Rome in Winter

We travelled as a family to Rome in winter, which might not seem an obvious time to visit Italy's iconic capital city but turned out to have many advantages over visiting in more obvious seasons.

Rome in February was beautiful, the city's landmarks glistened under the weak winter sun. We didn't have snow whilst there, but I'm told its picturesque when it does snow too. We travelled in half term and spent three nights in the centre of the city in a small guest house not far from the Trevi Fountain.

There is so much to see and do in Rome that you'd struggle to do it justice in a year never mind three days. So as first-time visitors to the capital we decided to try and see as much as possible of the classic Rome, whilst adding in some run around time for the children and of course plenty of ice cream stops!

Many of the best sights are located within a small area in the centre of the city so it was perfectly possible to see the Pantheon, The Spanish Steps and the stunning Trevi Fountain all within a mornings’ wandering for example.

The Trevi Fountain was my favourite monument, so I made sure to visit several times at different times of the day. It’s simply stunning lit up at night but is still very busy even at midnight so my top tip if you want it to yourself is to wander past at 7am whilst out on the early morning coffee and juice run!

The Colosseum and The Forum are the big hitters obviously- and if you don't want to spend much of your precious break queueing, then get your tickets from the Palatine Hill ticket office - it’s always much less busy.

Food in Rome is world renowned - and very child friendly too- which kid doesn't love endless pizza and ice cream? Be sure not to miss the special sandwich shops that sell three-foot-long open sandwiches - delicious but definitely for sharing!

In the evening, take a trip across the Tiber to the bohemian area of Trastavere. This area is full of local trattoria and is an excellent place for slowing down the pace and people watching whilst enjoying a drink before dinner. The area centres around Piazza da Santa Maria and has a relaxed but funky vibe, perfect for the evening.

Rome is wonderful, chaotic, lively and friendly, but if it all gets a bit much, visit the Villa Borghese park to let the children run around free rein- or have a romantic stroll around the gardens to break up the sightseeing.

To sum up, Rome is one of those cities you'll visit once, and that will never be enough. It’s a city that truly got under my skin.