
The best family destinations in Italy by age: ideas you’ll love for every age
Where to travel with kids in Italy by age: a handpicked, expert selection of the best destinations in Italy for kids based on their age, from zero to 18!
Italy is a very kid friendly destination and the aim of this website is to make it possible and enjoyable to visit every inch of the country with kids of any age.
I have the first hand experience to back this claim!
I am a mama of two and I have traveled (and still regularly travel) up and down Italy with them extensively and what I have learned is that for pretty much all places, once you have kids, it is not about where to travel but how.
Your pace, the choice of activity, season of visit, the choice of tours are way more important than the destination: in Italy, you can go anywhere with kids and find ways to make it fun for them.
That said, if you have the chance of coming to Italy with kids more than once and you are wondering when to go at what age, things change!
Without a doubt, some places are more fun for kids than others, some are easier with littles and some with older kids.
So today, I give you my very best shortlist of the best places to travel in Italy with kids by age (of course, ages are approximate as each child is unique).
I hope you enjoy it!
The best places to travel in Italy with kids age 0 to crawling: anywhere you want to go!
If you are a new parent or are expecting you may find what I am about to say surprising but the baby phase is the easiest to travel with.

A baby is, under many respects, the least intrusive travel companion you can ask for; the main limitation to travel plans is usually your own tiredness.
Babies come with you no matter where you go, are easy to carry, they don’t need entertainment or tours and they don’t find anything boring (unlike older ones!).
With this in mind, I encourage you to pick destinations in Italy based on what you want to see, and then use my guides on this website to plan each around baby needs.

In terms of inspiration, destinations in Italy that work great with babies are:
Lake Como – mellow atmospheres and beautiful views make Lake Como an ideas refuge for families with a baby.
The area is not traditionally geared towards family entertainment so you do don’t have the theme parks of Lake Garda or noisy resorts with older kids running around; rather, you have quiet atmosphere, serene strolls along the lake shores and small towns perfect for a wander and relaxing days.
The Dolomites – a fantastic destinations with clean air and hiking opportunities, ideal if you are looking to avoid the noise and stimulation of busy cities. With a baby, I love San Candido, which is stunning and has a hospital (it gives me peace of mind!) and mellow Castelrotto (in the photo, Alpe di Siusi, from Castelrotto)

Sardinia or Puglia – for sandy beaches with shallow waters. Sardinia is more a beach destination; Puglia has stunning beaches especially in the area of Salento and lovely towns such as Monopoli if you were more sightseeing inclined.
Need to know: baby friendly in Italy doesn’t mean stroller friendly and doesn’t mean you’ll have great facilities for babies such as changing stations, soft play centers etc. Facility wise we are very much a make-do country and it is normal to change diapers on the stroller or on a chair. I recommend you read my article about what to expect when traveling Italy with a baby here so you have an idea of how things works and my tips to manage it with no stress!
The best places in Italy to travel with kids 1-4, the toddler years
The toddler years are by far the most challenging when it comes to travel.
Unlike babies, toddlers have very specific needs in terms of play time and running around, because they are mobile they are less able to just tag along tours yet they are too young to partake of kids’ tours.
This is the only age where I feel some destinations are indeed better than others even if, as I said before, you can make anywhere work: in Italy, toddler-unfriendly means stroller unfriendly, very much not the same thing!

Places I love with toddlers are places that are flat (for the stroller), have playgrounds, have attractions such as zoos or farms that they can enjoy.
Some you may like are:
Lake Como – as mentioned above, a very young age that only needs a playground to be happy is the best to visit this beautiful and quiet area
Lake Garda – more traditionally family friendly than lake Como in atmosphere and attractions, Lake Garda is lovely for older toddlers as it has beaches, Gardaland Theme Park and Natura Viva Nature Park. Towns such as Bardolino, Lazise or Peschiera are perfect at this age.

The Dolomites – as mentioned above, fabulous if you are looking for outdoors playgrounds, hikes and farm visit. Ortisei is a wonderful toddler friendly destination here.
Lucca – a delightful Tuscan town that, unlike many, has a flat and stroller friendly center! Historic and beautiful, Lucca has playgrounds, a car free center that allows for easy strolls and has the train, which means you can take day trips easily.
Lucca is one of my favorite small towns in Italy for toddlers.

Beaches – for beaches, Sardinia and Puglia offer the most beautiful and most accessible if you are looking for vast expanses of sands and shallow water. Abruzzo also has adorable beach towns perfect for toddlers such as Pineto or Roseto degli Abruzzi, which are also mellow and local.
Where to travel in Italy with kids age 5 -10
Age 5 to 10 is maybe my favorite age to travel to Italy as kids are so curious at this age, the options are endless!
From about age 5 (depending on the child) it starts being worth it to book activities and tours and there are many providers that specialize in kids’ tours which can make even traditional museums fun for them.
It is always rather incredible to see a child enjoying Renaissance Art but a good guide manages to get them to do just that!

