Gail T

Our 8 year old son is returning with us to Italy in April for 2 1/2 weeks. Can you recommend day trips, museums, etc. that might interest him --particularly in Rome (3 nites), Siena (2 nites) and on the Amalfi Coast (4 nites). He is a good traveler and loves Italy! Also, what would he like best in Milan during our 1 1/2 day stay there before returning to the US via Malpensa? (We usually rent a home north of Stresa in little Cannobio so we don't really think we want to do a day trip to Lago Maggiore this time or stay in Stresa or Arona.) What can we do IN Milan? Where can we stay to get to the airport quickly for our noontime flight and still visit the old city? We are willing to pay around $250 Euro/nite.<BR>Many thanks!<BR>Gail T

Alice Twain

In Milano you might consider visiting the Museo della Scienza e della Tecnica (science and technology muesum), with rooms devoted to simple but fun experiments that a child can do and other rooms with working models of Leonardo Da Vinci machines. Also, you might take him to The castle's museums (free admittance), in particular to the part of the museum devoted to appliied arts and ancient armours and weapons. Another option is Museo Poldi Pezzoli, in particular the rooms on the lower floor with more applied arts collections (pocket watches, glasses, cutlery...). Museo di storia naturale (natural history museum) has been restructured in the late 1990s and is still a kid's favorite in Milano (check out fot the whale skeleton, I used to love it when I was a child). A nic open-air activity might be a walk in the Navigli district, while Giardini della Commenda are smaller but really lovely for both kids and grown-ups.<BR>I can't give you any precise irection about hotels for your almost 250 euro budget, but I suggest you to stay in the center of MIlano, maybe in a three.star hotel. From there you will be able to catch the train from Cadorna FNM railway station to Malpensa at 9 am and be in Malpensa at 10 am. There is more or less one train every half an hour, and the trip takes some 50 minutes. Yet Milano has more or less no "old city" like, for instance, Florence. The center of the city was heavily bombed as well as the outskirts and you will be finding ancient and old buildings interspaced with 1950s buildings all over the city.<BR>If you want to see something really old and very beautiful, go to Certosa di Garegano, an ancient and beautiful monastry in the otskirts of the city. You must take tram number 14 in via Torino (direction Cimitero Maggiore) and reach viale Certosa. Ask the conductor or driver to tell you as you arrive at via Garegnano. You wuill find yourself in the middle of an ugly modern area, but as you walk along tiny via Garegano, things will get better, and the Certosa is incredibly lovely. Than, as you walk out, there willl be again all the ugly buildings, but, alas, that's Milano!

Gianna

In Siena I would suggest that you take him to the Cinema Moderno in Piazza Tolomei (on the main street), about 10 times every day they show the Palio race and pageantry on the big screen (in english)

Gail T

thanks for the tips about what to do with our 8 yr old son in Milan, Siena and Amalfi!!! the more the better!<BR><BR>PLEASE NOTE for your Milano hotel tips: WE WILL HAVE A CAR, so training to the airport will not be an issue. Is it hard or confusing getting out of town to get to the airport by car?

Kelly

Hello there. My husband is now in Milan and staying at Hotel Spadari (near the Duomo). Thank God, since I researched and picked it for him!! He loves it - the hotel, services, location, etc. There are many different rates depending on when you go as well as who you book with. Check it out on spadarihotel.com. If you are American, you can book it cheaper through expedia.ca. Take care.