lbaz95

Hello:




My husband, 2 sons (11 and 6) and I will be spending a week in Florence in August. After making our plans, some have said that that is too long in Florence and recommended that we take side trips. We very much like shopping and eating and enjoy seeing the sites, but the kids do not have the patience for long museum visits, etc.




What are the side trips that you would recommend? We would either go for the day or possibly stay overnight.




Thank you.

bratsandbeer

Perhaps it would be better to divide the week between Florence and Venice.

You can take a day trip to Pisa or even a day trip to Rome.

A lot depends on how well your 6 year old son travels.

Not sure 2 boys would enjoy one week in Florence but in Venice you can go to the different islands, shop, eat, watch the gondolas etc.

elaine

I LOVE Venice, but with the August heat and crowds, going to Venice will be even more of the same in terms of crowds.
I'd opt for a rural sojourn or a trip to the beach. Versilia has a sea beach 100 km away.
You can go by train if you don't want to drive
http://www.vivifirenze.info/cgi-bin/...=italian_style

copain1

Take them to the coast and it will be a nice break from the city.

zeppole

In Firenze in August, I would recommend taking a trip to see Pisa in the morning, and then moving on to Lucca. If the weather is pleasant, you can easily rent bicycles and ride around on top of the walls. Be sure to go up to the top of the tower that has a little park with trees on the top. (I forget its name.)

For a second day, I would suggest you all go to the beach. Your hotel can probably advise you on the best beach most readily available by train or bus, but I think my pick might be Forte dei Marmi.

I think the boys would probably enjoy Siena, reachable best by bus from Firenze, but also by train.

If you all very much like shopping and eating, you might like a visit to Bologna, 45 minutes by train. For the boys, I would include a quick stop to the Anatomical theater, and also at the church at Santa Maria delle Grazie. Both are very short cultural excursions, in addition to the sights one sees just walking around Bologna. Although it is hot in Bologna, most of the streets are a portico-arcade, so you walk in the shade. And the boys might enjoy tasting real baloney in Bologna (better known as mortadella there).

I believe that there are public swimming pools in Firenze that anybody can simply pay a small fee to enter. I'm pretty sure -- but not positive -- about that. You might check into it and locate them, because in August, everybody might enjoy a swim in the latter part of the day, after a morning of touristing. Even though the boys won't be up for long museum visits, they would probably enjoy less than an hour inside the Museo San Marco and its painted monk cells.

Have a great trip! I understand why your friends think you should venture beyond Firenze, but it will be hot, and slowing down your pace to a mix of touristing and goofing off in the gardens and piazzas of Firenze (or staying up way late and taking afternoon naps) would be better than running around on day trips. The boys are not likely to get bored in Firenze so long as they are not on a forced march.

Jean

I left a comment on your other thread, but I'll just add the suggestion here that you play it by ear. (For those who haven't read the other thread, the family is doing a home swap in Florence for one week, so they'd probably like to stay there rather than move to a countryside hotel after a few days.)

Do your research on train and bus schedules, set aside some "free" days and just decide the day before what you're going to do: Stay in Florence or go to xyz? Involve your sons so they know the possible choices. Hopefully, it will encourage their patience for a few museums if they know they have a vote on what else to see.

Get reservations for the Uffizi and the Accademia so you won't have to stand in line. You can also buy tickets online for the Bargello Museum which is a smaller museum of mostly sculpture housed in the former prison. FYI, unless you and your husband are really into art, none of your museum visits will be very long.

happytrailstoyou

Pisa, Siena, Lucca, and San Gimignano are interesting towns that can be visited as day trips form Florence.

Siena and San Gimignano are best visited by bus (the tourist office will give you a schedule).

Venice is one of my favorite places in the world, but I don't see it as a "side trip" from Florence.

If the boys need to stretch their legs, you might take them hiking in the Cinque Terre, which could be done in a long day.

zeppole

My mistake: The Church I am thinking of in Bologna which children might find interesting is the Santa Maria della Vita.

Valeria_82

Try to be prepared because Florence will be extremely hot in August. I would suggest to visit some "fresher" places nearby colline senesi, Montepulciano, Montalcino and so on...lovely food and places to be visited or on the coast...even an unforgettable excursion to Isola d'Elba.

Hope it helps!

Ciao

RKogel

We just returned from a trip to Italy. 4 nights in Florence was enough.

We spent 1 full day and evening in Fiesole with freinds at a place they were staying. Frattoria Di Amano as I recall.

We also had a GREAT day spent with a company called Accidental Tourist. Wine tasting and a cooking class.

