We will be hiking in the Dolomites for a week, then we have two weeks to mess around in Italy (or Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Slovenia). Where to go to keep a 13-going-on 14 year old girl occupied? We parents love history (Roman), architecture (anything before LeCorbusier), and slow food (Bologna?) and we have been to Italy many times in pursuit of art and architecture before she was born and when she was an infant. Despite all that our good-natured daughter does not exactly share our obsessions, so she is indulging us on the hiking in the Dolomites. She loves shopping at Zara, texting her friends, flirting safely with (young) boys, meeting other Americans, music of all kinds, including opera and choral music, ziplining, and whatever 14-yr olds classify as "fun". I argue that we should find the most sociable places possible, including hotels where guests yak it up at breakfast and at night. Spouse is a bit concerned about avoiding heat waves and wants to stick to the mountains, but is willing to be over-ruled. Where should we go? We have done Verona and Venice with our daughter in prior years, but worry about the heat in Rome/Naples/Sorrento for our August dates. We love Tuscany, but worry that the small hill towns are not right for a kid. She is an only child, and we had the chance for tickets to Milan and grabbed them, so her usual summer camp was not in the cards for this year. Anybody have advice for us on how to structure an itinerary that keeps us all happy (or reasonably so)? We do not like sightseeing in 90 + degree heat, but we do appreciate a good beach. Mom does not like incredibly long lines for things, although everyone else is okay with that. Our tastes run to the higher end (champagne on a beer budget), idiosyncratic, and quirky, whatever that means. That said, we'll do the tourist trail for sure if it is fun and social. Advice welcome.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
As you suspected, it will likely be hot in Rome in August (probably really hot).
Many other places in Italy in August will be hot.
As you've already figured out, places in Italy in August that would be cooler would be the mountains.
You mentioned you don't like long lines. There tend to be lots of lines in Italy in August (I'm not sure but I think mid-July through the 3rd or 4th week of August is when a lot of Europeans get their long vacations).
Posted by
Atlanta
1005 posts
I'm not sure how you find the perfect location, but we had German friends who took a family trip with their teenagers and family dog each year to Tuscany for two weeks. They would stay at a villa with multiple apartments for families and spend part of the day on site at the pool and various organized activities, then walk or bike into town or drive to nearby hill towns. Their three sons were charming, had lovely European manners, and spoke English. If you can find one of these places where European families vacation, your daughter might have the summer trip of a lifetime!
Posted by
OP
4 posts
That sounds like a plausible idea. We used to do that when our daughter was a toddle. She always had fun and made friends, and we got a bit of art/history/culture in. Now I need a search strategy. So late in the summer already!
Posted by
Glostrup, Denmark
1408 posts
Maybe you should consider renting a mobile home on a camping site. Our favourite is http://www.camping-serenella.it/ by the Garda lake. There will be a large number of young people her age and all sorts of water based activities: paragliding, water skiing, banana riding, etc. You can use the lake ferries to visit other cities nearby. I recommend http://www.funiviedelbaldo.it/en/.
You can select between a large number of restaurants nearby or you can tour the local shops (or camping market) and cook your own food.
We'll be going there ourselves in July for the 7th time :-)
Have a nice summer vacation
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
You do not need to go to Bologna to find good food and the old town is a pretty small part of the big, hot city. Wouldn't everyone be excited to add a new country? I loved driving around Slovenia one August for mountains, lakes, caves, beach town (stay in historic Piran, not modern Portaroz), beekeeping museum, picturesque farms, etc. I easily found accommodations without reservations on that trip, but still would advise reservations for the coast and the lakes. When I asked a rural Slovenian hotelier, "Where is everybody?", he replied, "You'll see when you go to Croatia" and he was right (do not try to drive the Croatian coast road on a Saturday in August).
The opera and other major performing arts don't tend to operate in August, but summer festivals could be found through tourist offices and online. Here's a short list of summer music festivals and the Ljubljana Festival.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thanks everyone for good ideas.