Italy with a 2 year old and 4 year old.
Feb 8th, 2009, 02:25 PM
#1
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Italy with a 2 year old and 4 year old.
We are traveling to Europe at the end of June, early July. We will be in London for a conference from June 28-July 2. We would like to go to Italy and possibly southern France starting on July 3. We are debating between another 10-15 days. Does anyone have a suggestion on the top places in Italy to visit for those days and if we can make a trip to Provence or Nice in that timeframe? Thanks-
Feb 8th, 2009, 02:36 PM
#2
hi sk,
of course you CAN fit Italy and Nice/Provence into 10-15 days [and it's obviously easier if you have 15 rather than 10 days] but do you WANT to?
with children that age, at that time of year i would be heading for one of the lakes. that's all.
alternatively the Italian riveria, followed by Nice.
regards, ann
of course you CAN fit Italy and Nice/Provence into 10-15 days [and it's obviously easier if you have 15 rather than 10 days] but do you WANT to?
with children that age, at that time of year i would be heading for one of the lakes. that's all.
alternatively the Italian riveria, followed by Nice.
regards, ann
Feb 8th, 2009, 03:07 PM
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I have no idea why ann thinks you should be heading for the lakes in June.
I live on the Mediterranean in Italy, in Liguria, near Genova, which is easily reached with a direct flight from London.
I highly recommend that you check out the pedestiranized beach town of Camogli, or Sestri Levante as an extremely enjoyable place to enjoy with small children.
In addition, you should peruse either the Fodor's Italy guide or David Downie's work on Italy (Enchanted Liguria, or his new book on food in Italy from Little Book Press) to see if any of the towns between Genova and the French border interest you.
From Liguria, you can take a train to Nice, or pick up a car almost anywhere inside the French border to tour Provence.
If you want to include some spectacular architectural sightseeing on your trip, you might consider first flying to Pisa or Firenze, doing your sight seeing, moving on to Liguria, then on to the southern coast of France.
All very doable, and very enhjoyable, in the warm weather months.
I live on the Mediterranean in Italy, in Liguria, near Genova, which is easily reached with a direct flight from London.
I highly recommend that you check out the pedestiranized beach town of Camogli, or Sestri Levante as an extremely enjoyable place to enjoy with small children.
In addition, you should peruse either the Fodor's Italy guide or David Downie's work on Italy (Enchanted Liguria, or his new book on food in Italy from Little Book Press) to see if any of the towns between Genova and the French border interest you.
From Liguria, you can take a train to Nice, or pick up a car almost anywhere inside the French border to tour Provence.
If you want to include some spectacular architectural sightseeing on your trip, you might consider first flying to Pisa or Firenze, doing your sight seeing, moving on to Liguria, then on to the southern coast of France.
All very doable, and very enhjoyable, in the warm weather months.
Feb 8th, 2009, 04:23 PM
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Thank you for the suggestions. We originally thought about flying from London to Rome and then working our way north through Florence, Bologna, possibly Venice. What are the must sees if we do this? The flight from Florence to Nice is pretty expensive and the train seems to take all day. Our other thought was to set up a home base from Florence or Bologna and then do day trips here and there with a few over nights at places like Rome. Any other suggestions on the best way to handle this?
Feb 8th, 2009, 04:56 PM
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In the time of year that you are going it is going to be very warm in the interior of Italy. With two small children, especially if you are relying on train travel, you could find yourself quite uncomfortable.
I don't know how much you know about Italy, but it is absolutely jammed with "must see" attractions. (I finally moved here, to cut down the commute.)
If you want to set up a home base -- which is a good idea with kids -- either find a place with a pool (which means, outside the cities) and rent a car, or head to the beaches -- or ann's suggestion of the lakes.
Although it would be warm an muggy, with two small children, you might consider car-free Venice, or car-free (and flat) Lucca as a base. But as you've already discovered, relying on train travel between Italy and Nice is slow, and air travel is costly.
Your plan to begin in Roma is not unreasonable, but you should llimit your ambitions to seeing Rome and a bit of the area surrounding it. Save France for another trip -- or go to France.
I don't know how much you know about Italy, but it is absolutely jammed with "must see" attractions. (I finally moved here, to cut down the commute.)
If you want to set up a home base -- which is a good idea with kids -- either find a place with a pool (which means, outside the cities) and rent a car, or head to the beaches -- or ann's suggestion of the lakes.
Although it would be warm an muggy, with two small children, you might consider car-free Venice, or car-free (and flat) Lucca as a base. But as you've already discovered, relying on train travel between Italy and Nice is slow, and air travel is costly.
Your plan to begin in Roma is not unreasonable, but you should llimit your ambitions to seeing Rome and a bit of the area surrounding it. Save France for another trip -- or go to France.
