Small Italian towns in Nov end

For 10 days, with two small children, and all your interests, I would do what we actually did, although we did it in March rather than November. However, we've been in Italy for November (and December) both north and south quite a few times, so I feel like I can give some advice about where to go.

My husband and I took one of our sons, our daughter-in-law, and our two grandchildren (one 3-turning-4 and one 5 months old) to Italy, where we had been many times. We took them to Puglia because we know the region well and we knew it would be warm and uncrowded and have wonderful food and have many things that would interest the 3-year-old --- he still remembers this trip six years later.

We flew into Rome, flew straight from the Rome airport to Brindisi, rented a car at the airport, and drove 30 minutes to Ostuni, where we stayed in a charming airbnb with a rooftop terrace in the old town. This part of town was car-free and just alleys and stairs and views and white-washed buildings, and had three of the best restaurants we've ever been to in Italy about a two-minute walk from our apartment. But we could easily also walk down off the hill into the still-old-but-newer part of town to get gelato and run around in the piazza and find pizza for our grandson and buy groceries, etc., etc..

We did day trips to towns like Polignano a Mare, where there's a pebble beach that I know for a fact is stuffed full of people during the summer, but was delightful in the off season. (There are plenty of beach towns in Puglia, but they will not be even slightly cute in November ----instead you will love to visit towns with a harbor and colorful fishing boats like Trani or Giovinazzo.) We visited the train museum in Lecce and went to Alberobello to see all the trulli. After Ostuni, we stayed in our own rented trullo and did some more day trips, then flew back to Rome for a couple days. You could instead drive to Naples, return your car to the airport (we did this on a different trip to Puglia), visit Naples, and then fly back from there (with a layover in Rome or some other city).

Puglia is so easy to visit and the residents are welcoming and not tired of tourists (at least, not in the off-season!). You could stay in Lecce instead of Ostuni, and just visit Ostuni --- the historical center of Lecce inside the walls is larger and flat and thus easier for a one-year-old to walk around in and for you to have a stroller. Lecce is one of the towns/cities in Italy where I've thought I'd like to live. Anyway, consider Puglia for your family trip!

Thank you nancys8! I will look into Pulgia. I looked up some airbnb and they look lovely.
Also which other places did you visit during Nov/Dec? curious to know how the temperatures were in those places
Do you have recommendation on rental car? did they come with car seats?

2013 Rome>Puglia October, 18–November 4.....Maybe wore a sweater a few times

2014 Venice>Florence>Rome, December 15–January 5.....Venice was quite humid and therefore chilly, snowed a tiny bit in Florence but still not what any Minnesotan would call cold. Italians were bundled up in down coats.

2015 Puglia>Naples>Rome, October 25–November 18.....Sweater weather morning and evening

2016 Emilia-Romagna, November 30–December 22.....Again, very humid and foggy so we did feel cold some days and wore coats with layers underneath. You might like staying in Modena or Parma. Easy to get to by train from Milan. Easy to get by train to Bologna, Faenza (if you like ceramics), Ravenna, Ferrrara. Wouldn't need a car.

2018 Liguria & Piemonte, November 8–December 6.....We never felt cold that I recall but we were wearing thin insulated jackets and vests and scarves and warm hats when up in the mountains in western Liguria. A place in Liguria on the coast that we really liked in early November was Camogli --- it has a beach that is popular in the summer and the same colorful houses people go to the Cinque Terre for and it is easy to get to many places by train from there (like to Genoa and all along the coast).

2021 Umbria>Rome, November 3–December 9.....Snow in Castelluccio up in the mountains but elsewhere I was wearing a thin cashmere cardigan and a thin quilted vest almost every day. Looking at photos, I was only wearing a buttoned up fleece coat three times. You might like staying in Orvieto --- super easy to get to from Rome on the train.

I am not at all warm-blooded, but I do know how to dress in layers to stay warm. I may not be your best guide as to whether a place is warm or cold!

When we had our grandchildren on that trip to Puglia, they brought their own car seats because it was mostly a driving trip. Yes, the car seats were a pain to haul around on trains and planes. The baby had a car seat + stroller contraption. We are taking the kids and their wranglers to Italy this December and January, and they will bring their car seats again even though we will only be driving for two day trips. I have wondered about renting them in Italy somehow, and about seeing if the car rental company can supply them, but haven't done anything about it. We always rent from Europcar and like them very much.

Thanks so much for you response! I will check these places out. but so far Pulgia has my heart looking at airbnbs and pictures

Probably bigger than what you need, but here's where we stayed in Ostuni: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2674363?source_impression_id=p3_1695937821_F1fVLUek7sZJukfr

With a car, you could stay at this agriturismo/B&B near Locorotondo and sleep in your own trullo --- Masseria Aprile: https://masseriaaprile.it/en

We also stayed (on the grandkids trip) in this Airbnb trullo near Cisternino (with a car): https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/14569303?source_impression_id=p3_1695938169_26rlzM9DzXolDfEG

All were great!

Hi Nancy I loved your post about what you were wearing where, we love to travel out of season but the weather is always a question mark and so it was interesting Thanks!