Italians are known for their love of families and children. Italy is also awash with beautiful sights, culture, history and incredible food. There are obviously the well known attractions such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Roman forts and the Colosseum. Here are some other ideas to keep the children occupied.
Gardaland
There are plenty of towns on Lake Garda to visit and laying on the south-east banks of Lake Garda, this Amusement park is structured in themed areas that are inspired by, through careful and detailed scenic reconstructions, the world of history, geography, space and fantasy. As well as an abundance of rides and attractions in the theme park, there is also the aquarium.
The aquarium is a succession of themed settings that recreate natural habitats – starting from river Sarca, moving on to Lake Garda to finally reach, through the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean – one can admire 5,000 specimens in 37 different tanks.
What I’m really excited about is that in 2020, the first Legoland waterpark in Europe!
Get ready to splash, slide and build your way through the Legoland waterpark. You can dive into millions of Lego bricks and go on the interactive water games and rides. Play on colourful water slides and relax in themed areas.
Go to the Opera
Operas originate from Italy. Going to the opera with a child might not be on your top list of priorities but unless you are planning on visiting Italy often, I would definitely go whilst you are there. Italy has a wealth of opera houses and it would be such a special experience. Verona is very well known for it’s opera season and you could even take a look at the many other Romeo and Juliet attractions there.
Faunistic Park Le Cornelle
The purpose of the park is to preserve wildlife in captivity, according to the European Endangered Species Programme, to which the park has adopted from the foundation. The animals live in enclosures that reconstruct the environment of origin, and reproduce themselves: the puppies are reintroduced in the original places of origin, according to the guidelines of the project. The park is the home of 1,000 animals belonging to 120 different species, including mammals, birds and reptiles.
Science Museum
MUSE is a dinosaur footprint, telling the tale of evolution, where mankind comes from and how it interacts with the surrounding environment. MUSE is also an Alpine glacier, with its extreme habitat, as well as a tropical greenhouse, proof of the diversity and balance present in ecosystems and of the need to protect our relationships with nature.
See a volcano
Stromboli is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing one of the three active volcanoes in Italy. The island is incredibly beautiful, with the area that is not occupied by the towns completely wild. It has stark, black beaches with volcanic rock formations where you can relax and swim in the sea.
Watch a football match
Italy isn’t short of great football teams. D had said he would love to take Lucas to see a live game of AC Milan playing at the San Siro stadium
Go on a gondola ride
Explore the city from the water the traditional Italian way on a Gondola.
Walk along paradise
The National Park, Gran Paradiso boasts over 500km of paths suitable for all levels of hikers to explore. You can also cycle or ski here. It’s full of natural beauty, green peaks and wildlife.
Dolphin watching
Jonian Dolphin Conservation offer dolphin watching days as a way to find their work. You will actively participate in sailing on board their boats, designed and built specifically to help guests get involved in conservation activities for the protection of cetaceans that have lived in these waters for over 4,000 years.
Visit the Cinque terre
The Cinque Terre is a coastal area within Liguria, in the northwest of Italy. It lies in the west of La Spezia Province, and comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Where to stay
Before you start thinking about what to pack for Italy and where to stay, the Voyage Privé website give up to 70% discount on luxury beach holidays and exclusive hotel deals in Italy. Whether you want a five star family holiday in a well known Sardinian resort or a small, exclusive Tuscan village, they’ve scoured the country for the best deals.
I keep hearing such wonderful things about Italy, it is not somewhere I’d of automatically thought of taking kids but I’m slowly coming round to the idea
It seems like we’d have plenty to keep everyone happy x
My daughter (13) is going on a music tour of Italy in 2020 – I know that Gardaland is on their itinerary!
We visited Milan some years ago with the kids. They loved it.
We’d love to see a real volcano one day and visit volcanic black beaches! Italy is so beautiful for its diverse landscapes x
We are hoping to visit Rome next year and possibly Naples or Venice so these are some great tips – I’ve been before but without kids
Laura x
I adore Italy and its top of my list to take our children. My eldest is studying Romans at the moment.
Looking forward to visiting Italy soon. Never been there.