Northern Italy 1 month in Italy with a 8 yo. Itinerary & suggestions?

[HarlemSong]

We are flying into Venice from NYC in mid-June and flying (or taking a train) to Paris in mid-July.
So we have 1 month in Italy!
Due to it being a jubilee year, we decided to focus on Northern Italy down to Florence. We have no interest in Milan, so our starting point would be Venice.

> Venice (1 week including Murano/Burano and maybe another day trip somewhere)
> Dolomites (3 days via car rental)
> Bologna (2 days), This is for the car museum/factory tour for my son. (if any specific suggestions on that, I would appreciate it)
> Cinque Terre OR smaller beach towns 4 days: Would Cinque Terre be mobbed and too miserable in July? Or still worth it?
> Florence (Pisa and maybe another day trip?) 1 week

We want to mostly travel by train but do you think it might be a good idea to rent a car going to the Dolomites and keep it until we go to Paris?

The above itinerary is 24 days, so we do have a few more days we can add to the Italy portion before heading to Paris/Brittany/Normany area.
Any days you would add to above places or any other towns I should add?
Does that sound like an OK itinerary?

Since we have some flexibility, we are open to any suggestions. FYI, my son is a great traveler and he loves nature, history and food, so there isn't much restrictions as far as traveling with a kid.

It's my first time posting, so hopefully this type of post is ok! Thank you so much!

 

[Ian Sutton]

That is a difficult time of year to be travelling, as it can get very hot. Cities are best avoided unless there's some sort of mitigation.

With that in mind, the Dolomites will be a little cooler up in the mountains, but it's a bit of a trek for just 3 days. Bologna may have a small advantage of porticoed streets keeping the harsh sun off, but it's still likely to be unpleasantly hot. It is however the right area for a motorsport fan of 2 or 4 wheels (Imola, Ducati, Lamborghini etc.)

So maybe look at the hills to the south of Bologna, for a place with a pool for 5 days. You'll miss the wonderful scenery and walking if the Dolomites, but satisfy the motorsport interest, and have some rural relaxation. When we stayed in Rastignano, we took the bus into the city, and this drops you off very centrally. So likewise look for a location with a bus service.

Cinque Terre in July? Yes trails may feel at times like a conveyor belt of mostly English speaking tourists, many saying 'buongiorno' to each other, oblivious to the nationality of their fellow walkers. The higher walks are much less busy, but it can be strenuous to head directly up hill, and in peak summer doubly so.

Alternatives? Whilst they'll also be busy with tourists, the lakes are the obvious alternative. If wanting to avoid tourist masses, some of the smaller lakes should be better.

Then Florence (and Pisa). For me at least Bologna has mitigation in a special interest and those porticoes. Florence will be swarmed by tourists and the baking heat of a city adds to the woes. I would drop it without hesitation.

So, some alternative routes

1. Venice -> Dolomites -> hills south of Bologna, each with roughly a week. Fly to Paris
1a. The reverse of the above, but taking the eurostar train from Venice to Paris.

2. Venice -> Lake Garda and or Iseo -> hills south of Bologna
2a. The reverse of the above, to take that train option to Paris

I hope this helps, and there are some wonderful posts made here by 'Beerman' of visiting the lakes, which might entice you.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Now here's a possibility (that may demand a route re-ordering). https://1000miglia.it/en/events/1000-miglia/1000-miglia-2025/

The Millemiglia is a legendary classic car event, the most famous multi stage classic car event. The dates this year are 17th to 21st of June and some of the route could link up with stays on the lakes, in Bologna or Venice (Ferrara is for instance in reach via train). There would be motorsport fans in NYC who would be in awe that you got to see it.

 

[Ian Sutton]

For accommodation, hotels can offer a reassuring familiarity, and the support of the desk staff. For many this is ideal.

