you say "fun"?  Hanging out? Shopping?  Creepy catacombs?  Gladiator school?

[winnies15]

thanks for taking the time to reply! I'd asked them about the catacombs they said no thanks! We have ice cream and pizza recommendations from Fodors, so we'll go looking for them, but would love to do anything else at all along the way. We've dragged them along on so many tours over the years and wanted something they would find 'cool' or 'fun' or both if I'm lucky!!

 

[cruisemom42]

Thanks for replying -- it's a difficult age to figure out what's going to be fun, but here are a few ideas you could run past them:

 

Visit Castel Sant'Angelo -- the building started out as the tomb of an emperor (Hadrian) and you can still see that in the lower levels that remain. Later it became a castle and stronghold for the Pope, with a connected corridor to the Vatican (as seen in "Angels and Demons") and a set of papal apartments at the top that you can also visit. Wonderful views across the Tiber to Rome. (If either of your teens are boys, they may also recognize the building from one of the Assassin's Creed video games.

 

Tiber River Cruise -- very few people experience Rome from the river. Due to the high embankments built to stop flooding, the Tiber is a bit forgotten but a cruise down the river and back under Rome's magnificent bridges is becoming more popular again. Also not a bad way to stay cool if you are there in the height of summer:  Rome Boat Tiber Experience – River Cruise Rome – Boat Tour on Tiber – Hop-On Hop-Off – Dinner Live Music – Wine Bar – Italy – Home , City Excursion by Boat, Diner, Wine Bar

 

Gladiator School -- Pretty self-explanatory but they seem to do a good job with it. I have a friend who's dying to do this as soon as her kids are old enough!  GLADIATOR SCHOOL (romegladiatorschool.com)

 

Visit the Mouth of Truth -- This Roman drain cover has been spectacularly repurposed as an urban legend (showcased in the films Roman Holiday and Only You) -- stick your hand in if you dare and get the iconic photo. Also set in a nice area with additional beautiful Roman ruins that are less frequently visited than the adjoining Colosseum/Forum.  (The site is on the porch of a church that's also worth a visit; it's one of the few older churches in Rome whose interior is still more or less original.)  Mouth of Truth - Bocca della Verità (rome.net)

 

Trendy Trastevere -- A great place if you want to just wander, shop in some smaller, funky shops, eat good pizza and gelato is Trastevere. More touristy than it used to be but still a good low-key destination with lots of younger people.

 

Basilica of San Clemente -- One of my favorite places to recommend for all ages, it is basically the visual demonstration of the layers of history throughout Rome. It's basically a 12th century church on top of a 4th century church that was partially destroyed by invaders, on top of ancient Roman buildings (and most cool, a Mithraeum).  Nothing else puts history in perspective like this place!  Near the Colosseum.  Basilica di San Clemente Reviews | U.S. News Travel (usnews.com)

 

These are just a few ideas. A good source for more would be perusing the Atlas Obscura for Rome -- they often list some off-beat and funky things that might appeal to your kids:

 

131 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Rome - Atlas Obscura

[euro cruiser]

Our kids were a few years younger than yours when they visited the Time Elevator in Rome but they loved it.   I waited outside as I can't abide sustained loud noise.

 

Spettacoli | Time Elevator - Rome Multisensory Cinema (time-elevator.it)

[winnies15]

thanks to you both for such fantastic ideas- I'll fill our day with these!!! Thank you so much, really appreciated x

[MrsKMB]

Welcome! 

Both of my DDs already have somewhat of an idea of what they want to do on our trips. One loves Yelp and TripAdvisor, while the other uses Instagram for major life decisions. 🙄 Anyhow, have you ask them for ideas? Heaven forbid you should choose something "lame." 

 

[tfg]

On 5/20/2022 at 1:54 PM, winnies15 said:

Arriving 6 August for the day, cruising with Celebrity Silhouette and going into Rome via the cruise express train

Last time we were there we did Vatican etc

Looking for some 'fun'. Not looking for food tours or Segway as doing elsewhere

Any suggestions please

This is my first ever post and looking forward to your responses 🙂

TIA

Helena

Hi we are on this cruise too and have booked the express train too, we want to do the sightseeing bits as usually we stay onboard we are travelling with 15 year old. Any recommendations appreciated don't want Vatican though.

See you there 

[winnies15]

On 5/28/2022 at 8:40 AM, tfg said:

Hi we are on this cruise too and have booked the express train too, we want to do the sightseeing bits as usually we stay onboard we are travelling with 15 year old. Any recommendations appreciated don't want Vatican though.

See you there 

see you there indeed! did you look at Fiat 500 tour? could be fun with 15yo. We're going to book Time Elevator for time out the sun, soak up the city (last time we were there most of day spent in Vatican) and seek out pizza/ ice-cream recommended by Fodors! 

[Ride-The-Waves]

Several years ago we did the "Angels and Demons" tour relating to the Tom Hanks movie.  They might be fascinated by connecting/seeing the real life locations/events as they related to the movie and book and learning how myth and reality mesh.  Having visited Rome many times and need to limit walking, we booked a "golf cart" tour of Rome which uses the back streets to visit many of the locales.  Rome in an open golf cart might entice them for 3 hours...

[I object 2]

On 6/6/2022 at 8:10 AM, Ride-The-Waves said:

Several years ago we did the "Angels and Demons" tour relating to the Tom Hanks movie.  They might be fascinated by connecting/seeing the real life locations/events as they related to the movie and book and learning how myth and reality mesh.  Having visited Rome many times and need to limit walking, we booked a "golf cart" tour of Rome which uses the back streets to visit many of the locales.  Rome in an open golf cart might entice them for 3 hours...

May I ask which golf cart tour company did you use?  We're looking at Rolling Rome.

 

Thank  you!