When it comes to this age, I find how you travel makes all the difference, as the very same place may come across as boring or fun depending on what you plan.
My recommendations are:
Rome, Florence and Venice if you like activities: these cities are fantastic to explore and stimulating, but can be a bit dry for kids if you don’t make them accessible to them.
You can do this with budget-friendly things (I have scavenger hunts on this site for instance) or by booking activities such as cooking classes, rowing classes, gelato classes, glass blowing etc. This is the age I cover the most in my guides, have a look at

Lake Garda – one of the most kid-friendly destinations of all, Lake Garda has cute beaches, cycling paths, playgrounds, the zoo, a cable car, ferries, Gardaland Theme Park and many families vacationing along its shores. It is the quintessential family destination and great fun for kids and adults! Find here >>> my guide to Lake Garda with kids.
Puglia (Fasano Area) – one of our favorite destinations, we love it because it has a mix of beaches, pretty towns, sandy and rocky coves and some kids’ attractions such as Fasano Safari Park, Castellana Caves and Aqua Park Egnazia which are great for that age. Find here my guide to Puglia with kids.

Beaches – at this age, you have plenty of beach options in Italy! Puglia, Sardinia and Sicily have among the best beaches in Italy but you find fabulous ones also in Tuscany and on the Adriatic Coast – this last area, in Emilia Romagna (Bologna area) is exceptionally well equipped for kids if you are looking for a very structured beach area with slides, family hotels etc – it’s as far from a wild beach experience as it gets and this makes it super popular with families with kids!
Tuscany – Tuscany is a wide region that I love exploring with kids as it offers a large variety of experiences and it is very well served in terms of activities for visitors.
My favorite way to experience it is to get a place in the countryside in early summer or September: at this time, the kid can enjoy a pool, you can bring them sightseeing, you can experience Tuscany’s hot springs, bring them to an adventure park, to farms or treat them to one of the many family activities available.
Top Tip! Look here >>> if you want an overview of the best tours and activities in Italy for kids!
The best places to travel in Italy with tweens 10 to 12-ish years of age
The tween years are funny ones as most children at this time go through a moment when they still enjoy small child things but are well able for a lot of more ‘grown up’ activities and sightseeing
At this age, i find the destinations that work best are those that offer variety. For instance, I love:
Rome, Florence and Venice, which are super exciting destinations in terms of variety of things to see, food to try, life to observe but also have kids’ attractions and tours for when they need a break from sightseeing (rowing, cooking, cycling, making…). You can find many ideas on my guides:

Cinque Terre and Liguria – my kids adored it here! The area is amazing in the good season as kids can swim, you can explore by ferry and train, hike and see a different place each day.

Lake Garda – one again, Lake Garda appears on the list of best destinations in Italy by age, since it has sightseeing, small town charm, swimming, cycling and Gardaland!
Dolomites – as I mentioned before, the very best places in Italy for kids if you love hiking and outdoors pursuits
Beaches – as above, the sky is the limit at this age since you can go to sandy beaches (Puglia, Sardinia, Sicily, Versilia) but also explore more rocky areas such as Amalfi Coast, Mount Argentario, Portofino etc
The best places to visit in Italy with teenage kids: age 13 to 18
Once you hit teenage years there is no such thing as a place ‘for teens’, just as much as there is no place for ‘adults’, in the sense that each of them is so unique and opinionated, you’ll see some places will be a hit with some teens but not with others.
In this sense, i recommend you work a lot with what your teen likes and see what destinations serve that best. For instance, I recommend:
For sporty teens – The Dolomites in winter for skiing and in summer for hiking are paradise for sporty teens. My son adores hiking and cycling and has declared the Dolomites as his ‘favorite place in the whole world’ – which is quite something!

Even if you want to see more classic destinations, it is often possible to add physical activities to sightseeing: in Rome you can cycle along Via Appia, in Florence and Tuscany you can take bikes and e-bikes, in Venice you can learn to row. On the Tuscan coast you can often find watersports (look at Southern Tuscany).
For artsy teens – Florence, Venice and Rome are fantastic for kids who love art to see and to make. In these destinations you can learn to make marbled paper, masks, glass work, mosaics and even frescoes!
For teens who love the water, destinations with a lot of boating and swimming work well: Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre, Puglia and north Sardinia are all excellent for it

For teens who love history and mythology – Rome, Pompeii and Sicily have unparalleled opportunities to visit temples and ancient Greek and Roman ruins and museums
For teens who love cars – The motor Valley near Modena has the Ferrari and Lamborghini museums, easy to add to a visit to Florence / Bologna area
All cities also have things to engage kids of this age: shopping, cooking classes, interactive museums, selfie-based museums, soccer matches, swimming pools for summer are everywhere and are easy ways to break up more traditional sightseeing for them.

At this age, I also find cities work great as they offer a lively nightlife teens can enjoy: especially in the good season, bringing them out for aperitivo is fun and a great and safe way for them to see local life and ‘go out’ in complete safety. You can find here >>> more ideas for visiting Italy with teens.
I hope you enjoyed this overview of what I consider the best place to travel in Italy at each age and it helped you plan your trip. Safe travels!
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