Tuscany or Emilia-Romagna with baby?
 

Hi there! My husband and I are planning on a trip to Italy in the fall 2021 (if it's safe and open to Americans) for 3 weeks. We will be bringing our daughter who will be 20 months old then. We will likely fly into Rome and stay for a few days before heading either to Tuscany or Emilia Romagna. Our plan would be to stay in a city like Florence or Bologna and then head into the countryside. Any input on which would be best for a baby? She is happy to be strolled around in her stroller for hours and I know that might be tough in a city like Florence, where there is a lot of cobblestone. We'd prefer to stay in one area as opposed to try and see it all since we will already be a bit slowed down by the baby. We love art, food, and of course, beautiful views. Would love any input on where to go or even a new spot that maybe we aren't aware of!

Which area of Tuscany appeals the most? It's very varied. If you would like to use public transport, then I'd check out which has the best train routes. Buses are okay but slightly more hassle with a stroller. For example, Emilia Romagna has a better train network than Val D'Orcia, which is more serviced by buses, but northern Tuscany has reasonable train links.

I'd invest in a baby backpack. They allow you to travel more freely over rough services and give bubs a better experience. Some come with little wheels if that helps. Bologna has a lot of covered arcades with smooth paths but they are fairly frequently interrupted by steps for intersecting streets. Much less jolting than cobblestones though.

Big wheels are better for cobblestones - those jogging-style prams are helpful as the wheels stand up to the juddering better. However we did a lot of Germany / Austria with cobblestones when our daughter was little and we had a lightweight $20 pram with tiny hard wheels and our daughter regularly responded to the juddering by falling asleep, whereupon we found a cafe, pushed the pram back so she lay prone and put a blanket over her and let her sleep it off. We just had a throwaway pram in case something happened to it as we had to travel a lot for work, but if I were to invest, it would be one with big wheels.

Lavandula

To be honest, I don't know a lot about Tuscany but like the looks of a place like Lucca with rolling hills and mountains in the background. Ideally, we'd stay somewhere scenic that either in a town or walkable to town. Good to note about the train network in Emilia Romagna. I think we would prefer to travel by train. And we will definitely be bringing our baby backpack as well as a stroller. Thank you so much for your help!

Thank you! This is good to know. We will likely invest in a stroller that can handle cobblestone streets!

Cobblestones all over the place.

Tuscany (northern) along the Florence/Pisa valley have great train links so that includes Lucca, I could well imagine staying in one of these cities ( or even some of the smaller ones) and just doing train journeys along the valley and to the coast. Going south into hilly Tuscany is harder.

E-R is more or less the south of the PO valley, again the train systems are good and you have a bunch of cities that link up well with a great hub of Bologna. The real south of E-R is very hilly so the trains peter out there

If it were me I'd try and find a nice little hotel/appartment with a few regular places I could go. Many Italians love babies (the family is generally more trusted than the state) so your baby is a passport into local life as much as a way to win tables in restaurants etc.

Lucca is a great base, very flat (unlike Siena which is all pushing up hill) and very few cars (unlike Florence) and the passegiato (the evening wander around, is very comfortable). I think the lack of cars in town is critical, even the cyclists are calm.

Thumbs up for baby backpack! We had Manduca several years ago while travelling but I guess they make good products still today. It gives a lot more freedom to move then strollers. I would consider one of those if I was you.

Another city you might like in this general area is Padua (Padova) but that is just north of your planned area. A glorious old city centre, little traffic and good train links to Verona/Venice and down to Bologna.

These are all wonderful recommendations. Thank you! Seems like both Tuscany and E-R are good options. Now just have to choose! Being able to also see Venice if we went to E-R would be fun. But Tuscany seems incredibly beautiful. I've been to Florence twice before (years ago) but my husband has not. Does anyone have any input on one vs the other? Better food in one area? Is the art all around best in Florence? We love the artist Morandi and looks like there is a Morandi Museum in Bologna.

Also, is it possible to travel without a carseat and only take public transport? We are dreading lugging around that huge carseat.

