New Year's Eve in Rome with Kids – 7 Great Experiences for Families

How we experienced Rome with children and why our New Year's Eve in Rome 2024 will be unforgettable, I'll tell you in my new travel report "Rome in 5 Days." We fly to Rome for five days from Malta. It's my first time in the city, and to give you the conclusion in advance: Rome surprised me very positively.

It's like a big museum, especially when you've never been there before and everything is new to you. Don't worry about what you want to see, when, or where. On our trip to Rome with kids, I only booked the hotel and flights. We did everything else spontaneously. It was super relaxed and thanks to the metro, it was no problem at all without a car.

Caesar came to the Colosseum. Well, Caesar didn't come to the Colosseum „anymore“, but we naturally went there, and for the first time I could make something of my little Latin. Or not. In fact, my Maltese knowledge helped me significantly more in Italy.

Also let's go and take a look at how you can spend New Year's Eve in Rome as a family.

Travel from Malta MLA to Rome FCO

From Malta, we're off to Rome, the city of love. ❤️ If you read Rome backward, you'll know what I mean. We'll land at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport and take an Uber to our hotel. This time, I've booked us into a Mercure again, right next to a metro stop. That was super convenient, and that's why I can also tell you about the Mercure Rome Cinecittàwarmly recommend.

It's right next to Cinecittà, sort of Italy's Hollywood. From here, we could easily get everywhere by metro. We could have breakfast at the hotel, and there was a nice restaurant for those warm, ice-cold winter evenings. That was perfect for us as a family.

01. People's Square

On the way to the famous Via Del Corso shopping street, we first enter Piazza del Popolo. It's a huge square, right by the Flaminio metro station. The first ancient things we see in Rome are the pompous triumphal arch, practically the entrance gate to the square, as well as the lion fountain, which is located right in the middle of the square.

We are enjoying the sun's rays and discovering interesting relics around the square, and the Leonardo da Vinci Museum is also located right here. Since we are only in the city for a few days, we are leaving the museums aside for now, so to the right in this case.

All the more impressive is the main shopping street, Via del Corso. It stretches for 1.5 km and connects Piazza del Popolo with Piazza Venezia. On the way, you'll pass about 500 stores and shops. What particularly strikes me is the charm with which most of the shops are decorated. Lovingly integrated into buildings that are sometimes 2,000 years old.

The most impressive thing for me was the Apple Store, which, however, is located in a building from 1873. In Rome, that's practically a new building. It's also furnished quite modernly. 😀

Since we're visiting Rome with children, we're all happy that there are always shops for our kids among them. So we spent what felt like an eternity in a squeaky duck store, and of course, in Rome, gelateria after gelateria lines up. We always like to refuel with a delicious ice cream.

Besides the Via del Corso, there are of course many other streets for shopping, but we'll stick to that here. We went shopping for 3 km, round trip.

02. Trevi Fountain – Trevi Fountain Rome

Just a 5-minute walk from Via del Corso is one of the most famous fountains in the world and certainly one of the best-known sights in Rome, the Trevi Fountain.

It was erected in 1762, by Salvi and Pannini, or rather, completed by these two. I even had a sticker album from the latter in the 90s. 😉

According to legend, throwing a coin over your left shoulder into the fountain brings good luck and ensures you'll return to Rome. Since I don't necessarily have to go back there, we'll skip that. Besides, the Trevi Fountain is a great place to create that Instagram-vs.-reality picture.

Let's just say, we would have had to toss the coin an awful lot if we really wanted to hit the fountain. Generally, there was a lot going on in Rome, but we always found little corners where we could catch our breath. We found it rather okay, after all, Rome is a small city compared to the cities where we recently were in China and Japan were on the way.

By the way, the kids got an ice cream here. They did really well, and they also have the discipline to always stay with us and hold our hands.

In my travel report Rome in 5 Days, the Trevi Fountain is definitely worth mentioning. Even though it's usually crowded, it's a must-see in Rome.

03. Pantheon Rom

From the Trevi Fountain, you can reach the Pantheon in about 10 minutes. Taxis aren't worth it in Rome, and not all the sights are accessible by metro. However, as I said, you can easily reach almost everything on foot. Even the kids managed it.