However we've long preferred two alternatives:
- Agriturismos (farmstays). These are often brilliant in Italy, of a high standard, and with banquet style meals that are convivial and stupidly cheap. You'll typically dine here with Italians (often local groups) and a few other tourists. These meals get you closer to the culture than most restaurants, and especially more so than hotel restaurants. The food is often their own produce, or at least from local growers.
- Apartments. Made popular by airbnb, but we've always preferred local rental agencies, local tourist office, or direct rentals, plus in cities places going by the grouping 'aparthotels' (the space and freedom of an apartment, but having a couple of support staff). Especially spending a long time together, having multiple rooms to find your own quiet time can be very sensible, so rather than a hotel room + bathroom, you get (say) 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, lounge/diner, bathroom... and often for less than that cramped hotel room! You get up when you want, eat when you want, and can eat as light as you want by getting some provisions in (gathering them from markets, gastronomie, alimentari, pastifici etc. can be a joy in itself). It can really start to feel like a 'home from home'.

 

[Alpinista]

Look at the Carrara tour options -- it's pretty amazing to see the equipment at work and to be awed by the magnificence of the marble. One tour is a drive-yourself that takes you into an interior quarry (more child friendly); we've done another tour that goes up the mountain in a 4x4 that is a pretty bouncy (as in "bouncy") ride, but can see more of the quarrying work.

For beach, we go to Lido di Camaiore (Bagno Sole) with easy street parking, an attached restaurant, and very shallow water off the beach area.

We used scavenger hunts to get our kids to accompany us to museums -- their attention span still wasn't all that great, but having a sheet with things like "A woman in a blue dress; a dog; a Pope; a dragon", etc. with a nice prize (gelato worked well) for filling out the sheet gave the adults some time to enjoy an indoors stroll.

Anything to do with water -- you can take a water taxi from a number of locations (La Spezia, Portovenere, the CT towns) up the coast. We preferred Portovenere to CT when our kids were little. Similar scenery; a nice old town to stroll through; immensely smaller crowds. Parking at Portovenere can be an issue.

See if you can find a parmesan cheese factory near Bologna -- the tours last about an hour and half and it is pretty fascinating to see the process and to visit the storage areas with row after row of cheese wheels stacked to the ceiling.

If you are in the Florence/Pisa area, Lucca is the mid-point between the two cities. It is encircled by a 2 1/2 mile wall with bicycle rentals easily found. Lots of places to drop off the wall for treats along the way. It is a walking city with some nice places to eat during the stay.

Check the festival schedules -- there are massive fireworks shows in association with the celebrations and also accompanied by parades of medieval costumes, drummers, and flag twirlers. Pisa has the Illumination on 6/16 and regatta on 6/17 (going from memory, so verify the dates); Lucca has the Palio della Balestra on 7/12. Not in your trip area, but if you are looking to extend, Rapello has a three day celebration on 7/1-3 with multiple fireworks shows each of the nights plus a daytime show on 7/2. You can take the water taxi (or walk the oceanside trail) from Rapello to Portofino.

Also look into the Calcio Storico in Florence -- it might be a little on the violent side for an 8 year old, but watch some of YouTube to get an idea.

I'd personally rent a car so that your child is not taxed with train schedules -- a car would give you a lot more flexibility for the daily schedule and allow for nap time while driving.

 

[chachalaca]

Hi HarlemSong,

What a great trip you have planned. Ten years ago we took our 18 y/o nephew to Italy and the South of France. We stayed in Bologna for a few days and I can highly recommend the Italian Days food tour w/Alessandro. Someone here (with many echos and endorsements) had recommended the tour and it was great. (Full day, beginning around 9am at a cheese making facility, then balsamic vinegar, then prosciutto and ending with a full sit-down supper around 4pm. SO SO much food!)

We also stayed in a hilltop town called Cocconato D'Asti which was cooler than larger cities, small and intimate. As Ian mentioned the summers can be blazing hot (I'd say most summers that we've traveled over the past 20 years have been extremely hot, we're teachers limited to summer travel for longer trips) and a pool would have been more than welcome.

We toured the Ferrari factory, it was a great tour, and we also went to the car museum which was very interesting. Who loves cars, you or your son? You can drive a Ferrari or Lamborghini, there are places near the factories that offer that. I'm not sure minors are allowed in the cars, but worth checking into.