I've cycled around both and used trains as back up. Trenitalia is a great website but has its own idiosyncratic issues. Try seat61. Com to understand the rules, bahn.de is good for the timetable. There are basically two types of train , fast and slow. Fast requires seat bookings and the slow which is a fun free for all, easy access and cheap. Buses tend to fill the gaps but there are Pullman which are long distance buses. Pretty good and relatively punctual. Loos in slow trains are not always perfect but even the smaller stations will have reasonable ones or a bar nearby.

I have been to Italy at least 12 times and only used a car twice. So I'd give it a go. Taxis are very professional ( drivers are middle class and keen to show high standards).

Food: in tourist areas you get tourist food and pay for it. Step back a block and generally quality goes up and prices down. E-R is famous for its food, Tuscany is famous for its wine and truffles.

Ravenna used to be the capital of Roman empire and it shows, Faenza has a world class pottery museum, Padua has some nice churches.

Siena has a cathedral that makes Florence's look like a hack's job. Frankly get a library book of Italian art or look at the Rough guide for Italy both are great value.

My only warning would continue that the Tuscan hills are harder to travel in by public transport than the north or E-R, a fair bit harder which might end up with having to kill hours especially around lunch time when stuff slows down.

The Uffizi is hard to beat especially, Roman statues, early religious and then realistic (Holbein) to the 19th. There is very little like the Uffizi in the world, plus the Boboli gardens, the cathedral and the baptestry. But Pisa has the golden field and Siena the main square del campo and the Duomo.

Thereafter many other places had to avoid the French stealing their stuff, the Germans, the Brits, the Americans .. etc etc. So old buildings did pretty well as they were less damageable or stealable. Venice has some great buildings like Padua, Ferrara, Modena

Or you could visit food making places in E-R or the Ferrari centre say.

Your inclination toward an artist is one way to help choose. As far as food, I would not say "better" but different. I love to get into the nitty gritty of regional food variations--that can inspire a trip as well. Even within Tuscany I found marked differences in food. You can't really go wrong either way, but it helps to find something that pulls you in one direction. Fall means mushrooms and hearty food, like boar in Tuscany especially--and really both areas excel at that!
RE the car seat, will you be using it for the flight? (I don't know when this requirement ends, etc.) If you are taking it anyway, you might as well rent a car at some point and see the countryside. Could be a nice way to enjoy nap time!

I don't know whether it is legal but when my son was very young and I had to travel in a taxi which did not have a carseat, I put him in a fabric sling on the front of me and then put the seat belt around both of us. (The sling allowed him to face towards me or away from me.) I didn't do it often but it felt safe enough for the occasional car or bus journey. The sling folded up into almost nothing.

Bologna has such good train links that if you want to use public transport, then I'd choose there. But with three weeks, can you not have a week in each of Emilia Romagna, Tuscany and Rome? Maybe Bologna, Lucca (or Siena) and Rome? You could fly into Bologna and out of Rome. Choose your bases and any day trips you'd like to take, then I'd check rome2rio to see how best to travel between places. And if you are doing day trips, remember that you don't have to do them. If you wake up in the morning and don't feel like going, then don't. And split up occasionally - you and your partner can head in different directions for a few hours, maybe one to the park or piazza with junior and the other to a gallery (or something like that). That may seem obvious but while the joys of travelling as a family are clear, the feeling of being fancy free for a few hours (or a day) in a strange place is wonderful. Apologies if that's a complete a motherhood statement but so many people stick like glue together when travelling.

If you do end up in Lucca, I recommend seeing if you can hire a bike with a child seat and cycle around the town walls and maybe out along the river.

I so envy you this opportunity.

dreamon Absolutely! I am considering doing all three spots now. That sounds like a great plan. And yes, we are very keen on the idea of splitting up every now and then. I used to travel solo a lot and miss those days of wandering through a foreign city by myself! Right now I'm thinking Rome to Tuscany (Lucca or Sienna) and then to Bologna with day trips to smaller towns. That way we get the big city feel in Rome, a smaller town feel with Lucca or Sienna and then a medium size city feel with Bologna. (correct me if I'm wrong here!) Seems very achievable with the train system. Now the goal will be how to travel light with stroller, pack n play, and maybe carseat in tow! For a base in Emilia Romagna, is Bologna the best spot for us to stay?

Bologna is a good place to stay, loads of students. Great access to other towns.

