Itinerary help - 2nd Italy trip for my husband and me, 1st with our children

Regarding Venice, this past April we took a 90 minute rowing lesson with Row Venice. The cost is 89 Euros total for up to four people. [A gondola ride is about the same price for 30 minutes.] We went thru the quiet back canals of the Cannaregio area. I think your boys would love this, competing against each other, to see who can master this skill faster. - And, oh, it's much harder than it looks!

Also, the island of Lido is known for its beaches, altho I've never been there .

And the boys should like the Naval Museum, particularly the second building, the Ship Pavilion, with the full-scale examples of historic ships.

Another boys' idea may be going to the top of San Giorgio Maggiore Church across from St Mark's Square, and being in the bell tower when the bells rung.

We were just in Lake Como, so I'm rethinking the area thru the eyes of young boys. I remember seeing that Mennagio rents bikes and has many good bike trails, [maybe rent E-bikes?]
The ferries are fun for all, and the Villa Balbianello tour on Lenno should interest them, as the owner was a Mt. Everest explorer, and the tour itself [1 hour] focused on many of the quirky parts of the house. We then took the speedboat back to the Lenno ferry, which was another small adventure .

Have fun planning your trip and Safe travels!

Didn't you want to see Rome, it is the jewel of Italy.

We lived in Augsburg, Germany for four years and drove down to Italy quite a lot.

The beaches on the Adriatic have much to be desired. We have been to Rimini and found the beaches filled with trash. The water was nasty. We did like Ravenna for the Byzantine ancient buildings and art. Was not so impressed with Bologna.

Consider visiting Umbria. Perugia, Spoleto, Orvieto, Assisi and more. It is usually not so crowded. Lake Como is nice. Verona is worth a visit.

I do not like the beaches in northern Italy, especially south of Venice. It’s more like mud and not attractive. Jesolo, Bibone and Grado are popular with the Germans and Austrians but are a poor substitute for any US beach.

I have a teenage boy. He’s been to Venice a few times. It’s ok to him. We also spent a week in Bologna with a car, which was slow paced but fun for us. He liked the food and late afternoon cafe time. Honestly, he prefers more activity based travel rather than going from cute town to cute town looking at churches. Very boring for him. Maybe Venice and the Dolomites or the Julian Alps (which he did love).

Sorry,
My earlier post was in error. I meant to say that the beaches on the Adriatic have little to be desired. I did some research about beaches in Italy at one time and it seems the better beaches in Italy are in the South.

There are great beaches in Tuscany, in Liguria, and yes even on the Adriatic side, in the Marche province (I liked the Pesaro area and Monte Conero). Some might require a hike to get to--bonus for me! Tuscany's Monte Argentario area reminds me a lot of the Amalfi coast, just without the crowds. The coast of Lazio has some nice sandy beaches--not the wild natural beaches that I prefer, but close to some Etrusan sites that might be of interest. There are some lakes along the Lazio-Tuscany border that you could possible incorporate.

Thank you everyone! I appreciate all the helpful responses!

hey rachel
how fun to take take your boys on a fantastic trip and they are at an age to enjoy. i would do something different than you two did last year, see other parts of italy. don't know where you are flying to and from, multi-city (into one city out of another) may be something to think about. the kids will probably not be happy walking in so many churches and museums. but they do have to compromise on things to do and see with you guys. have them be involved be the planning.
VENICE: take the vaporetto to the lido, unless you stay on the lido. walk to end of granviale santa maria elisabetta to beach area, find a place to rent umbrella and chairs to sit and relax and let kids swim.
walk around venice getting lost in the alleyways, zigging instead of zagging. it will be crowded in tourist areas, go to districts outside of the mob scene early morning or late afternoon. take a gondola ride back canals or check rowvenice.com, camacana.com kids can paint venetian masks, eat gelato and pizza. europeforvisitors.com is a great site. maybe a boat cruise up the brenta canal (ilburchiello.com venice to padua then train back to venice)
withlocals.com
LUCCA: a walled city with plazas to sit and people watch, have lunch, rent bikes to ride around the walled city. pizza making class. ask hotel/apt host or stop at tourist info kiosk
the town of collodi, home of pinocchio and an amusement park, garzoni gardens and butterfly house. take a bus. apartmentslucca.com has rentals. take a train to pisa, if they want to climb to top reserve opapisa.it. leave early morning then train to viareggio beach. they may have free public areas or rent umbrellas and chairs. (tripsavvy.com search travel guide to viareggio). come&seeitaly.com take a tour of barga and garfagnana area. extravirginlucca.com or cucina-italiana.com has half day cooking classe and accomodations. lots of things to do. keep the kids busy
LAKE GARDA: we stayed at hotel nettuno right on the lake. pool on property, cute little village, was there for their annual wine festival. ferry stop for sails up or down the lake to different towns. you can read up on italyheaven.com and search different towns in italy. make sure you get the map and schedules for the ferries.
a different kind of itinerary for you but places you can visit with lots of activities for you and the kids to enjoy and have a great vacation. enjoy
aloha

Thank you so much!!!