Italy With Kids: Five Fun Family Day Trips from Tuscany

Guest Blogger: Jade and Ryan were busy planning a month long trip away from home when they found out Jade was expecting. They didn’t let that deter them – they just brought along their three month old… For more on the Davies family, from East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, follow them on Instagram.

In April 2017, we spent six glorious days in Tuscany with our three month old infant, Henry. Our time in Tuscany was at the end of a month long vacation that began with five days in New York City and 14 days in the UK visiting family.

Who spends a month living out of a suitcase with a three month old infant?

We had just started planning our month long trip when we found out I was pregnant. Although we did pause, many times, and wonder whether we should just wait and take the trip when the baby was older, we really had no option to turn back or cancel the trip as we were traveling with family, and they had already booked their flights. So, we plowed on and continued making plans even though the trip would ultimately require us to live out of a suitcase for a month with a three month old infant!

How did we prepare for a month long vacation?

Prior to having kids, we had traveled extensively, but most of it was of the backpacking variety that did not require much prior planning or organization. Knowing that I would be traveling around the world with an infant, I thought maybe I should have more of a plan. So, I began first by researching transportation options to figure out the logistics of flying and traveling with an infant and all the items required. My biggest concern was how to transport our family while traveling with an infant – train? bus? taxi? car hire? We opted to rent a car and mostly used it to get around although buses and cars were our usual mode of transport before kids.

How did we get to and get around in Italy?

We flew from Bristol, UK to Pisa, Italy with Easyjet Airlines on an early morning direct flight that took just over two hours. This gave us a whole day of travel upon arrival. I happily grabbed the window seat, which I prefer as it tends to give us a little more room to stretch out, and Henry slept the whole way. I had already booked a car for pick up at the airport, and the rental car company provided a car seat, which we were able to install ourselves. Car seat laws differ by country and rental car companies don’t always provide car seats, so we inquired ahead of time.

It was a one hour drive from the airport to where we were staying, and the car came equipped with a navigation system, which provided super easy instructions in English. Henry does not mind the car, so he slept most of the way.

Where did we stay?

We rented a gorgeous two-bedroom apartment on a hilltop overlooking Tuscany, located in Uzzano, a commune in the province of Pistoria. The apartment was truly amazing – it came equipped with a full kitchen, laundry, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms. We had plenty of space, which was great, as my parents were also traveling with us. The only downside to the apartment was its location – about an hour long drive to Florence and an hour to Pisa, so while this would not have been ideal if we had only been in Tuscany for a short time and/or did not want to rent a car, this was a great location for us because of the space and the amenities. We also spent one day in Uzzano, exploring the small town that consists of about four streets and a big church on the top of the hill. Henry needed a rest day after our day trip to Venice, so Uzzano was a great place to have a relaxing, low key day.

Our apartment complex

View from our home base.

Our rest day in Uzzano.

What did we do?

Given the location of our accommodations and our use of a rental car, we decided to break out trip up into small day trips. Over the course of six days, we took day trips to various destinations around Italy. Although we frequently found ourselves wishing we had more than one day to explore any particular city, it was a good overview and having a designated place to sleep was nice, given that we were traveling with an infant.

1. Pisa

Our first adventure was to visit Pisa, a small walled city. We literally followed the road signs saying “Leaning Tower of Pisa” and the paid parking signs…. which led us to a parking spot right across the road from the famous tower. We paid 15 € to park there for the day and just took our stroller with us. The city was flat and easy to get around with the pram. We wandered around the Leaning Tower and the surrounding buildings and took all the cheesy tourist photos that you would expect… it had to be done. There was a one hour wait to get into the building itself, so we just looked from the outside. We enjoyed a sumptuous lunch of pizza, pasta and breads, from a restaurant on the street leading away from the tower. After lunch, we strolled the streets and just enjoyed the beautiful architecture, before grabbing gelato and heading back to the car.

We had to!

On the way back to the house, we stopped at Villa Garzoni, the beautiful home where Pinocchio author Carlo Lorenzini spent his childhood. It was about 22 € per person to enter, but well worth it. Collodi, the town where Villa Garzoni is located, is roughly one hour driving distance from Florence, but would also be a great day trip, especially for those traveling to Italy with older kids as there is a Pinocchio gallery to visit as well.

Villa Garzoni

2. Florence

The city center of Florence is a no drive zone, so we had to park outside the city and walk. We parked at a parking lot near the train station, which cost about 20 € for the day. Knowing we would be doing a significant amount of walking, we took the stroller and used it heavily, including on the 15-20 minute walk from the train station into the heart of the city

Our first stop in Florence was the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, a city square that features Santa Maria Novella, a Gothic Renaissance basilica completed in the 14th century. We picked up a coffee before heading over to San Lorenzo Market. As we meandered along the winding streets, we stumbled across many beautiful buildings and churches.

Once we arrived at San Lorenzo Market, we all enjoyed delicious pizza made from the fresh produce sold at the downstairs market. It was exciting to be in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the marketplace and we loved every minute of it. After lunch, we went on a mission to find the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, a Renaissance Palace that I learned about in school and was eager to visit. The Palace is now the seat of the Metropolitan City of Florence as well as a museum, and I was thrilled when we spotted a local artist showing her work in the downstairs gallery.

