Castel Sant'Angelo and the Pantheon for Families, with Tablets

Two and a half hours, private, and starting inside a building that has been six different things. Castel Sant'Angelo went up as the tomb of the emperor Hadrian and his family. After that it was a fortress, a papal residence, a prison, a place of public execution and the state treasury, all in the same drum of Roman brick and concrete. Children tend to find that more interesting than any single one of those uses, and the guide builds the visit around it. From the castle the walk crosses the river and the centre to the Pantheon, an ancient temple turned into a church, where the tombs include King Victor Emmanuel II and the painter Raphael. It finishes in Piazza Navona, laid out on a Roman stadium, with three fountains, an Egyptian obelisk, the Pamphili palace and the church of Sant'Agnese around it. The guide works with tablets, illustrated books, trivia and games rather than a lecture, which is the difference between a child following along and a child asking when it ends.