Me being fussy, but hopefully helpful as well.

Italian is a very clear language as long as you spell it right. Sienna is a woman's name, Siena is an Italian city. To an Italian they sound very different. There is no such competition as Spelling Bee in Italian.

I like the idea of 3 bases.

Italian law is very strict on children in cars. But why not rent them when you rent a car?

Great advice above.

We love going by train and we love both Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna. I use both Bahn.de and Rome2Rio -- sometimes use Trainline to book ahead for major legs. But, renting a car for parts of the journey could be handy, maybe for a couple of days tooling around Tuscany.

In Tuscany, one thought might be an agriturismo in a smaller town near Florence, but one on a bus route, such as Impruneta--about a half-hour ride from Florence. The big blue busses are comfortable and on time. Other direction from Lucca, Arezzo is on the train line but a medium-sized rather than small town.

In Emilia-Romagna we love to stay in Ravenna, about a 40 min. train from Bologna, and much smaller (outlying areas not so attractive but a real jewel close to antique center) -- incredible centuries-old mosaics and contemporary ones. Wonderful Piazza del Popolo, apperitivo hour with complimentary snacks around the piazza and throughout town, and wonderful passagiata in the early evenings. Lodging and food are both quite reasonable. AND, the antique center is for pedestrians and bikes only!

But Bologna is definitely central for trips there and Ferrara and other towns. As mentioned above, Bologna has those long stretches of covered sidewalks for the baby buggy, though plenty of foot traffic. Beware that it hosts many conferences and lodging can be booked up or sky high in price.

Bologna's about two and a half hours by fast train from Rome; Venice a couple hours more, so definitely doable. So Rome, Florence, Bologna-ER/Venice could work well.

These are all awesome recommendations! We will be flying in and out of Rome since flights seem to be best priced with that option. Not sure of the exact order yet but we will stay in Rome for three nights before heading to Tuscany or E-R with about a week in each spot. I just want to make sure we have a small town experience as well as a lesser touristy medium town. Ravenna looks lovely as well, thanks for the tip annw. Still have a ways to plan but getting a better idea. We may opt to rent a car in Tuscany and if we do, we will rent a carseat so we don't have to carry it around. If anyone else has any crucial tips for traveling abroad with a baby, spill!

If you are flying home from Rome, then I'd stay in Rome last to minimise the stress of missing your flight. To avoid moving hotels an extra time, you could travel to Bologna on arrival in Italy - but it does depend a bit on how long you will have been travelling to get there. As adults, that would be easy but if bubs is tired and cranky might be harder, in which case you may be better splitting your week in Rome into two separate stays. Anyway, something to consider.

I would also check out what the risk is of kids catching COVID before making bookings. This pandemic is a long way from over.

I highly recommend flying into one airport and out of another close to your last destination if at all possible. Round-trip to Rome might be less expensive at first glance, but don't forget to add in the cost to travel back to Rome to get the flight home. Also consider the "cost" of the hassle of another train trip with a baby to get there, and I assume you will have to change trains in Rome to get to the airport. But, as mentioned, it's best to be in the city you're flying home from the night before.

[QUOTE=SusanP;17242339]I highly recommend flying into one airport and out of another close to your last destination if at all possible. Round-trip to Rome might be less expensive at first glance, but don't forget to add in the cost to travel back to Rome to get the flight home. Also consider the "cost" of the hassle of another train trip with a baby to get there, and I assume you will have to change trains in Rome to get to the airport. But, as mentioned, it's best to be in the city you're flying home from the night before.[/QUOTE

It would save us at least $3000 to fly out of Rome so as opposed to Bologna or Florence. Though I understand what you are saying here, I think we have to fly round-trip to Rome.

>If anyone else has any crucial tips for traveling abroad with a baby, spill! <

Take a spare change of clothes for both mum and bub aboard the plane, and also more nappies and baby food or powdered milk (if you use it) than you think you'll need. Some cabins have extra supplies but don't count on the crew having your exact size of nappies (diapers). The change of clothes is because there will always be something spilt or spat up. Try to keep to routine food, nothing new or unexpected.

How old will your baby be?

Lavandula

OK, it's hard to believe the difference is $3000, but if that's the case, then I completely understand the round-trip flight to Rome!

