Umbria or Tuscany (2 weeks with 2 kids aged 3 and 5)
 

Hi all

Have seen older/ aged posts on the Umbria vs Tuscany debate but want to add another variable... 2 x kids aged 3 and 5.

Both are well-behaved and curious but means we cant spend our time only eating and drinking! We plan to drive from Rome to Milan over a 2 week period but want to concentrate on either Umbria or Tuscany for a 6 night stay on an Agri Turismo or Country Hotel with the rest of the time split between various towns/ cities doing some more hardcore touring (walks/ museums etc.) so would do both provinces ultimately.

Looking for best recommendations on kid friendly (but also adult friendly!) spot for a 6 night stay as well as any activities or must visit spots on the route. We have done Orvieto, Siena and Florence (without kids!)

Any help much appreciated!

Here's a thought: I've twice stayed here with kids and once by myself - https://www.booking.com/hotel/it/vacanze-ideali.it.html

One could argue that it's a bit hokey/resortish, but really only a bit, and kids love it. There are swimming pools and a game room, and it's in a lovely setting, but you get your own little chalet-like dwelling with kitchen (and there's a wonderful co-op close by for purchasing supplies). It's near the darling (but incredibly tiny -I think there are about 75 residents) town of Paciano, but close to Lago Trasimeno, which has a lot of kid-friendly attributes, and the village of Panicale, which has among other things interesting concerts in warm weather. It's also very convenient for visiting both the main tourist sites of Umbria (Chiusi, Assisi, Perugia...) and the wonderful deep forests (where there are a number of ancient spa towns and just beautiful places).

As you can probably tell, though, I'm much more fond of Umbria than Tuscany these days.

What time of the year is this 2 week period? Do you want access to beaches? Bicycling? Flat terrain as opposed to hilltowns? The northwest corner of Tuscany has more of that than the wine country and hilltown areas adjacent to Umbria. If your kids are active and tireless, you might enjoy being in an area of Tuscany where you can visit a combination of Lucca, the Carrara marble quarries and the sculpture town of Pietrasanta, plua Pisa and the nearby flat beaches that have sand and minimal waves. There are also some summertime amusement parks for small kids and rides (but think twice about visiting the "Pinocchio Park' in that area. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...a_Tuscany.html

Do you plan to take guided group walking tours? If so, I think you need to look for ones that are geared toward families specifically. What kind of Italian museums do you imagine would interest your pre-schoolers? There is a new natural history museum in Pisa that keeps children in mind, although I am not sure it has a lot of English-language displays. I doubt the art museums will hold their attention. There are small non-art museums scattered around Tuscany and Umbria of local and ancient history, or sometimes local manufacturing or quarrying. If you are interested in putstanding art and architecture, you might do better to visit churches, which are rich in art but rarely take longer than 30 minutes to see, and where small children are very welcome and it's not a big problem if they run around a bit so long as it's not during actual services.

We would be looking at going very soon (Mid-May)