Bringing kids to Tuscany, the most romantic of Italian regions, seems almost as absurd as letting your five-year-old order a $50 truffle-garnished hamburger. Will your brood be able to appreciate fully the vineyard dotted vistas, quaint piazzas, and history lessons around every corner? Not very likely. But there is plenty in Tuscany to appeal to the bambini. ...read more
Bringing kids to Tuscany, the most romantic of Italian regions, seems almost as absurd as letting your five-year-old order a $50 truffle-garnished hamburger. Will your brood be able to appreciate fully the vineyard dotted vistas, quaint piazzas, and history lessons around every corner? Not very likely. But there is plenty in Tuscany to appeal to the bambini.
The obvious starting point for a Tuscan vacation is Florence, where the surfeit of art — and other travelers — is mind-boggling. Pisa, too, with its iconic Leaning Tower and proximity to Aeroporto Galileo Galilei, Tuscany's largest airport, is an inevitable stop. But the real challenge lies in deciding where to go after everyone has had enough of shuffling past nude Michelangelos and brushing shoulders with tour groups.
Our top five suggestions include a mix of cities and villages, five-star resorts and country homes. You can plan a whole vacation around any of these sites. Or, if your family is lucky enough to have a long stretch of time, you can create an itinerary that includes all of these locales. Believe it or not, a Tuscan trip with the kids can be as good as — or better — than the one you dreamed of before you started a family. — Melanie Mize Renzulli
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Lucca
Travel literature likes to talk up Tuscany's hill towns, but little Lucca, which lies in the valley of the Apuan Alps, lives up to the hype. A compact city center of a few manageable sites, Lucca's most family-friendly feature is that it is almost entirely closed off to cars. Bicycles — albeit older, single-speed types — rule the roads here, and an umbrella stroller wouldn't be out of place, either.
Head to the tourist kiosk in Piazzale Verdi, where, at €2.50 per bike per hour, you can rent bikes for the entire family — bicycles equipped with baby seats are also available at no extra charge. With your transportation set, pedal from one piazza to the next. Or, take a spin on top of Le Mura, the city's medieval fortifications that do double-duty as Lucca's public parks and passegiata paths.
Staying overnight, when the city has been drained of its tour bus crowds, is the best way to do Lucca with kids. Hotel Ilaria, located along a canal near the Botanical Gardens, has wi-fi, satellite tv, and babysitting services, as well as free bikes to use during your stay.
Hotel Ilaria, suites from €180 (or $245)
Tuscany: Runners-Up
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