Welcome to the forums and have fun planning,
Laura

 

[HarlemSong]

Thanks for your reply. It's been 20+ years since I was in Italy in the summer. I spent more than 2 months in Venice in the summer, but it never got scorching hot as you describe it. I suppose a lot has changed with global warming. You have given me a lot to think about!

We might do without Florence but still make it to Venice/Bologna/some smaller beach town/maybe Dolomites. It's hard not to get greedy (so much I want to show my kiddo!) once I start thinking about Italy but we will do about 1 week each in a city so we are not constantly on the road.

The accommodations sound amazing. Where can you find information on farmstays for different areas? That sounds like something we would really enjoy at least for a few days. Similarly, if you aren't using airbnb/vrbo, how to you find the local tourist office/direct rentals/aprthotel information? Thank you!

For accommodation, hotels can offer a reassuring familiarity, and the support of the desk staff. For many this is ideal.

However we've long preferred two alternatives:
- Agriturismos (farmstays). These are often brilliant in Italy, of a high standard, and with banquet style meals that are convivial and stupidly cheap. You'll typically dine here with Italians (often local groups) and a few other tourists. These meals get you closer to the culture than most restaurants, and especially more so than hotel restaurants. The food is often their own produce, or at least from local growers.
- Apartments. Made popular by airbnb, but we've always preferred local rental agencies, local tourist office, or direct rentals, plus in cities places going by the grouping 'aparthotels' (the space and freedom of an apartment, but having a couple of support staff). Especially spending a long time together, having multiple rooms to find your own quiet time can be very sensible, so rather than a hotel room + bathroom, you get (say) 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, lounge/diner, bathroom... and often for less than that cramped hotel room! You get up when you want, eat when you want, and can eat as light as you want by getting some provisions in (gathering them from markets, gastronomie, alimentari, pastifici etc. can be a joy in itself). It can really start to feel like a 'home from hom

 

[HarlemSong]

Thank you! The food tour sounds amazing. And it will be nice to have a day when everything is preplanned for us. I was thinking of looking for a place with a pool, also. How do you usually find your accommodations? Ian gave me some ideas but other than airbnb/vrbo, I don't know how to find these interesting accommodations.

Re: cars. Only our 8 year old son is crazy about them. So the tour would be just for him. We found a group that does multiple car museum tours, but I think a factory tour would be much more interesting. I already looked and minors are not allowed for test driving. That would have made his day! Did you book the Ferrari tour directly with the factory? Will make sure my son brings his hot wheels haha.

Hi HarlemSong,

What a great trip you have planned. Ten years ago we took our 18 y/o nephew to Italy and the South of France. We stayed in Bologna for a few days and I can highly recommend the Italian Days food tour w/Alessandro. Someone here (with many echos and endorsements) had recommended the tour and it was great. (Full day, beginning around 9am at a cheese making facility, then balsamic vinegar, then prosciutto and ending with a full sit-down supper around 4pm. SO SO much food!)

We also stayed in a hilltop town called Cocconato D'Asti which was cooler than larger cities, small and intimate. As Ian mentioned the summers can be blazing hot (I'd say most summers that we've traveled over the past 20 years have been extremely hot, we're teachers limited to summer travel for longer trips) and a pool would have been more than welcome.

We toured the Ferrari factory, it was a great tour, and we also went to the car museum which was very interesting. Who loves cars, you or your son? You can drive a Ferrari or Lamborghini, there are places near the factories that offer that. I'm not sure minors are allowed in the cars, but worth checking into.

Welcome to the forums and have fun planning,
Laura

 

[chachalaca]

I can't answer the Agriturismo question, but I always check out these forums first to see if there are suggestions/reviews and then, like you, I post specifically to ask about a city/region. Sometimes I get lucky and someone has a recommendation that fits our budget, needs and interests. I also enjoy looking for accomodations listed by owners - much more difficult to find, but in the case of Cocconato d'Asti I got lucky. Then, small world, one of the frequent posters on this forum (Roz, maybe?) said she'd also stayed there and had a great review which made it a no-brainer. But it was HOT.

