jenninwv

I will be traveling through Europe this fall with 2 kids, 8 and 10. The last portion of our trip will be in Italy. As of now, our last 4 nights are confirmed in Rome and the 7 nights before that in Abruzzo, near Sulmona. (I am looking forward to some down time there to enjoy the culture without rushing from 1 attraction to the next!). To start off our trip, I had been planning to spend 3 or 4 nights in Venice then 1 week in Florence before heading to Abruzzo; however, I am now wondering whether a week in Florence is too much and whether there are other places I should plan to spend time. Perhaps 3 nights Venice, 5 nights Florence, 3 nights Sorrento/Naples, then Abruzzo and Rome? I realize adding Sorrento in that order would cause some backtracking but I have confirmed our stays in Abruzzo and Rome so no changes there, plus we fly out of Rome so I need to end there anyway. Since I'm traveling with the kids, the idea was to try to stay put for a week or so in between other excursions of 3 or fewer nights. This itinerary would be more bouncing around than I had planned but maybe worthwhile? Any other suggestions?? FYI, the timeframe for this portion of our trip is late November.

bellini

I felt exhausted just reading your itinerary. A whole week in Florence in Nov. woul be too much for me and I love Italian Renaissance art, museums and churches. Do your children not complain ? Mine would. November in northern Italy can be cool and foggy especially in Venice.
I'd plump for two centres and allow time to absorb Italian life...with few tourists around except in Rome, you'd be able to do that.

Jean

Another view: I love Florence and could easily spend a week there and would prefer that to a string of 3-3-3 nights in different places. It doesn't have to be all about art, museums and churches, although there are some museums geared for kids.

There are loads of possible day trips from the city using public trans, including the Leaning Tower and Pinocchio Park. If the weather happens to be nice in Lucca, you could rent bicycles and ride on top of the city walls. In Siena, you could tell them about the Palio, show them the Campo, let them "adopt" a contrada and buy a flag of "their" neighborhood. There are lots of souvenirs based on the animal mascots of the different contrade.

You might need reservations to climb the Tower, even in November: http://www.opapisa.it/en/organizza-l...che/orari.html

Pinocchio Park is a few kms. from the Pescia train station: http://www.pinocchio.it/eng/pinocchio/

Although I haven't been to it, there is a "family museum" affiliated with the Palazzo Vecchio: http://www.palazzovecchio-familymuseum.it/

Also the Galileo Science Museum: http://www.museogalileo.it/en/visit.html

There are cooking classes for pizza and gelato. In the evening on Piazza Repubblica, there is a carousel.

jenninwv

Thanks, Jean. That is exactly what I was looking for. Things to do but not things that must be done! Sure we'll see David while we're there but after having been through many castles and churches already, I don't want to spend a week looking at art & buildings. The parks and science museum sound perfect. With a couple of day trips I think it would work to stay there for the whole week. As I had mentioned and Bellini agreed, it is preferable to me to stay in 1 place for a week rather than bouncing around. I've heard a week in Venice might be too much and I know a week in Rome is too much so those will be shorter but it would be nice to balance them with 2 longer stays in between. Thanks for the links!

Oh, also, how can I go about finding the cooking classes?

starofthesea

My kids are the same age and loved their 5 days in Rome and despite the heat, would have liked to stay longer.

Suggestions include Gladiator School on the Appian Way, and their favorite tour, the Romane Domus in Palazzo Valentini (I'd recommend prebooking both). A nice day away from Rome center is Tivoli - Villa d'Este and Hadrians Villa

I second all of Jean's suggestions. Loved them all!

jenninwv

Thanks starofthesea. I will definitely look up Gladiator School, as well as your other suggestions. Very helpful!

bobthenavigator

Once again we are blessed to have such a knowledgable contributor as Jean---she is what makes this Forum special.

Sassafrass

The books, Venice for Kids and Rome for Kids are both great for kids the age of yours. If the weather is good, they might enjoy boating out to Burano while you are in Venice.

nytraveler

November is not a time to head for the Amalfi Coast. Beach resorts in chilly and possibly weather - with many hotels and restaurants closed - and ferries operating on very reduced schedules (if at all - not if seas are high) I think would be really boring. Granted you can see Pompeii - but Capri is a big question mark and the blue grotto very unlikely.

I would be more likely to see if you can spend some days in an Agritourismo (kids might like animals and a little farm atmosphere - if you have a car to do some day trips to towns with towers or castles.

amamax2

Have you seen this trip report? They did some great sounding things with their kids - things I wish I had known about when we took our kids to Italy (though we had a fabulous time!).

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...taly-day-1.cfm

BTW, we stayed for a week in Lucca and one of the highlighh
ts was renting bikes to ride the wall as Jean suggested.

Jean

jenninwv, just google "pizza gelato classes Florence Italy." If you're staying in a hotel in the city, ask the hotel.

Here's one link I found for a friend, but he ended up not going to Florence so I can't provide a review.

http://www.florencecookingclasses.co...ail.php?id=161