Hello! We are a family of 5 (two adults, three kids: 5, 3, baby who will be crawling at time of trip), landing in Venice and picking up our car on 15 August and would love some help figuring out where to go before our farm stay in Tuscany on the 19th.
We typically do not rent a car when traveling Europe so thinking we should take advantage of that with some time in the Dolomites? Our older children are solid hikers and the family hotels in the area are intriguing, though our timing isn't ideal and I'm finding most prefer a 5+ night stay. Any other spots in Italy that require a car? Or maybe we stash the car and spend some leisurely days in a smaller city like Siena (how insane is the Palio on August 16?) or Orvieto? Bologna? Our last trip to Italy spanned a month based in Rome with trips to Venice, Capri, Florence, and Orvieto and I feel like we barely scratched the surface. This time would love to find something nestled in nature with cooler temps and hiking or a manageable and walkable city that we could slowly explore.
I'd really appreciate any and all advice :) thank you for helping my family solve this travel puzzle.