Family Trip ages 16-70 to Italy/France
 

I am looking for ideas of places to visit in Italy and France for our family of 8. We will have about 2 weeks and have ages ranging from teenage boys up to grandma and grandpa. For sure want to spend 3-4 days in Rome, but looking for less touristy places as well.

What time of year are you traveling?

Do you want to travel by train or car? Are you prepared for the expense of flying between the two countries? Train connections are remarkably long and inconvenient to most itineraries.

Rest assured that 90 percent of both Italy and France gets very few tourists and yet is filled with fascination and enjoyment for people in every age group.

Fly into Paris, rent a house in a suburb (less-touristy) that allows short-term rentals with a train station for going into the city and taking day trips.

Fly to Rome and rent a centrally located house, short-term rentals are allowed.

Fly home from Rome. Or the reverse. In my experience Rome is warmer, good in winter, less good in summer.

I wouldn't spend all your time in Rome if you want to see a less-tourist impacted side of Italy.

If not renting a car transporting 8 various ages can be problematic -and you'd need two cars or a minivan to drive.

MmePerdu has a great idea -pick 2-3 bases and take trains between them (this one my idea) Paris and Rome make sense and for a rural getaway France has many gites or country houses the whole family could stay in - they are in smaller villages often.

https://en.gites-de-france.com/

You would need a car to get around ususally though some are in cities with transports.

For a fix on trains - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

I'd fly between France and Italy.

Well, you've narrowed it down to a few thousand places. What guidebooks and internet sites have you examined and what are the interests of this varied group? Hiking? Biking? Water sports? Museums? Small villages? Agriculture? Festivals? Cooking? Food? Ruins? Castles? How do you want to travel?Bus? Train? Planes? Surely you can give us more to go on than you want to go to Europe. When are you going?

Good answers depend on good questions.

StCirq, with so many participants I suspect the answer to your choice of activities will be "yes". No place will have everything they all want and it'll boil down to how much effort they're willing to expend and how much they're willing to spend. My suggestions were from the grandparent's likely simplifying point of view and from those 2 locations everyone will be free and able to scatter to please themselves.

I get it, Mme, and I agree with you. Just seemed like more info was warranted.

I have no destination suggestions, just a comment. Don't underestimate how much time it takes to move 8 people around, explore a sight or museum, have a meal, etc.

Jean, indeed. Another piece of the puzzle that staying in as few locations as possible will help with reducing the permutations.

My feeling is that I don't have to move to a number of French places to still be enjoying France. In fact, quite the contrary. Or Italian. Less time spent moving will be more time enjoying the food, the walks past places with exotic smells, and all the things on StCirq's list. And each other's company as you do them.

>>Don't underestimate how much time it takes to move 8 people around, explore a sight or museum, have a meal, etc.<<

Which might be why they are looking for less touristy places.

I don't find it puzzling (or cause for "suspicions" and snooty attitudes) that a group would want to spend time touring Rome but not have that be their only experience of Italy. Loads of families as large as this visit Italy and Europe every year and don't cling to one place for a week, afraid to move.

Most people looking at a map understandably think it must be easy to combine both France and Italy in a 2 week trip to Europe. In fact, what is puzzling is why it isn't easier and the transportation connections remain so unappealing or expensive.

So, lets look at what we know

Rome is a must, taking an appartment might be a good idea, it lets the family stay together and gives a bit of private space. Appartments are relatively easy to find in Rome.

We don't have a year or a month, that would help

Moving 8 people about can be tricky, but at least inside a family the dynamics are well understood unlike say 8 people who don't know each other.

We don't know a budget.

My suggestiongs

With that many people using a van/larger car or two cars makes a lot of sense but then logically there are drop off fees between France and Italy. I suspect that is going to be one of the costs that just need to be swallowed.

Less touristy places and things for teenagers and slight seniors to enjoy?

I might look at say

The Jura, part of the Alps but in France, lots of fine walking from Spring to Autumn with nothing too steep, nice provincial towns like Pontarlier and yet close to Geneva if you like a pleasant enough city. Swiss prices may be a surprise but it gives you an alternative, or Annecy, Lyons and Macon (getting in Burgundy wine), or going North the fine city of Bescancon (relatively untouched by foreign tourism.

Getting into Italy; you have the gardens and beaches of Liguria, rising quickly into the mountains with some fine vista. North of this range of Mountains is Turin and some lovely valleys/mountains and towns that again often fall off the general tourist map.

As others have said there are loads of places that have not seen the tourist dollar. If you go in the summer, access to a pool is needed, you can stay villas or agriturismo that are a delight, with the second you might have horse riding and access to other families with kids who want to hang out/or not.

Come back with some clues and the team will offer what they can

If you want to stay in a "gite" you'll waste a lot of time and money getting into Paris - and the little kids and older folks will be exhausted.
I'd rather book several rooms in a Citadines or Adagio, if you require a kitchen and several bathrooms.

You won't find two or more apartments in the same residential building in Paris which will have "real" beds.

Or, if you don't want to cook, book several rooms in Accor, Mercure, or Ibis - family-friendly hotels which sometimes have free breakfast for kids.

You can qualify for group travel, if going by train - use the website maninseat61 for how to go from France to Italy.

Before you go, reach a fundamental agreement: You don't have to do everything together. Ages, activity levels, and interests are bound to vary. If you understand ahead of time that anyone can independently explore personal interests, you will have a lot more to share when you gather for the evening meal.

Yes, what Southam says. You need a base where there are lots of options, ones for people who want to take it easy, other options for those who want to sightsee all day every day. So not a villa in the countryside unless you rent several cars. How many people do you have who will do the driving?

Getting together every night for dinner sounds wonderful but practically speaking is difficult. You must pick a hotel with a private dining room or make arrangements at different restaurants for every night. And that hotel must have rooms for you all at an acceptable price. Almost no apartment and relatively few villas have enough room to cook for and seat 8. And be able to sleep everybody.

In this case you might hire an knowledgeable travel agent. Or take a cruise or a guided tour. That would also take the responsibility off the shoulders of the trip organizer.

I think it's relatively easy to find villas that have kitchens large enough to feed 8. IME, I've been in 4 or 5 that were comfortable for cooking and had enough seating:

Rural France in the Pontoise-Charente area, outside of Florence, in the Val d'Orcia, London and in Venice. Searching for larger accommodations helped decide the itineraries.