We didn't go inside the Pantheon because the line was simply too long. We would have had to wait at least 1.5 hours, even with online tickets. But the architecture alone from the outside is already very impressive. The original building was erected around 27 BC, and the current building around 125 AD. That makes it so ancient and old to me that it's exciting again.

If you're interested in the history of Rome, it's definitely worth waiting an hour. If I had been alone, I would have done that too. Admission costs only 5 EUR in 2025 and you can easily buy your ticket at GetYourGuidebook.

After that, we walked to Piazza Navona, a large square right next to the Pantheon. There was a kind of fair and carnival here, and of course, in the middle of the square, another large fountain.

04. Bioparco Zoo – Rome with Children

When visiting Rome with children, a zoo is always/mostly a must. We also often ask our children what they feel like doing, so that there is something exciting for them on such a trip. Science and tech museums were also on the list, as were indoor playgrounds. But our kids decided on the zoo.

After critical research, I could only find positive things about the zoo in Rome, called Bioparco di Roma. Therefore, we spent a whole day here at the zoo.

Around 1,100 animals and approximately 200 different species live here on a large area. So there's a lot to see, and everything is lovingly and meticulously arranged. Between the enclosures and various tropical houses, there are also cafes and restaurants with picnic areas and a playground.

Even though it was a cool 15 degrees outside, the kids loved it and at the end wanted to play more than look at animals. So we got an extra coffee to warm up.

I can only recommend the Bioparco di Roma. It was a great day in Rome with the kids and we all got our money's worth. Speaking of costs, the tickets were very affordable. hereI book almost all my tickets through GetYourGuide now because you don't have to print anything and just need to have the app on your phone. Super practical, affordable, and fast.

05. New Year's Eve in Rome 2024/2025

The main reason, of course, why we traveled to Rome. New Year's Eve in Rome, that sounds like fireworks with a lot of culture and history. In fact, the Romans go all out with fireworks on New Year's Eve. That was somewhat surprising.

But first we spent the day very relaxed in the city. Some shopping here and there and we ended up at Ikea, where we, believe it or not, NOTHING purchased. My first time at Ikea, without hundreds of items I don't really need. That was the last big success of last year. 😊

After that, we had a delicious dinner at our hotel, and beforehand, we specially arranged a good bottle of „Ferrari Maximum.“ It's Italy's champagne, so to speak. It tasted absolutely delicious and was perfect for ringing in the New Year 2025. Since we were on the top floor of our hotel, we had a great view of the city and were able to admire six to eight large fireworks displays at the same time.

The fireworks started around 9 PM and ended at 1:30 AM. For me, that was a great highlight since I love fireworks. Of course, the neighbor's cat and dog were more bothered by it.

The next day, on January 1st, the New Year's Parade will take place in Rome at Piazza del Popolo. Since we were not in Italy on that day (see next chapter), we skipped the parade. However, if you are spending New Year's Eve in Rome, it is surely great to see the parade as well. Google told me that it is quite loud and colorful and very popular. Therefore, I don't want to leave it unmentioned in my Rome in 5 Days travel report.

06. The Vatican and the Pope's Right Sleeve

The headline already tells the connoisseur that we must have been in or at the Vatican twice. Since the Pope was only seen at the Angelus on December 29th, the snapshot on the left could not have been taken on New Year's Day. Okay, okay. OKAY!! Since the wait time on December 29th was about 4 hours, we quickly decided to walk to the Vatican again on New Year's Day.

But before we left, we discovered a small group of people filming and photographing like crazy. It was a bit off to the side and outside the Vatican, but with a view of the Pope's window. That's how the picture was taken.

When we arrived at the Vatican punctually at 9:30 AM on New Year's Day, there was no line or anything. We could walk straight through and were in St. Peter's Square and St. Peter's Basilica within a few minutes. That was great, and St. Peter's Basilica in particular is more than impressive. The size, the architecture, and not least the paintings and artworks were worth the visit a thousand times over.

I'm not a huge churchgoer, but I was more than amazed by the ambiance. The children were also captivated. They asked countless questions, for example, how certain pictures were painted on the ceiling. And also, whether the giant dome could fall down and put us all in great danger. 😂 All valid questions, therefore.

Upon entering St. Peter's Square, we were overwhelmed by its size. Especially when you are standing at the top, by the exit of the Cathedral. The view is superb, and the square is so vast that the ever-increasing number of people doesn't even stand out. To the left, there is a huge Christmas tree with a large nativity scene in front of it.

