My husband and I will be traveling to Italy from London with our 1-year old son and are looking to visit Florence/Tuscany and one other area of Italy. What beaches do you suggest for visiting and why?

What time of year are you traveling and will you have a car?

Follonica. Family Beach with rather shallow water and a lot of sand.

Forte dei Marmi perhaps? It's only a good hours drive from Florence.

THanks for the ideas! I will check them out. We are planning to stick with a train if possible. Or would you all recommend renting a car?

Also, we are traveling in May.

Makes sense to rent a car if you have a lot of gear, or specifically want to go to a beach that is only accessible by car, but places like Forte dei Marmi are reachable by train. Where are you going other than Florence in Tuscany?

In May, with a 1-year-old, I would want a beach that rented beach umbrellas/cabanas and wind shields and other amenities. The sun will be strong enough you will need to protect your child, but the water is likely to be too cold for swimming, and it could be quite breezy on the beach. You never know. Sometimes May sees a mini-heat wave (although the water takes a long time to heat up).

Reachable by train from Florence, Forte dei Marmi has a lot of beach of amenities. So does Viareggio. You might also check out Marina di Pietrasanta. You can try asking on Tripadvisor for advice about which has the best beach amenities for a very small child.

I would recommend you to visit San Vito lo Capo beach, Sicily. It's a family beach also is unique and inimitable in whole Mediterranean.