Rome for families

Italians love kids but its cities aren't the most child-friendly – or cheap. Here's how to keep them happy in Rome
Family on walkway above Colosseum.
The Colosseum should fire the imagination of even the most ruin-weary young mind. Photograph: Alamy

Be warned, Rome is child-friendly but not particularly child organised. Nappy changing stations are rare, and museums and historical sights are uncompromisingly grown-up – part of their charm – with no exciting videos or interactive displays. But turn up at a hotel with children and you'll be welcomed as full members of the human race, not always a given elsewhere. You'll be welcomed in restaurants, too, even the smart ones, and even in the evening, when Romans usually leave children at home. Better still, Romans are so noisy that you'll rarely have to worry about disturbing anyone.

You could take the new glass elevator up the Vittoriano monument, or "wedding cake". It's a little steep at €7 for adults (children under 10 go free) but the views are great from the top, up beside the huge winged victory statues. Or you could climb the Gianicolo hill, behind Trastevere, also with great views, and where on weekends you can see old-style puppet shows.

Before your children refuse to see another church, take them to San Clemente near the Colosseum, and descend through layers of excavated history, through a dark age basilica, rooms of an ancient Roman townhouse, across an eerie 1,900-year-old alleyway, and to a temple of Mithras. A rushing underground spring adds to the atmosphere. Or there's San Ignazio, not far from the Pantheon, and see how long your children take to notice that the dome above them is actually a huge trompe-l'oeil, painted after a planned real dome fell victim to Baroque planning permission troubles.

There's Castel Sant'Angelo, originally built by Emperor Hadrian as his own tomb, and later used as the popes' fortress. From the battlements you can peer down at the Passetto, a raised escape passageway for awkward moments, which proved very handy to Pope Clement VII during the sack of Rome in 1527. Or you could climb the dome of Saint Peter's. As you get higher the stairway becomes crazily angled with the curve of the dome, and the views from the top are, again, fantastic.

One exhibition that does offer levers to pull and things to hit is the Macchine di Leonardo museum in the cellars of the Palazzo della Cancelleria. It has models of da Vinci's most ambitious designs, including his tank and aeroplane, both of which look heavy to push. If only he'd had an engine . . .

On a hot day it's cool down there in the cellars, as it is in the city's various catacombs. If your children feel up to subterranean bones, it's best to avoid the tour bus catacombs, such as the San Sebastiano, and to try one of the less known ones, such as those of Domitilla, which takes small guided groups down through the levels, and has a beautiful underground church.

Finally, you could celebrate the end of the day's exploring with dinner on the Tiber island, as, in high summer, the whole riverfront is transformed into restaurants, bars and an open-air cinema, with air-conditioning that doesn't use a kilowatt, from the cool of the river rushing by.
The hotel Santa Maria (+39 0658 94626) in Trastevere is friendly and quiet. Triple rooms from €130, quadruples from €150

Matthew Kneale is an author who lives in Rome. His latest book, When We Were Romans, is published by Picador, £16.99