A stop at the Vatican post office was unexpectedly exciting, especially for the kids. We bought postcards to send to Switzerland and Germany, naturally with a Vatican stamp. The kids wrote a few cute cards, and we mailed them from one of the smallest countries in the world.

By the way, the Vatican is an ideal excursion destination, especially for my 5-day Rome travel report. You have a lot of exciting sights here in a very small space. We skipped the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. But that's certainly worth a visit too.

Instead, we left the Vatican again, because practically right behind the post office building is the German Cemetery, but it's outside the Vatican. Back in Italy, we walked to the Swiss Guard, who guard the entrance to the cemetery. Here you have to politely ask for admission, in German! They asked us which cemetery we meant, and I said: Teutonic Cemetery. That's the code word, well, and the name of the cemetery.

After that, we were allowed to pass. The cemetery was a beautiful place of peace, and we could catch our breath for a moment. By peace, I mean of course because nothing is going on here. There are no tourist crowds here. The kids found it exciting because everything was written in German. They can't read it very well, but they always have fun when they discover the German umlauts. =)

After the cemetery, I actually wanted to buy a Vatican euro, but here they are selling 1 euro coins for a whopping 30 euros. That's wild. Even that North Korean money was cheaper back then. So we didn't invest any further here and walked around the city a bit more. Directly in front of the Vatican is Castel Sant'Angelo (Angels' Castle), which we also only looked at from the outside. From there, the Ponte Sant'Angelo leads across the Tiber River.

The Vatican alone was worth the trip to Rome. Especially when visiting Rome with children, the Vatican is a great option because it truly offered exciting points for everyone. It's like a huge museum.

07. Colosseum Rome and Roman Forum

Standing in front of the Colosseum was another very impressive experience. Experiencing Rome with children and being able to show them such a relic from the past was exciting. The kids were also thrilled by the size and immediately had a thousand questions. We had to immediately Google in the café next door what gladiator battles were like back then and what else went on in the Colosseum.

We also didn't take a tour here, but simply marveled at the building from the outside. It's interesting and exciting to see how gigantic such forums and colosseums were built back then. In its heyday, the Colosseum held up to 70,000 people, which is about the same size as a modern football stadium.

What also took place in the Colosseum back then were executions and animal fights. The latter were often just among the animals themselves. Wild animals such as lions, elephants, and crocodiles were brought from all over, and then they fought against each other. Sometimes with a gladiator as well.

In the meantime, the Colosseum was actually used as a quarry. Hence its destroyed form today. Stones were simply taken to build houses. This was stopped relatively quickly, but it prevented further use of the Colosseum.

Just a five-minute walk below the Colosseum is the Roman Forum. It was, so to speak, the pulsating center of ancient Rome. Public life took place here, with political events, trade, and court proceedings.

I was really able to immerse myself in the past here, as the ruins still provide a good picture of what it looked like back then. Of course, a bit of imagination is also involved. The most important structures here are the triumphal arches, the basilicas Julia and Aemilia, and the Temple of Saturn. I also found the large columns, which are more or less well preserved, impressive.

The Roman Forum was a beautiful end to our New Year's Eve trip to Rome 2024. In the evening, the kids even got to go ice skating nearby.

Excursion tips Rome with children

Conclusion New Year's Eve in Rome 2024/2025

Rome is a beautiful city, even if you're not into history and antiquity 100%. The city has a lot of charm and the people there are super friendly and accommodating. We spent a few great days here and I can only recommend that everyone put Rome on their bucket list.

New Year's Eve in Rome was well worth it for us, because there's hardly anything going on at home in Malta on New Year's Eve. Here in Rome, there were many beautiful fireworks, and there was a lot going on all around. Although we always had to keep a close eye on our belongings, as there are many pickpockets. But we never felt unsafe at any time.

Of all the cities we've traveled to so far, Rome has had relatively a lot to offer for kids. Therefore, I can highly recommend Rome with children. It was very easy to keep the kids entertained here, and they were able to learn a lot. The Italian capital is perfectly suited for worldschooling.

As always, I've picked out some great snapshots so you can get a good first impression of our trip.

Have you ever been to Rome or the Vatican? If not, perhaps you're feeling inspired now and will consider Rome with kids as one of your next travel destinations.

Photo Gallery: Rome in 5 Days Travel Report