Things To Do In Italy... With A Small Child?

Rosie

Rosie

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Apr 6, 2013
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Have any of you ever travelled to Italy with a child before? :)

I have just spoken to my best friend, and she finally agreed to come visit me (YAY :D;)) but, she has a small child. So... she literally asked me what will we do, considering we will be visiting certain places, with a kid.

So.. anyone have any ideas?
What destinations are OK for people travelling with kids?
 
I am following this thread also as I have been trying to convince hubby to take a little family vacation in Italy and he is so afraid that the kids will get bored, so let's hear your ideas :) Thanks in advance!
 
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Some culture is always welcome. Take him (I don't know whether it's a boy or girl, so I'll just use ''he'' and ''him'' for the sake of simplicity, rather than him/her; is it a boy or a girl?) to a museum, but do it only once and choose one that has dinosaurs. Children love dinosaurs.

When I was in Germany I'd noticed there were a lot of parks. Almost all of them had ducks. Children love feeding them. Take him to a zoo! You can't make a mistake with that one! I've been to a few and they can be very interesting, especially if they have some ''special'' attraction such as glassed aquarium where you can see eels and such. You may also consider an amusement park.

All of these are just suggestions. You can always make a compromise. ''First we'll go to the zoo and then we'll do some shopping at the mall'' for example, if you feel like shopping or something similar. :)

Oh, and pizza to go is a must! :D
 
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Italy has it's share of castles and little boys will most likely love exploring them. Girls can probably enjoy pretending to be a princess in a castle as well. The Medieval hill town of San Gimignano has famous towers and is virtually unchanged since medieval times. I think it will delight kids with a passion for castles and forts.
 
Wow! It really shows that I have absolutely no experience with small children! :D haha!
Thank you all so much for your suggestions :)

The castles and zoo ideas will go to the top of my to do list! And the parks, this kid really loves nature (like her parents. It's a girl :) ).

She also loves dinosaurs, this is a really odd coincidence, @Aurelia !! Her mom was telling me just the other day how she loves books with pictures of dinosaurs.
I found this cool prehistoric park, called "Parco della Preistoria", it's in Northern Italy, just 25 km. far from Milan! Tickets for adults are only 11.50 euros and the park seems huge! They have dinosaurs (fake, of course) and other animals (like swans on a lake, they have a lake), and plants and yup, we'll definitely visit this one!

Milan also has a park with ducks, I've just visited it this December. It's the Indro Montanelli park, if anyone is interested (relatively close to the central train station :) ) There's a pond in the middle of it, with lots of ducks and turtles and some fish (very few though).
 
Frankly, I'd leave the small child with some family members when traveling to Italy. Italy isn't the Disneyland type of tourist attract. Its main main attractions are all about culture, which is something young kids simply can't appreciate. Once they turn 10-11 or so then they start being able to appreciate the architecture, the history and everything that's great about this wonderful country and then it is worth taking them with you on the trip.
 
I have a 4 year old and we have been taking her to Italy from the US since she was 1. You can pretty much find a playground in every place you go to. My daughter loves Rainbow Magicland you need to take transportation though to get to it. You can ask where ever you are staying to find a playground for you, we always do. They are usually nicer than they are here in America.
 
Rosie said:
She also loves dinosaurs, this is a really odd coincidence, @Aurelia !! Her mom was telling me just the other day how she loves books with pictures of dinosaurs.
I found this cool prehistoric park, called "Parco della Preistoria", it's in Northern Italy, just 25 km. far from Milan! Tickets for adults are only 11.50 euros and the park seems huge! They have dinosaurs (fake, of course) and other animals (like swans on a lake, they have a lake), and plants and yup, we'll definitely visit this one!
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I already like it!! I've never been there but the description sounds amazing. How big is it actually? I like that there's a lake with swans. :D Children love animals. Hopefully, you'll be allowed to feed them. :D

Have you also considered something like Acquaworld? I hear it's amazing and it's also very long.

But, while they're close to nothing to us, these exhibitions can be very tiring to a child. Make sure you do only one thing a day or she'll be screaming for home before too long... haha.

As for the remark about castles, I don't know where it's allowed to play and where not. The courtyard is mostly open for public (after you pay the ticket, of course) and you can take photos there. Inside, however, you're mostly not allowed to, so I assume they also wouldn't let children wander...
 
Julian02 said:
Frankly, I'd leave the small child with some family members when traveling to Italy. Italy isn't the Disneyland type of tourist attract. Its main main attractions are all about culture, which is something young kids simply can't appreciate. Once they turn 10-11 or so then they start being able to appreciate the architecture, the history and everything that's great about this wonderful country and then it is worth taking them with you on the trip.
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I disagree with this. It really depends on the child's personality. I have a three year old that finds going to the zoo boring, but really enjoys strolling down trendy streets and shops, he is great at restaurants, and likes hands on experiences. He asked to use chopsticks on his own and likes sushi. You do have to make accommodations for a child because they have bed times and perhaps they won't eat everything. However, I believe introducing them to culture at an early age is important if they can handle it. My little guy loves pasta and pizza and would love to explore the country that has a dozen shops that serve it. I think he would really like a gondola ride in Venice as well. Did I mention he loves hotel rooms and has no problem with room service. He never wants to leave!
 
There is lots to do in Italy with a small child as it’s a very family orientated country. Aside from the major theme parks (such as Gardaland) there are always local events taking place for kids.

There are big events such as exhibition centres that transform into big playgrounds at certain time of the year. Of course, these are not tourist attractions but more of places geared for Italian families. One that comes to mind is http://www.ilmondodipippi.com/ but there are many events taking place all year round.

Another thing to take into account is that children under one metre in height usually enter tourist attractions free. (even the theme parks)
 
I agree with Regina. Each child is different and, even if they can't fully understand architecture and art and other "serious" topics, they can at least get used to the idea that they exist :)
For me personally, it was rather difficult to understand other cultures, at first, because my parents didn't have the means to travel a lot with us when we were little (wasn't really their fault, there were different times back then) but now, I believe that introducing a child to culture as soon as possible is quite important.
Besides, a loving mother will never leave her child at home so she can travel :P (at least my friend won't, I'm sure of it).

@Chillout I didn't know kids who are short enter for free in most places! This is a real money saver! Thank you for mentioning it :)
 
Rosie said:
I agree with Regina. Each child is different and, even if they can't fully understand architecture and art and other "serious" topics, they can at least get used to the idea that they exist :)
For me personally, it was rather difficult to understand other cultures, at first, because my parents didn't have the means to travel a lot with us when we were little (wasn't really their fault, there were different times back then) but now, I believe that introducing a child to culture as soon as possible is quite important.
Besides, a loving mother will never leave her child at home so she can travel :p (at least my friend won't, I'm sure of it).

@Chillout I didn't know kids who are short enter for free in most places! This is a real money saver! Thank you for mentioning it :)
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I was about to also mention that about leaving your little one behind for a vacation. I can't imagine taking a vacation without my child. How could I not see my little one day after day and enjoy myself. It's a part of life, when you have children, you take kid friendly vacations and do as much as you can. Even if I don't take a kid friendly vacation, we take others along so we can take turns doing things and someone is always available to watch the children.
 
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