Rome & Florence recs needed

[origami]

I’m planning a family trip to Rome & Florence next spring. Looking for:
- hotel recs with rooms that fit 4 (or places with connecting rooms) and have breakfast. Not looking for AirBnBs
- tours and/or website with advance tix at anything you’d recommend, esp if you think it’d be interesting for teens. Private tours preferred but small group sizes are ok too

We’ll be there for 8 days + travel days. Budget is $10-15k. Hoping to hit the major highlights in both places. Most of us have not been to either city

TIA!

[dcrunnergirl52]

In Rome, we loved Hotel Smeraldo. The family suites were beautiful, and the free breakfast was so good. They brought in baked goods and bread from the bakery across the street, which is one of the most famous in Rome. Highly recommend.

We did a bunch of tours in Rome and Florence. I have notes on them in my trip report here. Let me know if you have any questions.

docs.google.com/document/d/16qfZq4N8p6xYbaJgcGovnIZHpQui_0kVTkASctHaCBw/edit?usp=sharing

[majesty318]

All Rome:

Domus Aurea
www.coopculture.it/en/poi/domus-aurea/

Colosseum Underground
www.coopculture.it/en/products/full-experience-ticket-with-access-to-the-arena-and-underground-of-the-colosseum/

Palazzo Valentini
www.palazzovalentini.it/domus-romane/index-en.html

Vatican Scavi
www.scavi.va/content/scavi/en/ufficio-scavi.html

Catacombs/ Capuchin Crypt
You can do them on your own or this tour:
www.walksofitaly.com/rome-tours/rome-catacombs-tour/

ETA - a food tour with Devour Tours

devourtours.com/destinations/italy/rome/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=&utm_term=devour%20rome%20food%20tours&utm_content=&_bt=644691494841&_bm=p&_bn=g&gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw5_GmBhBIEiwA5QSMxLcJD6bMDjnJRqNSJydhzGgNk-eLiuKp6u_ucaTqI1rOD-Y645HMvhoCfoMQAvD_BwE&cnt=US

[picksthemusic]

I would devour Rick Steves videos about Florence and Rome, and his books are amazing, too. He was our go-to for our trip (that was about 13 years ago haha).

[mrsukyankee]

www.viator.com/tours/Florence/Small-Group-Florence-Food-Walking-Tour/d519-3092FLORENCEFOOD

[origami]

Thank you everyone. This is all super helpful

[osumelissa]

In Rome, I highly recommend the early morning Vatican tour that includes breakfast afterward. We did that last year and really liked seeing things and getting pictures before places were packed with tourists. After breakfast you can go back in and wander around at your own leisure. We booked it via the Vatican website.

In Florence, we booked an all-day wine tour that was so much fun. But definitely would not be fun for teens, lol. In Florence, we booked a Secret Passage tour at Palazzo Vecchio (pretty sure I booked through their website) that we liked. We had a really good tour guide.