I’ll preface this with the fact that we went and saw many things that most people who go to Rome and the Vatican see; the colosseum, the Sistine chapel, the Basilica, etc. So I’ll keep this post short since there isn’t much use going over the same thing multiple times!

We were in Rome for two full days and one-half day. We booked a Hop-on Hop-off bus tour for two days. In retrospect, we only needed it for one day since we didn’t even use it the second day. This was a way to make sure that we got to see the most important sights.

Here are a few tips if you are traveling with a young child (like a year or under) that helped us out:

• If you babywear, skip the stroller and take a comfortable carrier or wrap. We didn’t take ours and it was so crowded and the cobblestones were so bumpy, I’m glad we didn’t bring the stroller. Babywearing was much faster and allowed us quicker (and safer) access to many things.
• If you want to get into the Vatican museum to see the Sistine chapel, the line is forever long! We were escorted right to the front. Why? Because we had a baby! Our daughter was our free ticket to skip straight to the front. Utilize this! Trust me, waiting in such a long line while babywearing a one-year-old would not have been fun.
• Just be aware that not all restaurants have highchairs. There were plenty of restaurants to choose from, though, so we picked ones that highchairs visible. Trying to dine while juggling an infant because we couldn’t set her down was not enjoyable.

If you are US military and you’re flying into Rome on Ryanair or coming through the port on a cruise, I suggest using USO Rome to book their airport/port pick-up service. It was easy to do and affordable (especially since the airport we flew into was a good 45 minutes drive to the city!).

Rome and the Vatican are beautiful and if you can, stop by and see the Pope speak and grab a postcard and mail it through the Vatican post office (it makes a great little gift for someone back home!).