Italy with 16 and 13 yo sons

I can't help with the train and luggage logistics as we don't go to Italy until next month, but we have a similar interest in doing things that are beyond touring museums. In Venice, I researched kayaking and there are several companies who are NOT doing this in February, but if I was going in summer, that would be a must for us. They have to stick to the back canals, per regulations, but my kids would love this (they are all in their 20s now).

In Rome, I researched and would love to do a bike tour on the Appian Way. My kids always loved a bike tour - we have done them in Paris, Munich, Vienna etc... We are skipping it only because our schedule is tight and it's conflicting with some other things we would like to do. Sounds like it's most of a day.

We have two teen girls and I think they'll be interested in visiting the Catacombs, a bike tour, a segway tour if they are old enough, food tour, cooking classes, and of course just relaxing and eating gelato for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! :)

The trip from Venice to the Cinque Terre by train takes much of the day. Stopping in Milan would probably mean an overnight and personally, I would only do that if I got (elusive) Last Supper tickets. My experience with Milan is that you can find the high end fashions in Venice and Rome as well. I think Milan gets the “fashion capital” badge because of the fashion shows, not because the average visitor will encounter special boutiques. Look at train schedules at www.trenitalia.com before you decide if you can make a stop in Milan work. If you can do it on the way to the CT, there is a luggage check at Milano Centrale.

As to Florence, one night is a waste. One night is a waste most anywhere, for that matter. I don’t think Pisa has lockers (most stations don’t) but they have a luggage check. Beware the luggage check, though, as in some cities it takes a long time to retrieve and you do not want to be rushing last minute for your train and fretting about luggage retrieval.

The Cinque Terre to Rome train trip is very straight forward. From whatever village you are in, you take a local train to La Spezia then. freccia to Rome, which is a high speed direct train taking about 4 hours. There is a freccia at 816 and another at 1316 (subject to change but good for planning purposes). So you need to leave your village sufficiently ahead of time to meet the train you booked Rome. Again www.trenitalia.com is the place to research.

We did a similar trip without kids a couple of years ago. We flew in and out of Milan and made a train loop from Milan to Venice, to Rome (via short stop/layover in Bologna), and back to Cinque Terre (via short stop/layover in Pisa), before heading back to Milan for our return flight. The Duomo in Milan would make for a nice excursion, besides the Last Supper if you have tickets. I think if I were trekking from Venice to Cinque Terre, I would look to go through Florence and stop for a few hours. No, it won't do the city justice, but you could grab a bite, explore for an hour or two, and break up an otherwise long day on the trains. Could also simply make Pisa the break up point. That's a lot of train before Pisa and not much after, but could still work.

We're making another trip this fall with a 16 yr old and 13 yr old boy (besides their three younger siblings) and we're letting them do a lot of the activity/site planning. They seem interested in the big sites (Colosseum, Pantheon, Villa Borghese, wandering around, etc) that aren't just massive museums (Sorry Vatican). I think even museums will be well handled with enough gelato on the other end of them.

In the Cinque Terre there are the trails that you can hike, but we also found something nice even more away from the crowds which are the old train tunnels from Levanto to Framura. When the moved the train line further up the hill side, they turned the old tunnels into bike/walking trails. There are little openings and a few places you can walk down to the water along the way. There was almost no one else. Levanto, Bonassola, and Framura are nice little places on their own too.

Check Amazon for some books along the lines of "Europe with Kids" or "Bringing the Kids to Italy". There are a bunch. Some years ago, I took my nerdy 11 year old son and my bored to tears 13 year old daughter on a trip through France and Italy, with a swing into Germany. They both enjoyed the experience more than I could have imagined.

These books list attractions that even reluctant kids would like. Kids tend to like "gross" stuff, like 500 year old bodies in glass boxes under altars. Catacombs are cool, as well. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is interesting for kids but climbing it is a pain because you need to get tickets, and it scares the Hell out of me to think of my kids climbing it. Your 16 year old may fall in love with the fashionably dressed young women in Milan, while the 13 year old may prefer to check out the video games in an arcade. Edited to add that as a teenager, I was bored stiff by the Last Supper painting.

In summer, the Cinque Terre and Venice will be wall to wall people, so plan accordingly. If the trails in the CT are open, the boys will probably like the climbs. Trains are fun, in limited doses. Try to avoid trips over 3 hours. Florence has lots of fun stuff, including an anatomical museum which used to be used to train doctors. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/la-specola

It is also the home of the History of Science Museum, which supposedly has Gallileo's finger in a jar. http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/History_of_Science_museum.html

Let the boys do some of the planning. They will then be invested in the trip. Buon Viaggio!

I agree with the previous poster about the “dead popes in a glass box” inside Saint Peter’s; my kids were genuinely astonished. They really enjoyed Pisa, taking the silly “holding up the tower” pictures, climbing to the top of the baptistery (good compromise to climbing the tower and much cheaper) and going inside the cathedral. They liked the Colosseum and the Trevi fountain. They were fairly indifferent about the Piazza Navona and the Parthenon. We did not take the kids to Florence on this trip but having been in the past, I do not think there is very much in Florence that my kids would have been interested in at all. Regarding luggage storage at Pisa, I did not see any at all and honestly I’m not sure I would trust my luggage being left there as the area around the tower is a bit sketchy. I have heard great things about nearby Lucca including walking and bicycling on the wall, so that may be a good place to spend the night and leave your luggage while side driving to Pisa.

Luggage storage in Pisa available from Bagbnb.

I have been to Italy several times and still love going back.

Rome is my favorite with the wonderful Roman history as well as the Vatican and incomparable Sistine Chapel. Even my 7 year old Son was in awe of the art at the Sistine Chapel. He wanted me to explain what all the frescoes were doing and who they were. Fortunately, I had a great guidebook.

Florence is my second favorite Italian city. Can't believe you favor CT over Florence. Even my kids were happy to see "David."

The leaning tower of Pisa is in a sanctuary with a cathedral and baptistery that take about 2.5 to 3 hours to see well. You need to book ahead of time to walk up the tower. Getting there from the train station is the key. Don't know about lockers at Pisa station.

My advice about traveling with teens is to plan some things that they like, but otherwise expose them to amazing art and history. They will learn something and later in life will regret not seeing the art they might have missed. My kids enjoyed the gondola ride in Venice as well as climbing to the top of the tower at St. Mark's Square as well as the top of the dome at the Douro in Florence. They would like the Leaning Tower as well. Also, my kids were fascinated with the Roman Coliseum.