These days, with all of the AI and Sponsored listings first it takes a lot of time to find independent listings. We have used booking.com before, but the more charming places have always been from recommendations from this site or independent listings.

Here's the listing for the house we stayed at House in Cocconato. As you can see there are less photos and more to figure out. I asked a lot of questions, and then cross-referenced and found more photos of the house.

We also look for pensiones, albergos and guesthouses - like B&B's. We like the intimacy, the owner/operator is usually on site to answer questions and offer suggestions. The other house guests also have great info/suggestions.

RE: Ferrari we did book w/factory.

Laura

 

[Ian Sutton]

Thanks for your reply. It's been 20+ years since I was in Italy in the summer. I spent more than 2 months in Venice in the summer, but it never got scorching hot as you describe it. I suppose a lot has changed with global warming. You have given me a lot to think about!

We might do without Florence but still make it to Venice/Bologna/some smaller beach town/maybe Dolomites. It's hard not to get greedy (so much I want to show my kiddo!) once I start thinking about Italy but we will do about 1 week each in a city so we are not constantly on the road.

The accommodations sound amazing. Where can you find information on farmstays for different areas? That sounds like something we would really enjoy at least for a few days. Similarly, if you aren't using airbnb/vrbo, how to you find the local tourist office/direct rentals/aprthotel information? Thank you!

You'll encounter something of a 'less is more' focus here, it being a 'slow' travel site. I try to couch that as every transfer involves packing the bags, checking out, travelling to the next base, checking in, unpacking, and trying to get your bearings. Most of that is rubbish as a holiday experience, so keeping it lower rewards the good holiday time. There's a balance though. Ideally we aim for a solid week in each location, but especially when the transfers are short (an hour or two), we're fine with easing that back into 4-5 day stay, but still avoid 2-3 day stops.

I mostly use agriturismo.it for farmstays, which has deep listings, and I find the site familiar / easy to use. For examples we've stayed at places like Val di Spinso in Santa Vittoria d'Alba, Massimago to the east of Verona, Il Cavenago in Ghemme, and plenty more. These show how nice the accommodations are often, and the breakfasts at Massimago, and the evening meals at Il Cavenago were exceptionally good.

For aparthotels, I'll typically use google maps, and indeed that's also a decent option for finding direct apartment rentals (some like https://www.borgonuovo.com/ in Ferrara have their own site, plus list on the aggregators - we prefer going direct). Local tourist offices typically have listings and some will handle the bookings as well. Good ones (like the one in Alba, Piemonte) are happy to advise options based on your preferences. For local rental agencies, it's somewhat trickier to find them, as searches also tend to return long term rental agencies, which are typically more common. There are also some national chains, but I prefer the local ones for having somewhere I can go to see them if there's an issue. A pool would IMO be something I'd value very highly at that time of year. A morning swim whilst it's still cool, but the sun is out, can be a super start to the day, whilst a dip after a day sightseeing can pep you up perfectly for the evening meal.

p.s. one reason I didn't try to talk you out of Venice, is despite it being prime tourist season, there is a degree of natural cooling from the water, whereas the tarmac roads of the other big cities radiate the heat back at us. There are some very experienced Venice visitors here, so trawl this place for great insight.

p.p.s. I very much echo Alpinista's recommendation of searching out local festivals & events, especially the historic ones. There are lots of online aggregation listings, but I tend to start with the local tourist office. I especially love the smaller quirkier ones, and have found ourselves the only foreigners at a couple of them. Likewise I agree on Portovenere as a base, as it's easy to visit the CT villages by boat, but there's less bustle in Portovenere. La Spezia has a superb evening passeggiata (c. 4-7pm) where the locals catch up with friends and rellies, show off their babies, share news and gossip etc. It's something of a mundane small port city, but its passeggiata is superb on mostly pedestrianised streets.

p.p.p.s. I see a few go kart places dotted around. Some indoors, some outdoors. Might be a possibility. Doing a 'normal' activity in Italy can see locals going out of their way to make you feel welcome.