I have 3 kids 15, 13, 11. Even they enjoyed it. They smelled the wine and learned about the production of grapes and such. But they LOVED the cooking class part of the day. We hand made ravioli and fettucine and then got to eat it at the end of the day. Our guide Alexander was very good. The owners are great and they said that most of their customers are families.

To see Italy, you have to see the countryside. Tuscany is beautiful.

Also, with the hectic pace of travel, the two days out of the "big city" were very relaxing and much needed.

I saw fliers for bike trips, horse trips and such. You will be able to find opportunities to see the countryside.

Have fun.

ekscrunchy

This place in Maiano (at the edge of Fiesole)?


http://www.fattoriadimaiano.com/en/en_info.php

ira

HI lb,

We were in Florence for 11 nights and didn't get bored.

Siena is easily reached by SITA bus.

San Gimignano is a little more difficult as you change in Poggibonsi. See
http://www.sangimignano.net/tourist-...timetable.html

Orvieto is about 1:30 hr by train.

You can visit the Etruscan ruins and get a great view of Florence from Fiesole.

Take the no. 7 bus from the SMN train station.

Bologna is a very nice daytrip by train.

Enjoy your visit.

jdc26

Happytrailstoyou, mentioned "hiking in the Cinque Terre, could be done in a long day" Is is feasible to do a day trip to the Cinque Terres?

jdc

zeppole

With so many fascinating venues for experiencing art in Firenze other than museums, I would skip the Uffizi and the Bargello and the Pitti with the kids. (If the adults want to see them, I recommend they take turns, without the kids.) I even think the kids might be satisfied with David in the piazza, rather than shuffling past David in the Accademia.

Climbing up into the cupola of the Duomo, visiting the monk's cells in San Marco, seeing the singular narrative fresco in the Palazzo Medici, perhaps a walk through the exquisite (and small) museum of the Duomo all strke me as better with kids than the painting and sculpture warehouses. Playing in the Boboli, with its views, is a nice introduction to art and architecture.

I think kids uninterested in museums are less likely to be bored in Firenze than adults who are uninterested in museums.

skriss

Florence and Rome are about a three hour drive between the two, or easily accessible by rail. There is loads of shopping and food in Florence- it is very touristy, but the attractions are museums and churches. My kids loved Rome, but were not overly thrilled with Florence.
Pisa is about an hour west and that is a nice day trip- less crowded, and quite enjoyable. There are some great spots on the Mediterranean coast as well- we really enjoy Cecina.

ekscrunchy

I cannot see the appeal of a side trip, for your sons, to Siena or to Bologna. In August, especially!

Many children reportedly enjoy La Specola in Florence.

http://www.museumsinflorence.com/mus...l_history.html

Also the Cascine Park is the site of lots of soccer games; in season you can also watch the racehorses work out..

bdjtbenson

We found the lodging in Florence to be both the worst and most expensive on our Italian trip. You also can't drive into Florence center without a hefty fine. Parking is expensive and a good walk from any center lodging. For that reason, I wouldn't suggest day tripping from Florence. Better to get an affordable place with convenient public transport into Florence center and day trip from there.

I do think Florence is a must see city - but really for the museums.

happytrailstoyou

<i>Happytrailstoyou, mentioned &quot;hiking in the Cinque Terre, could be done in a long day&quot; Is is feasible to do a day trip to the Cinque Terres? </i>

It is 2 1/2 hours each way on the train, but I think the Cinque Terre, even for a day, would be an experience you and your family will never forget.

You can find train schedules at www.trenitalia.com

See Rick Steve's 2008 guidebook for Italy for in-depth suggestions for visiting these five beautiful towns.

<i>While doing this research, I note at trenitalia that the train to Venice is also about 2 1/2 hours each way.</i>

bettyloo

I found CT a good day trip with kids from Florence(I did it with a five and seven year old). They slept on the way there and on the way back, and they loved the hiking and the beaches there.

My daughter also really enjoyed the great zoo in Pistoia not too far from Florence (there's a bus but I forget the number). Pistoia has an interesting center also. It made a good half day trip.

zeppole

everybody? This poster has a house swap and so the acommodations are in Firenze.

I think 2 1/2 hours on an Italian train to a place with very limited swimming at pebble beaches with two kids may not work.

ekscrunchy,

Hmmmm. You don't think the campo and the medieval core of Siena would appeal to kids? I was just thinking of lunch in the campo.

Bologna is completely porticoed. I would rather walk in shady Bologna than most Italian towns in summer. And unless the kids are squeamish, the anatomical theater is a quick site, and the statuary of the Santa Maria della Vita is awfully dramatic.

But it was also because the family was described as liking food.

But in general I think day trips should be researched, and only pulled off the shelf if the kids complain they are bored. I'm not sure they will be.