SusanP I know, I agree. One way flights from Florence or Bologna that are reasonable times are starting at $1500/each. Hard to believe! But we will come back to Rome a few days before the flight so we aren't feeling too frenzied.
lavandula thank you for the tips! appreciate that!

My husband as also thrown out another option that also sounds appealing. We will train from Rome to Tuscany, then rent a car then head to Italian Riviera or somewhere coastal near the riviera. We will be going in September so it does sound nice to have some beach time. Does anyone have any input on the Italian Riviera?

I might go to the Ligurian Riviera, lots of little bays, beech, nice gardens. Some of the town's are modern but some ancient. Genoa is a bit of an acquired taste but to the west pretty and to the far East the cinque Terra.

I had a nice visit to Camogli and towns in the vicinity almost three years ago, but I sandwiched that between Torino and Milano. Visited Cinque Terre many years ago and have no real desire to return.

For the coast, you might consider Maremma, which is in Tuscany, and would greatly shorten your drive times. Fodorite yorkshire visited and wrote a very helpful trip report a few years ago:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...iagge-1405058/

Katezt2012 - when searching flights in and out of different cities, don’t look for two one way tickets; instead use the “multi-city” option. It will often yield results close to the same dollar amount as a RT, especially when you factor in the travel cost of returning to the original city.

Listen to tracilee! As soon as you mentioned one-way flights, I knew you weren't searching correctly!

SusanP tracilee I will try this! Thank you!! Would be much more convenient to fly out of Florence.

bilboburgler good to know. Will look up Ligurian Riviera1

Leely2 Would you suggest to not stay in Cinque Terra? Overly touristy?

Cinque Terra is an extremely hilly route to some of Italy's most beautiful towns. So touristy, yep, but there is a reason. Most people take the train into the towns and then hike from one to the next (basically gentle hikes) so high summer it is a scrum but your dates are more sensible.

The Ligurian riviera is the arc of coast from the French end to CT. Along the way it runs into Genoa (Genova) which is a bit like Naples only narrow as it fits between the sea and the mountains. But there are some cler gems rather than rough oysters amongst the towns.

Sanremo is basically a music festival with town attached so avoid. Imperia, Albenga, Savona etc and in May the path that joins these is littered with flowers. The sea off the coast is a marine protected area and most things are clean.

None of this is going to give you great holiday snaps to wow the parents. This is where the real (not crazy wealthy) Italians go on holiday. Small family towns with the basics all within a bay.

The benefit of going to the Riviera proper is you get to access Venice (which is extra-ordinary) but you tend to also have to visit a brassy tourist region. Liguria is a bit calmer. So really up to you and the kid.

No kid, then head to Venice. With kid think about time out, a bit of peace.

Some people love the Cinque Terre. I went twenty years ago and that was enough for me. A friend of mine visited in early June--her second visit--about five years ago and said never again--it was absolutely mobbed. In September, in a (post?) pandemic world, with tourism just beginning to recover, that may not be a problem, however. But if you're with a baby, is hiking a big draw?

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9a2feed619.jpg
Camogli

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e977946353.jpg
Hiking down to San Fruttuoso

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...76a192cb46.jpg
Camogli

bilboburgler great info to think about, thank you. I will look at both options (Riviera vs Ligurian). This may sound silly but I worry about baby making a go for the canals in Venice. She is obsessed with swimming and will want to jump right in given the opportunities. As stunning as it is, not sure that's the trip with her.

Leely2 thanks for the photos! Yes, we do hike with baby in the backpack so that sounds like a possibility. if we did this, I would prefer not to stay in a CT town but maybe make a day trip one day from somewhere nearby.

Leely2 yorkshire I'm looking into Maremma and it does seem lovely and off the beaten path. While we love the idea of a non touristy spot, we also would like to be near good food and prefer not to cook all of our meals at home. Is there a town in Maremma that is on (or near) the coast that you would suggest we stay? We currently live out in the country so we have all the peace and quiet at home :) so we'd love to be close in a charming town while on vacation.

When visiting Italy, my husband and I usually stay in apartments and cook breakfast at home, occasionally lunch, but we always go out to dinner every night.
We stayed in Massa Marittima, Pitigliano, and Orbetello in Maremma, and I would recommend any of them--all have plenty of restaurants. We stayed in Vetulonia also, but it would be smaller than what you are seeking.

