Customer Reviews

Fodor's Around Rome with Kids, 1st Edition: 68 Great Things to Do Together (Around the City with Kids)

5 star:		(4)
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3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We took our 8-year-old son to Rome for 4 days this summer. In that short space we crammed a LOT of things that are in all the guidebooks - the Vatican, the Colisseum and Forum, the Pantheon, etc.

"Around Rome with Kids" added SEVERAL kid-friendly sites that we never saw in any other guidebook, including Fodor's big ones. For example:

1) The Archaebus - takes a tour to a park on the outskirts of the city where there are many ruins of Roman acqueducts, and goes right down the oldest stones on the Appian Way--in air-conditioned comfort;

2) The "Plastico di Roma" - enormous scale model of Ancient Rome in the Musselini (sp?) era Museo di Civilta Romana out in the EUR district

3) The Time Elevator - expensive but fun simulator ride near the Piazza Venezia. Cheesy but a good antidote to the seriousness of the ruins.

The best part, from the Mom perspective, is that in addition to hours, prices, and directions to each site, the authors point out kid-friendly restaurants and pit stops nearby. You are never more than a few yards from a decent gelato...

Just returned from a trip to Rome with two kids and had this book in hand. Most of the ideas listed are things that most people would come up with on their own and some of the things listed were just wrong...for example, we showed up at the Victor Emmanuel monument early to see the big iron gate descend (as noted in the book) and not only was the opening time wrong but it turns out that all they do is open a door in the gate. They also list (in a note) a museum dedicated to nativity sets...turns out it's only open in the evenings, a fact that the authors fail to mention.

This is the most concise, interesting and readable tour book I've found on Rome. Whether or not you are travelling with kids in tow, it provides great insight into Italian culture and some hidden gems. Each attraction includes places to eat and ways to get around the crowds. The "Hey Kids" secton of each page will put an end to whining and boredom and will have your children peering through binoculars and keyholes to see hidden Rome. They'll be telling ancient legends and history to all your friends when they return home. A big plus is that it is a small, portable book so you won't be lugging around a whole library.

This book has some great suggestions, but it is not set up in a user-friendly format. There are 68 2-page spreads, each one describing a particular place to take the kids. Phone numbers, hours, recommended ages, location, and even nearby kid-friendly restaurants are listed. All of which is great. However, the 2-page-spread format is annoying! Instead, they should have each destination on the FRONT and BACK of 1 page, preferably with a perforation along the inner edge, so that you can simply tear out the page you want (or a couple of pages describing places near where you'll be), stick it in your pocket, and go. So you don't have to carry the whole book around the city with you. We actually ended up creating our own destination flash-cards by cutting, pasting, photocopying, and reassembling the pages. But that's a lot of work that the consumer shouldn't have to do in order to make a guidebook useful to him or her.

It doesn't include ANY maps. And some of the location descriptions are bare addresses, which does not help a non-Roman to figure out where they are if they're not on main thoroughfares or in major piazzas.

The destinations are organized alphabetically...in Italian. Great for pointing to the name when trying to indicate to a non-English speaker where you're trying to go, but HORRIBLE for non-Italian-speaking parents (and kids!) who are trying to use the book.

My 7-year-old requests that I add to this review his own comment: "the red writing is hard to read and it doesn't tell you how to get to anywhere."

We used this book extensively to find both kid and adult friendly activities in Rome. The highlight of our trip was an excursion to the Terme di Papi, a hot spa pool outside of Rome (not listed in any other guidebook). It was an adventure getting there by train, but was worth the the effort. The phone numbers and websites listed are especially useful for getting more detailed information on a particular sight.

We used this guide during our trip to Rome this summer with our 14/11/9/and 7 year olds. There are some inaccuracies with opening and closing times of a few churches and museums that needs updating. A map highlighting the attractions is missing, and would be very desirable.
The book did highlight a few interesting facts that were missing in the traditional guides.
I would recommend using this book as an adjunct......but you could probably get by without it.

This book worked well for my children and I when we traveled to Rome on holiday. We liked that it pointed out areas of interest to the younger age group.

She has the right idea, linking monuments and museums to people and events that should be of interest to kids. She also lists nearby restaurants and ice cream shops for refreshments. Our kids just weren't very interested in museums and churches. We made it into one each during our trip.

The organizaton of the book, counting down from 68, didn't make much sense. Is #68 the most interesting or #1? The red type is hard on the eyes. The little "Hey Kids" call outs indicated that this is really a book for adults to use to guide their kids.