What city would you recommend for an extended stay (2-4 weeks) for a mom and her two small kids? Our family will be traveling around Italy for two weeks before my husband has to return home. After he leaves, we are looking for a nice (safe) home base to experience the day to day Italian life (library, markets, parks etc).
My kids are excellent travelers and this will not be the first time we have extended a family vacation this way. Any suggestions of places to consider or avoid would be much appreciated!
Posted by
Gettysburg, PA
1589 posts
Pistoia. 20 minutes from Florence- big enough & not touristy.
Posted by
Bainbridge Island
3107 posts
Lucca. Walled city, lots of pedestrian streets with no cars, very friendly people. The whole wall around the city is a park, with bike path and green spaces on the ramparts.
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10230 posts
I will second the suggestion of Lucca. Maybe you can find a place to stay that includes the use of bikes. Are you planning to rent an apartment? I always use vrbo.com and homeaway.com for appaertment rentals. From Lucca you can easily do a day trip to Pisa.
Posted by
Missoula
109 posts
We have two kids, a 9 and 11 year old. We've been living in Perugia for 4 months and love it. Here's why: 1) it's got a major train station, so it's easy to get to Florence and Rome, just for the day 2) it's pretty untouristy, but it has a couple of universities, so it's got a nice, diverse, and interesting center. 3) we're living very close to the town center, and the rent is really very reasonable. 4) we're close to Tuscany and places like Assisi in Umbria, which we love Hope that helps!
Posted by
OP
198 posts
Thanks for all the advice! This may be a good thing, but I can't seem to find Pistoia in any of the guide books:)
It seems like Perugia & Lucca are the top choices. Any other votes? Anything else I should be considering?
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10230 posts
Pistoia is between Florence and Lucca, but a little north. I have never been, so I have no idea if it would be a good place to spend that much time.