What happened to Umbria and Tuscany?

yorkshire Wonderful, thank you! I will look into those spots. Did you venture off to Porto Ecole or Porto Santo Stefano at all?

scrb As of right now, we are flying into Rome staying for 3 or 4 nights then heading to Florence for 5 nights as a base to see Tuscany. After that, we've decided to do a coastal region instead of Emilia-Romagna. I'm still sad to miss that area but may have to save it for another time. We have decided we really don't want to move around more than 3 times with a baby. Open to any suggestions though! Our ideal trip would be 16 days.

I did go to Porto Ercole for lunch and to have a look around, it's gorgeous. We were venturing to the mainland every day, so we preferred Orbetello to shave off the extra 30 minute drive (the promontory has windy roads). I also had hoped to go to a specific seafood restaurant in Orbetello, but it ended up being closed while we were there. There are plenty of others though, and we had excellent seafood meals. Also, the promontory is rocky and the spits of land that connect to the mainland are flat and sandy. I'd gladly return to anywhere in the area.
There is an expensive resort near Porto Ercole, but you can find apartment rentals. Also there is the ferry to Giglio, which I believe departs from Porto Santo Stefano.

Cinque Terre would be very crowded but it is relatively close to Florence.

I don't know how Cinque Terre or the coast between Cinque Terre and Genoa is compared to Maremma. But you can stay just outside of the Cinque Terre towns and take the train into CT.

Or you can visit places like Camogli, Portofino, Santa Margherita Ligure, on trains which go up and down that coast, easy day trips. Nice long flat walk, all along the coast, from SML to Portofino. Of course that region attracts hikers of all kind. You will see a lot of people with hiking poles on the trains and in many areas. So you can do serious hikes climbing over hills, look down from above on the coast and the sea. Probably not with the kid in tow though. Bus as I said, there are some nice casual walks you can do along various waterfronts, which would be much easier with a baby carriage.

I don't know the Italian Riviera but it's a longer train trip from Florence/Tuscany.

With 16 days, you can spend half of it doing day trips around Tuscany. Car will be helpful, though typically, you will be parking outside of hill towns and then hiking to the centro storico, which means a hike, often up and down hard cobblestone or rock steps. Get comfortable walking or hiking shoes.

There are frequent buses to many towns if you're staying in Florence but you will be tied to bus schedules. You can't really stay near the Florence center with a car. If you want to keep a car, best to move to one of the smaller towns where you don't have to deal with a huge ZTL and bridges which may not be open on a given day.

Tuscany for many means Siena and points south, the Val d'Orcia with rolling hills, vineyards, etc. You don't want to drive down to Siena and further south from Florence anyways. Siena is beautiful, wonderful at night but it's again another one of the larger towns in the province not conducive to parking. You will hike a long way from the garage to the lodging if you choose to stay in the centro.

scrb Thank you for all this helpful info. We are actually looking into staying at Camogli if we go to Riviera. I saw that there are some nice walks in between the towns that look doable with the baby. I think this could be a good option for us! I'm not dying to see CT. I know it'll be packed and I'd rather have a leisurely holiday. If it seems like tourism is still not booming in September, perhaps we will change our mind and go see a CT town or two.

As for Florence, we were thinking that we would rent a car on the 3rd day we were there and take some scenic drives while the baby naps in the car. We do this on lots of our trips recently and its worked out nicely. The apartment we are thinking about renting does have parking but I didn't know about the other possible issues you mentioned. Is it really not worth having a car for half the time in Florence?

Good to know about Siena. I've been secretly sad that we aren't going there but that makes me feel better. Probably not the best with car and baby. What about Lucca? Thinking if we go to Camogli and we drive, we could stop in Lucca along the way? Is driving to Camogli even a good idea? Train times seem to take a little longer but I doubt we will be needing a car once we are in Camogli. Although it is WAY easier to get around with a car when you have a bambino, in my opinion!

Do you understand the ZTL system. Each town is different but have zones where non-local cars can't go. Florence is the worst, Lucca the parking is outside the walls, so easy. Etc.