 

[GailS]

For apartment rentals in Venice, both Truly Venice and Views on Venice are good agencies.

Ian's suggestion of the Millemiglia is great. I've been lucky enough to have seen this multiple times and I'm sure your son would enjoy the variety of cars that take part.

 

[HarlemSong]

You'll encounter something of a 'less is more' focus here, it being a 'slow' travel site. I try to couch that as every transfer involves packing the bags, checking out, travelling to the next base, checking in, unpacking, and trying to get your bearings. Most of that is rubbish as a holiday experience, so keeping it lower rewards the good holiday time. There's a balance though. Ideally we aim for a solid week in each location, but especially when the transfers are short (an hour or two), we're fine with easing that back into 4-5 day stay, but still avoid 2-3 day stops.

I mostly use agriturismo.it for farmstays, which has deep listings, and I find the site familiar / easy to use. For examples we've stayed at places like Val di Spinso in Santa Vittoria d'Alba, Massimago to the east of Verona, Il Cavenago in Ghemme, and plenty more. These show how nice the accommodations are often, and the breakfasts at Massimago, and the evening meals at Il Cavenago were exceptionally good.

For aparthotels, I'll typically use google maps, and indeed that's also a decent option for finding direct apartment rentals (some like https://www.borgonuovo.com/ in Ferrara have their own site, plus list on the aggregators - we prefer going direct). Local tourist offices typically have listings and some will handle the bookings as well. Good ones (like the one in Alba, Piemonte) are happy to advise options based on your preferences. For local rental agencies, it's somewhat trickier to find them, as searches also tend to return long term rental agencies, which are typically more common. There are also some national chains, but I prefer the local ones for having somewhere I can go to see them if there's an issue. A pool would IMO be something I'd value very highly at that time of year. A morning swim whilst it's still cool, but the sun is out, can be a super start to the day, whilst a dip after a day sightseeing can pep you up perfectly for the evening meal.

p.s. one reason I didn't try to talk you out of Venice, is despite it being prime tourist season, there is a degree of natural cooling from the water, whereas the tarmac roads of the other big cities radiate the heat back at us. There are some very experienced Venice visitors here, so trawl this place for great insight.

p.p.s. I very much echo Alpinista's recommendation of searching out local festivals & events, especially the historic ones. There are lots of online aggregation listings, but I tend to start with the local tourist office. I especially love the smaller quirkier ones, and have found ourselves the only foreigners at a couple of them. Likewise I agree on Portovenere as a base, as it's easy to visit the CT villages by boat, but there's less bustle in Portovenere. La Spezia has a superb evening passeggiata (c. 4-7pm) where the locals catch up with friends and rellies, show off their babies, share news and gossip etc. It's something of a mundane small port city, but its passeggiata is superb on mostly pedestrianised streets.

p.p.p.s. I see a few go kart places dotted around. Some indoors, some outdoors. Might be a possibility. Doing a 'normal' activity in Italy can see locals going out of their way to make you feel welcome.

Thank you. I will look into all the suggestions you gave. What do you think about this alternate route?

Venice > Bologna > A quietest possible beach town somewhere at Ligurian coast (chapgpt, lol, recommended Sestri Levante based on where we can coming from and where we need to go next > Milan (to take a train or flight to Paris).

I am also intrigued by quick stops at Pisa, Lucca and Carrara in between Bologna and the beach. Maybe based in one area and doing day trips?

 

[BEERMAN]

Thank you. I will look into all the suggestions you gave. What do you think about this alternate route?

Venice > Bologna > A quietest possible beach town somewhere at Ligurian coast (chapgpt, lol, recommended Sestri Levante based on where we can coming from and where we need to go next > Milan (to take a train or flight to Paris).

I am also intrigued by quick stops at Pisa, Lucca and Carrara in between Bologna and the beach. Maybe based in one area and doing day trips?

Hello, I just took a break from picking photos for my next report in the Italy Trip Report section, it will be posted later today. My last 3 reports included our 4 night stay in Ortisei, Dolomites. You and your 8 year old will love it there. I feel a car is a must for going there. We chose Ortisei because access to Seceda is conveniently there as well as plenty of FUNiculars to many hiking trails.

