I am a new Fodorite travelling to Italy. I've started planning our itinerary and overwhelmed but how much we can see & do & taste. Trying to choose 3-4 stops where we can do day trips from. We're starting in Torino (to visit family)then going thru Genoa and on to Viareggio,Lucca. We would like a place near the beach for 3 days and from there do day trips - Cinque Terre, Pisa, etc. Eventually travel to Chianti and do trips from there; move north to Venice, Milan and back to Torino. Just getting started and already finding that hotels are booked. Have any of you stayed in Viareggio with kids? Mine are 11 & 8....HELP

To help you get maximum amount of asnweras,I'd recommend that you re-post this with Italy in the title. There is no Italy forum here, so everything gets put into Europe. People who scan the Europe forum looking to answer posts related to Italy could miss your post.

Yes, you do need help, but you have not told us the most important variables:
WHEN ?
HOW LONG?
CAR OR TRAINS?

Also, your heading does not have Italy in it so many will not see your post.

Yes, repost with a more specific heading. In general sounds like an ambitious itinerary, so I hope you're going for at least two (really three!) weeks. We were there last May with our two kids, ages 10 and 5, and while we didn't stay in Viareggio, your kids will LOVE it and will be very welcomed in Italy. (We were in Levanto, which I'd HIGHLY recommend as a base if you have kids. It's the next town over from the Cinque Terre and only about an hour and change from Pisa.)

I know that there's so much to do and see and taste in Italy, but, first, slow down!! You can't do it all in one trip. You will go back, I am sure, so don't try to do it all.

Then realize that Italy is about the size of California, and it takes more time to get from one place to another. And that you lose a minimum of half a day each time you move.

If you are at the beach only 3 days and you take a trip each day, when are you going to the beach?

Why are you going in a circle? Why not start in Torino and leave from Pisa or Florence so you don't have to move around so much? I would leave out Milan unless there is a compelling need to go there. I hope you have a big map of Italy so you can see how much zig-zags you are doing.

Also, old-time travelers to Italy will tell you that Italy is to be "experienced, not seen". That means that unless you take time to soak up the atmosphere you will not really understand what Italy is all about. You will get some of that with your relatives. But after you leave there, everything is going to be a blur.

The kids will like the beach, Pisa, and the walls around Lucca where they can even ride a bike you rent for them. They will also like Cinque Terre.