San Lorenzo Market

From the Medici Palace, we went to Santa Maria del Fiore (commonly known as the Duomo), which unfortunately, was completely booked and had a 2.5 hour long wait to tour. Traveling with an infant, we did not think it would be wise to wait, so we just enjoyed the beauty of the Duomo and adjacent Florence Baptistry from the outside. We were also disappointed that we did not get to tour Uffizi Gallery, which was closed for renovations.

The magnificent Duomo

During our day in Florence, we also crossed the Ponte Vecchio, a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River. We loved walking along the river, getting lost in the beauty, architecture, and culture of Florence. We made sure to enjoy gelato from one of the many shops around the city.

Ponte Vecchio

Gelato – yum!

We also saw the replica of Michelangelo’s David at the Palazzo Vecchio. The original was originally placed at the same location but moved indoors to the nearby Galleria dell’Accademia for conservation.

A replica of Michelangelo’s David

Photo credit We Go With Kids

Pro-Tip: We visited the first week of April, and there were so many tourists that we got blocked out of visiting many locations, like the Duomo. Be sure to pre-book any items that are on your bucket list to ensure the opportunity to visit.

3. Cinque Terre

La Spezia is located in the Liguria region of Northern Italy, and is the start of the Cinque Terre, a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera that consists of five villages. It was a 90 minute drive from our house to La Spezia, which took a good chunk of time out of our day. Once we arrived in La Spezia, we took the train that departs from La Spezia station every 20-30 minutes and stops at every town along the Cinque Terre for those who don’t want to or can’t walk it. With an infant, we had no illusions of walking it and used the Ergo 360 on this day trip instead of the stroller for ease of maneuverability.

Our first stop was at Monterosso al Mare, which happens to be the last town on the Cinque Terre line and the only town that has its own beach. We strolled the historic old town at our own leisurely place and enjoyed popping in to visit beautiful old churches.

From Monterosso al Mare, we boarded the train to Vernazza, the quintessential Cinque Terre town. We enjoyed lunch at one of the restaurants leading down tot he waterfront and afterwards, walked up the cliff side overlooking the town.

Unfortunately, by the time we stopped to check our watches, it was time to jump back on the train to La Spezia and drive back home for a late dinner. I wish we had one extra day to explore the other towns, but the distance from our home base was just too great. I was glad to use the carrier, rather than the stroller because most of the towns along the Cinque Terre were on the side of a cliff and maneuvering the stroller on/off the train would have been not only tricky, but exhausting.

4. Venice

Our day trip to Venice was long as it began with a one hour long drive from our house to Florence, and then a two-hour train ride to Venice. Henry hated the train and was very upset during the entire ride, which I spent walking him up and down the aisles to try and calm him down.

We arrived in Venice at 10 am, which gave us plenty of time to explore and take our time strolling around the canals and taking in the stunning architecture. There were tons of restaurants and churches on every corner, so definitely take your time and enjoy the sights. One easy way to cover a lot of ground is to go on a gondola ride, but we found on a previous trip that it was beneficial to negotiate with a vendor instead of just using the first one that you see, as they will likely spot that you’re a tourist and charge you quite a bit more than if you just put in some leg work.

Pro-Tip: Avoid taking your stroller to Venice, if possible. We brought our stroller because of forecasted rain and cold temperatures but had trouble managing with it over the bridges and stairs. It would have just been easier to use a baby carrier instead. It can be extremely expensive to stay in Venice, but take a look at main land options and consider catching a ferry/boat or train across to spend the day in Venice.

5. Montecatini Terme and San Gimignano

We spent our last day in Tuscany visiting the towns of Montecatini Terme and San Gimignano. Montecatini was close to our home base in Uzzano, so we thought this would be a great location to visit. The town was filled with stunning old bath houses and the landscape was gorgeous; unfortunately, they were still closed for the season. I would highly recommend visiting Montecatini and its bath houses in the summer.

On a whim, we decided to drive to San Gimignano, because it was so close to Montecatini. WOW, am I glad we did! San Gimagnano is a small walled medieval town perched on top of a hill. We took advantage of the public parking (5-10€ for the day), but you can also just catch a bus into the city or walk. We arrived just in time for lunch and ate at a restaurant in the Sant’Agostino Square. The weather was absolutely brilliant, so we sat outside and had pizza and drank vino. Afterwards, we walked the streets and did some last minute shopping, while on the hunt for the world’s best gelato.

Final Thoughts

We ate a lot of pizza, wine, and gelato during our time in Italy, but we love Italian and the food was amazing. While we did eat a lot, we also felt like we did so much walking that we burned off quite a few calories. Because we visited touristy locations, we did not experience any language barriers. It was easy to buy diapers and wipes locally. If we went back, we would prefer to stay in metropolitan areas and spend more time exploring each city. The rental car was convenient, but we might try exclusively using trains next time. Although we did a lot of driving, we loved every minute of it and definitely recommend exploring Italy with kids.