Since Bologna is a must see I would consider a train there from Venice. Rent a car in Bologna and head for the Dolomites, around a 3 hour drive depending on which town you pick. I just compared drive times and distances from Venice and Bologna to Ortisei and they are roughly the same.

My next report is from Limone sil Garda on the north end of Garda and after that we went to the southern end at Desenzano (stumbled on a cool Fiat 850 car show there) we took a ferry to Sirmione for a day trip. Sirmione has a lot to keep an 8 year old amused, ferry ride, "Sunken Castle", Roman ruins, walk around the peninsula to a beach bar etc.

Have fun planning!

 

[NoSpin]

I can help you with the car stuff. You say you are arriving in mid-June. The Mille Miglia ends on June 21 in Bresica. If you can make it there on that day, your son wil be through the roof. All the cars drive into the town. You can camp out at a nice viewing spot and watch the cars parade through.

As for the Ferrari factory, unless you own a Ferrari and made an appointment through your Ferrari dealer, you are not getting into the factory. However, there is a bus tour around the factory grounds and there is also the Ferrari museum, both available to the public. If you don't make it to Maranello, there is the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena. Also nearby are Lamborghini, Maserati and Pagani museums.

If you should get to Turin, the Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile is the most spectacular car museum you will ever see, and I have been to all of them. (Although, I will caution you have to be a car nut, there are some very esoteric exhibits, like one just on transmissions. My wife was less than amused! )

 

[Alpinista]

My wife's family home is near Lucca, so I'm very biased in my praise of the city as a base. However, it is an ideal location -- good access to Florence and Pisa; a very easy drive to Lido di Camaiore for the beach and Carrara and Pietrasanta (an arts community near Carrara); a beautiful drive up into the hills to Barga and the Garfagnana area. As mentioned, a pedestrian-centric town with easy bicycle access to the city walls and parks. Throw in some great restaurants and life is good.

Depending on how much you want to travel for your child, Pinocchio Park at Collodi is not far away -- nothing exceptional, but can be fun for a child who enjoys Pinocchio and the Garzoni Gardens are there also.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Thank you. I will look into all the suggestions you gave. What do you think about this alternate route?

Venice > Bologna > A quietest possible beach town somewhere at Ligurian coast (chapgpt, lol, recommended Sestri Levante based on where we can coming from and where we need to go next > Milan (to take a train or flight to Paris).

I am also intrigued by quick stops at Pisa, Lucca and Carrara in between Bologna and the beach. Maybe based in one area and doing day trips?

Worth checking the eurostar route from Italy to Paris. When I checked previously, it started in Venice, went through Turin, and finished in Paris. Not sure if it also calls at Milan. I'd only consider a direct option, so you can settle in, get comfortable, take a fancy picnic onboard and do stuff to keep entertained / relaxed. About 7-8 hours direct from memory from Turin to Paris.

Places like Camogli get a lot of love for a Ligurian coast location. Portovenere absolutely worth considering still though. Sestri I don't know, but others here do.

I describe Pisa as the worst example of mass tourism's blight on Italy AND a somewhat under the radar gem. This seeming contradiction is explained by the huge volume who see Pisa as a half-day trip, get off the train at either station, walk to the field of miracles, see the leaning tower and leave. Everything en-route is blighted by mass tourism - overpriced tat, with litter endemic. Conversely the short walk from the field of miracles to the city itself, reveals a more charming aspect, with fine churches, surprisingly good / good value food, a pleasing if busy main shopping street, a good daily morning market and plenty more besides. So if going there I'd recommend arriving at the main station, and then walking through the city before eventually turning left to approach the field of miracles. You'll see a better perspective on the city, and unlike those following the obvious routes, you may find yourself leaving Pisa with a more positive (but still mixed) perspective.

Lucca is certainly a decent day trip option, and unusually for Tuscany, has the train station close to the city itself (it faces the city walls).