baby108

We will be going to Rome in Feb with our 2 boys during their school winter break and friends suggested us to add Florence to the itinerary and I think we will go for it by leaving over the weekend and have the boys skip one more day from school I had a lot of excellent inputs for the stay in Rome and now I need some more help for Florence. I checked the trenitalia.com website and it gave me a train schedule but no price. Anyone know the price for one way tickets for adults and children from Rome to Florence? Is it too early to book a ticket online now? I prefer to take the Eurostar since it will take less than 2 hours from Rome to Florence but how do I reserve that or will it be OK to do it after we arrived in Rome since it will be the low season? Any recommandation on hotels in Florence which are centrally located and have a room/junior suite for all 4 of us? Will it be doable to do a day trip to Pisa from Florence? Any other recommandation on what to do in the city and possiable other day trip idea for us which might interest a first grader and a kindergartener? Thanks for all the help!

kfusto

It depends on what class of service. The www.trenitalia.com website shows you the exact rate when you select the train and class. It is worth the few extra Euros for the Eurostar, a quick 90 minute ride from Rome to Florence.

Wait til you get there to buy your tickets. The self service kiosks are easy to use and you can also but tickets at any travel agency or Amex office. Seat reservations are included on Eurostar trains unless you buy thru Raileurope.

Check out the Gold Suite at Soggiorno Antica Torre on Piazza della Signoria in Florence. Lots of room and very well located.

kybourbon

The Eurostar is 30E 2nd class and 42E 1st class one way and the tickets include seat reservations. Book your tickets when you get to Rome.

You can either bus or train from Florence to pisa for 4-5E one way. The train is about 10E 1st cl and 7E 2nd cl and travel time is about 1 hour.

amelia

Daytrip to Pisa is certainly doable. This Brit Expat web has much of the Pisa info you would need:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=141585

As to Florence, here is a fabulous tour in the London Times recommended by another poster:

http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/arti...0271_1,00.html

For a kid's version, please take a look at these pages:

http://www.vacationidea.com/florence...e_forkids.html

http://www.ivillage.co.uk/travel/fam...570752,00.html

When I took my two kids, I bought a book called "Florence for Kids" by Stefano Filipponi and Annalisa Fineschi. I can't remember when I bought it, but here's a web page that shows the book. When you click "Home" it takes you to an Italian home page where it says you can order on the net. Good luck. Here's that page:

http://www.edizionilapis.it/volumi/01florence.html


When looking up on the web where you could buy it, I found this website offering TOURS for kids:

http://www.artviva.com/florenceforkids.htm. Maybe you want to give that a bit of a go.


My kids were two years older when we went. I have Sister Wendy art tapes and they watched the Renaissance one before we left, but not without making constant "Sister Wendy Faces." However, the Uffizi is in the exact order of Wendy's narrative, and they caught on instantly.

What's great is that in Florence, the gelato/museum/gelato/museum/gelato/museum is a workable parent/child arrangement.

bookchick

There's a guest house called Il Porcellino you may want to consider. The kids will love the image of the wild boar, and the statue in Mercato Nuovo is right outside.

For gelato, take them to Vivoli, and they may want to spend time in the Boboli Gardens. (You will gain entrance to them through Palazzo Pitti.)
Also, make sure to show them the view of the city from Piazza Michaelangelo. You can play a game of "how many roofs", "how many domes", etc.

Buon Viaggio,
BC

baby108

Thank you for all the replies. I will check into the websites and the book recommanded. I just made all the hotel reservations and got the air tickets today and I am sure I will be spending a lot of time fine tuning the trip in the next couple months