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When planning our stay in Rome, there were a few places we knew we needed to visit. There’s a reason Rome is considered one of the best cities in Italy to visit! One place we were keen to visit was Vatican City and another was the Colosseum. The boys have both studied the Romans at school so they were also keen to visit. We arrived on the train from Naples after visiting Pompeii the day before and we couldn’t wait to see Rome’s most famous attraction.

Colosseum With Kids – Booking

We had read about the massive queues and none of us fancied standing in a queue for two hours in the 35 degree heat so we decided to book online. We booked our tickets through the official website and decided to pay a little extra for a guided tour. The tickets allowed us to skip the queue (the main selling point!) and also allowed us access to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. We paid €19 each for my husband and I and the children went for free. You can gain access to the Colosseum without a guide for €14 if you prebook online or €12 if you don’t mind queueing on the day.

Colosseum With Kids – Location and Getting There

We caught the train to Roma Termini train station and walked from there. It took around 20 minutes or so and allowed us to take in other sites along the way. We had to rely on Google Maps to find it though as the local McDonalds seems to be better signposted than the main attractions! We head past the rather spectacular Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum finally came into view.

If you’d rather get the metro, you can ride the B line to Colosseo and it will take you virtually to the Colosseum entrance.

Colosseum With Kids – Our Experience

Our tickets were booked for 12.15pm and we arrived around 30 minutes early as recommended when we booked. We approached the area for reserved tickets but were told we didn’t need to be early and advised to return again in 15 minutes. We took the opportunity to have a sit down and indulge in some people watching. It was a lot of fun watching people pose in front of the Colosseum trying to get the perfect Instagram shot. Nobody just stands and smiles any more do they?!

We also managed to take a good look at the queue for those who hadn’t preordered tickets – it was huge! We were therefore so glad we had reserved our tickets and guide.

When our 15 minutes was up we walked straight through to the reservation window where we were given our tickets and told where to wait for our guide. Our English speaking guide was very friendly and we were each given earphones and a wireless receiver so we could all hear even as she was walking ahead.

The tour was very informative and our guide was very engaging. She made the effort with each of us, including the children, and had visual aids and pictures so we could see what the Colosseum would have looked like at its peak. The children were fascinated by it all, especially the gladiatorial history and they were horrified by the number of animals that died.

The tour lasted around 40 minutes which was the perfect length for us. Any longer and our younger two children would have become restless. After the tour we were free to explore in our own time. We made our way down to the floor level of the Colosseum which allowed us to really appreciate the scale of the building.

Colosseum With Kids – Tips and Advice

  1. When you’re outside, either on the upper tiers or the ground, there’s very little shade so don’t forget to bring sun-hats and suncream.
  2. Bring a water bottle as there’s not really any facilities once you’re inside. There are water fountains just outside which are more than safe to drink from.
  3. It’s not very pram friendly so if you’re planning on visiting with a baby you might be better off bringing a baby carrier.
  4. You can’t take large bags or rucksacks inside so try and travel light! We had a child’s size backpack which was fine to take in with us.

Colosseum With Kids – Summary

We all loved our visit to the Colosseum, including the kids. Our four year old obviously didn’t really understand what was going on but she always enjoys exploring new places. Yes it was hot, and yes it was busy but it didn’t have a negative impact on our experience at all.