talk to me about Carrara ...

Did a tour of the quarries when on the RS Hill Town tours many years ago. As I recall, everyone enjoyed the tour which covered the quarrying process, splitting the marble and more. The tour ended with a visit to a small studio where a retired quarryman, quite a personality, had carved statues of workers at the site. We also drove through the town of Carrera to a piazza with marble paving a short distance from the docks where marble was stacked ready for shipment. I think we were there for about an hour or an hour and a half

Carrera was on our route from Lucca to the CT and was a welcome break in the morning drive. Would I make the effort otherwise, no, probably not.

The quarries are astonishing in size and beauty, but not the easiest to visit. You can get some good views driving past them on the way to Colonnata (famous for its 'lardo') or take a guided tour https://www.wanderingitaly.com/places/carrara-marble-tour.html

The old part of the city of Carrara is quite evocative. Streets of old houses with discordantly elaborate marble trim, the imposing Piazza Alberico, an old in-town castle that's now an international art school, and more. Near the fabulous cathedral is a large red building with a plaque - it's the location of Michelangelo's studio when he stayed at Carrara for several months during one of his visits to obtain marble. https://www.apathtolunch.com/2012/07/carrara-anarchy-michelangelo-marble.html
https://www.marthasitaly.com/articles/192/carrara-tuscany-travel-guide

You might combine the Carrara visit with a visit to Sarzana a very pleasant little city nearby with several cafes and restaurants around its active piazzas. There's also a visit to Lerici, a very evocative little port city of the Gulf of the Poets with a castle overlooking the boat-crowded harbor. It's closer to a real Italian fishing 'village' than any of the Cinque Terre towns. https://www.apathtolunch.com/2011/06/castle-to-castle-along-gulf-of-poets.html

The quarries are in the hills behind Carrara. Interesting, IMO, but I don't know your family and their interests!
Anyway, here's what we did: https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2020/03/massa-carrara-in-may-colonnata-and.html
Carrara city is ok for a stroll, lots of marble statues, but not as nice as Lucca, Pisa or other places you'll probably be visiting

I too visited Carrara on a Rick Steves Village Italy tour in 2022. Would I choose to do it again? No. For me personally, it was boring and did not have a "wow" factor.