Rome is cool for kids

"Look, mum, I'm a Roman," announced my daughter Marina emerging gleefully from the hotel bathroom, a towel draped around her in perfect imitation of the toga-wearing nobility we'd seen sculpted in bas-relief at the Forum that morning.

To get the best out of Rome I'd hired a private guide through the travel company - one of the best holiday investments I've ever made, not least because it allowed us to skip an hour-long queue at the Colosseum. It was immediately clear that our guide, Olivia Ercole, a native of Rome trained as an art historian with excellent spoken English, had a great instinct for what would capture a child's attention.

Walking us around the ancient marketplaces, temples, arches and public squares, she brought to life the sounds, the smells, the activity of a day in Imperial Rome. "Do you know what school was like for children your age? Lessons were conducted in the streets," she said. "How do you think it would smell in the markets? Of animals, exotic spices and sweaty people." Marina was entranced; I was riveted.

In Rome, there is child-friendly magic wherever you go - it's a living museum and it's filled with people who love children. At the Hotel Eden, staff were like affectionate uncles: "Che carina!? they exclaimed, bringing two of everything she asked for.

Mealtimes were a breeze: we'd simply pull up a bar stool in a good enoteca where Marina would get mozzarella, pomodoro and basilico with no fuss or waiting, and I could choose from a range of two dozen exceptionally good wines by the glass. And then there was the gelato.

What a find Giolitti was, in a tiny street near the Parliament buildings. We returned every afternoon for cones overflowing with frutta di bosco (wild berries), amaretti and mela verde (green apple) ice cream.

On our second and last morning with Olivia, we headed west to Ostia Antica, the port of Ancient Rome, in a car with a driver (although it is on the Underground). It's remarkably intact, giving a real sense of daily life.

Olivia walked us through bathhouses with Neptune floor mosaics, showed us a bakery, complete with flour-grinding stones and shop counter, took us to an ancient tavern-and walked us around the Piazza delle Corporazione - the main commercial square.

We paused in the soaring amphitheatre imagining ourselves as part of the audience, climbing to seats high above the stage. Then came Olivia's promised "secret" - the laundry and dyeing house. There were shrieks of laughter when she explained how the Romans got yellow dye (from urine) how it was someone's job to collect it each day from the public latrines. ("Oh, no! A pee-pee collector!")

Back in the city, Olivia had a final treat in store - the Bocca della Verita, a large stone disc depicting the open-mouthed face of a faun. Legend has it that anyone who tells a lie while holding their hand in the faun's mouth will have it bitten off. Despite testing it with a deliberate fib or two, Marina came away unscathed.

? Passeggiate Romane (Walks in Rome) is available free from Tourist Information offices. Also essential for children: Rome Past and Present (published by Vision, around E10, from branches of Feltrinelli all over Rome) has photos of present ruins overlaid with drawings of how they looked in ancient times.

Sandra Lane flew to Rome with Go (0870 607 6543; www.go-fly.com) which flies twice daily from Stansted and has returns from £107 in July. She stayed at the Hotel Eden ( 00 39 06 47 81 21; www. hoteleden.com), doubles £328 a night. Guide (half-day £100, full-day £233)arranged by Bellini Travel (020 7437 8918; www. bellinitravel.com), which organise tailor-made packages to Rome.