Hi!
I am looking for any and all recommendations for our trip this September. My husband and I have been to Italy previously but this will be our first visit with our sons 2 & 4. We fly into Nice and have 11 nights until we fly out of Rome. Other than those flight reservations, nothing else is booked :)
Open to any and all recommendations -- thinking loosely 3 overnight stops total -- Nice? (or smaller Rivera town?), Cinque Terre? vs. Tuscany (we've done Florence but would return!) and then at least 3 or 4 nights in Rome (my favorite :) )
Rough plan is to use trains in France until we get to Italy and then open to renting car to get to Rome.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
6234 posts
Why not just use trains in Italy?
They are safe, fast, cheap and fun
You’ll need car seats if you choose to drive in Italy
Consider
3 nights Nice
3 nights Santa Margarita Ligure or Canogli
Then Lucca-great little town for families 2 nights
Rome 3 nights maybe with pit stop in Pisa
All easily done by train
Posted by
Vermont
337 posts
I can't see the CT as a place to go with small children. Instead I would suggest a farm stay in Tuscany. That stay may require a car for which I have no helpful info but the rental place will have I am sure. Turn in the car and take the train to Rome.
Posted by
4473 posts
I would first delve into the train travel logistics and see what maximizes your time. Once you deduct time for Nice (or environs) and Rome, one spot to break up the trip is the most likely and convenient thing. Sestri Levant is a place I see recommended for families often.
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
835 posts
Nice has its charms but it is a big city so if you want to look for something smaller the Old Town has a certain smaller feeling but how much of a big city you want to tackle with kids is up to you. Antibes may make a better setting and while it is the wrong direction from Italy it is relatively close to the airport if you go that way rather than towards Nice.
But this is the Italy board so I will agree with both the ideas of the Ligurian coast running from Santa Margherita Ligure down to Levanto it scales in fanciness and cost so see what feels right for you. I also agree that Lucca would make an excellent place for a family visit since it is largely traffic free and all the other families - well everyone really - will be out on the walls during the afternoon and evenings. Look for the places that have playgrounds for the most kid-centric areas.
The train from Nice to Genoa and down to the coast will be a long-ish day crossing a couple of international borders. With kids you might consider how to space that out some. Trains will be fine for your stay in Italy with all the places suggested and I doubt a car will do you any good anywhere. Certainly not in the beach areas, not in Lucca and certainly nowhere near Rome.
Italians love kids