Hello!
My husband and I and our two kids (age 5 and 8) will be spending two weeks in Italy this March. I would love some guidance from those who have been there in planning our itinerary.
We will arrive in Rome and are looking for a nice blend of relaxation and enjoying the culture as well as seeing some of the 'big' stuff :)
Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated!
Peace-
Well, there are very many places and things to see in Italy. Italy is extremely loaded with art ! In two weeks it is not possible to go to all the places in Italy that will be recommended by people who were there. I was in Italy once. I am not an expert. I suggest read all of the book "Rick Steves' ITALY 2007" (or 2008). Rick did not say much about Lake Maggiore, which is a desirable lake, but perhaps you do not want to travel that far north. For most people I recommend fly from a different airport when you return to the U.S.A. (Fly to Rome, fly from Milan Malpensa). If you will fly to and from Rome, I think a good plan is to ride in a train (Eurostar, First class) north from Rome to Pisa (Coastal route), and continue riding trains north to a Cinque Terre Village (Vernazza, or Monerosso). Be there three nights. From there ride in trains to the hill town Lucca (via La Spezia) the day you travel to Florence. Everyone wants to see Venice, but not all of us liked Venice.
Sounds like a wonderful trip. Rick has a section on traveling with kids in his book Europe Through the Back Door. He also recommends the book Take Your Kids to Europe by Cynthia Harriman. The total travel time from Seattle to Rome, measured from leaving your home to getting to your first hotel in Rome, is going to be a long and tiring day for you and the kids (generally 24+ hours total travel time), so you'll want to be prepared for that. Do the kids have their passports? If not, you'll want to get that done as soon as possible.
One thing to keep in mind, you'll only be able to do one major sight per day. So, for example, if you want to see the Colosseum, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Roman Forum then you will need at least 4 days in Rome. That general rule of thumb can make your planning easier.
Also, to get your kids more excited to see some of these places, try to find some movies to show them before you go. Gladiator is very violent and not meant to be 100% historically accurate. That movie would be a parenting call as to whether it's age appropriate. But the Coliseum is in there and it's definitely entertaining. I haven't seen anything from the HBO series Rome, but I think it is also quite violent. Although there are those who would say that Rome was marred in its decline by severe violence.
I'm sure there are some other movies out there that aren't so violent. I'm not a big movie buff, so I'm not very helpful there.
I would suggest a few days at an agriturismo, which would give your children a break from just the touristy stuff. You can do day trips through Tuscany or Umbria, depending on where you stay, if you want an activity. The Graffiti Wall as well as www.tripadvisor.com have great suggestions for these farm stays.
Verushka,
I have taken eight, nine and ten year olds to Italy (not all at once) and have trip reports that may give you some ideas. E-mail me and I will send them to you (put Italy in the Tittle I get a lot of spam).
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Hi Verushka, We are taking our kids (ages 13 down to 2) to Rome very soon and have found a few kid friendly DVD's to prepare them...
BBC's history docudrama "Colussuem" that included a "Pompeii:the last day", both very well done and much more mild than Gladiator or HBO's Rome (HBO's Rome is not only violent there is nudity and sex scenes- you may not want your kids to be that familar with ancient Roman ways)
Drive Through History, Rome-designed for middle schoolers, but great for adults and our 8 year old loves it too.
Hope that helps...
