The best toddler friendly towns in Italy you'll love for a family trip

My handpicked selection of the best toddler friendly towns in Italy perfect for young families visiting Italy with toddlers.

One of the most common questions I receive from parents planning a trip to Italy with a young child is if I can recommend the best towns to stay with a toddler.

Specifically, I am asked for towns that are safe, kid friendly in vibe, stroller friendly, with playgrounds and that allow for easy walks to shops and restaurants.

Basically, a lovely place you can call home for a while and have and where you can enjoy Italian culture but at the pace and around the needs of a little one.

The good news is: TONS of towns in Italy match most of these criteria!

Pretty much all Italian towns have a walkable center, kids are welcome everywhere and you can find essentials no matter where you go. In this sense, Italy is very toddler friendly.

The bad news is: when you go into the nitty-gritty of where to go, other criteria tend to fall apart!

For instance, stroller friendly is very relative in Italy, since you can be pretty much guaranteed to have to at least lift the stroller occasionally.

Also, the quality of playgrounds is mediocre at most and we do not have many indoor attractions: indoor playgrounds, soft play centers, arcades and malls are not common, especially not in small towns.

So, when I recommend small towns in Italy that are toddler friendly, I offer a list of my favorite, which you will find below, but I also preface it with a caveat: toddler friendly in Italy means little kids are welcome and the logistics of getting around with a stroller and getting essentials are manageable.

It does not however mean the places are kitted out for toddlers so if you don’t see me recommending a lot of soft play centers, it is because we have very few of those!

We do however have parks, streets with birds and cats toddlers can spot and follow, car free piazzas, local kids to play with, pebbles and leaves to collect, beaches (for summer) and gelato.

And I can tell you: after traveling Italy extensively with two kids under three, there is very little else you need to be happy.

This is my list of the most toddler friendly towns in Italy, in our experience.

Verona

Verona is one of my favorite cities in Italy for toddlers because it manages to combine things for children with immense charm and stimulation for adults.

Located in the north west of Italy, close to Venice and Lake Garda, Verona is has a flat, stroller friendly city center, a cute children museum for rainy days, a lovely car free center for walks, it has parks and playgrounds and also a city tourist train for easy sightseeing.

For parents, it also offers fantastic architecture, excellent food and wine, history, Italian flare and it is a great base for day trips, since you can easily reach Venice, Lake Garda, the prosecco area and, if you have a weekend, the Dolomites.

You can find here >>> my guide to Verona with kids

Season: All | Summer for Lake Garda Closest airport: Verona, Venice Train: yes Day Trips: Venice, Lake Garda, Bologna, Ferrara, Dolomites (overnight stay)

Trento

The beautiful city of Trento is very much outside of the most beaten tourism path but is a lovely place to visit with toddlers.

Located in the north of Italy, not far from Bolzano and Verona, also on this list Trento is a safe, elegant, clean town with a pretty and stroller friendly center, lovely park and a great museum for families: the Muse, the Natural History Museum, which is educational, interactive a great place for a rainy day!

Trento is close to both Lake Garda and the Dolomites, so while it is very much a towns, it is ideas to easy access areas of great natural beauty and get fresh air.

Season: all | Closest Airport: Verona | Train: Yes | Day Trips: Verona, Bolzano, Dolomites, Lake Garda. Rovereto

Bolzano

The city of Bolzano is unique and wonderful, a fantastic town to explore with a toddler.

Located in the region of Alto Adige, at the footsteps of the Dolomites, the city has a delightful and car free town center, it is stroller friendly, it has crisp and clean mountain air, fabulous outdoor spaces and is a fantastic base for day trips, since the mountain are just outside the city limits, you even see them from the center of the city!

Bolzano is unique culturally and this is important to consider when picturing your time in the city.

Until the end of WWI Bolzano was Austrian and the architecture, food and culture of the place is still very much Tyrolean.

The language is Italian and German, the architecture is made of delightful fairytale looking houses and the streets are filled with the buttery perfume of the Viennese-style cafes, which beckon you in on cold winter days.

So while I absolutely adore it and recommend it as one of the best towns in Italy for toddlers, I want to make sure you know what to expect as while very Italian, it is not necessarily the ‘Italian’ experience first time visitors expect.

You can find here >>> my guide to Bolzano with kids

Seasons: all, but winter and summer are best for snow / exploring | Closest airport: Verona, Venice Train: yes Day Trips: Dolomites, Verona

Ravenna

Ravenna is one of my favorite places and I am delighted to be able to also recommend it as one o the best toddler friendly towns in Italy too!

The city is simply wonderful with littles: the town center is small yet not oppressively small, it has car free areas so you can go for walks safely, it is flat and stoller friendly and there are cute parks and playgrounds.

Also, it has incredible mosaics worth seeing (easy with littles too), some of the best food in the country, it is close to sandy beaches and, within a short drive, you even have Italia in Miniatura (miniature Italy) which is super fun.

Many families only look at Ravenna as a cruise port but the old city is stunning and a real gem, I highly recommend you visit.

Seasons: all, summer for the beach | Closest airport: Bologna Train: yes Day Trips: Bologna, Po Delta Nature Area, Riviera (beaches), Miniature Italy, San Marino

You can find here >> my travel guide to Ravenna with kids

Sestri Levante

Sestri Levante is one of my favorite beach towns in Italy for families with kids and a delighful place to call home for a while and immerse yourself in Italian Coastal charm.

Sestri is in Liguria, a region mostly known abroad for Cinque Terre and Portofino and while Sestri Levante has many elements in common with this two, it stands out as is truly toddler friendly, flat, full of kids vacationing and a lot less overrun than its famous neighbors.

Sestri is mostly about the beach so this is a recommendations that comes into its own in the good seaon (spring to autumn) when you are able to make the most of the beach and its long seafront promenade.

here, toddlers will find a sandy beach, shallow waters, a lovely promenade to tot around and loveluy playgrouhds. Parents will also find delightful food, colorful houses and the options of easy day trips by ferry and train.

Season: spring, summer, early autumn | Closet Airport: Genoa, Milan Train: yes Day Trips: Portofino, Cinque Terre, Porto Venere, many local pretty towns along the coast

Lucca

Lucca is maybe the most popular toddler friendly town for foreign visitors, and it in indeed a delight.

The towns is in the north of Tuscany and it is ideal for families who want to explore this incredible and famous regions, yet are rightly weary of locations that are on hilltops and make pushing a stroller an endurance sport. Lucca is not that at all!

square in Lucca with umbrellas and tables

Locates in a flat area, Lucca is a walled town and has a charming historic center which is flat, stroller friendly, car free and beautiful, with churches and piazzas that are simply picture perfect.

The town walls are still standing and they are now a park, where you can take walks, play and even get family bikes, a popular family outing for locals and visitors alike.

The town has nice playgrounds, plenty of restaurants and shops, it is very well known to tourism and a great jump off point to explore Tuscany by train and car, including the beautiful beaches of Versilia.

Seasons: all | Closest airport: Florence Train: yes Day Trips: Florence, Pisa, Viareggio and the Coast, Cinque Terre (long Day), wineries and farms, many pretty Tuscan towns

Monopoli

The small town of Monopoli in Puglia is a small gem of a place that I absolutely adore for toddlers.

The town is on the coast of Puglia, the heel of the Italian boot, and is a tiny center with a pretty, car free center with whitewashed houses, a delightful piazza, playgrounds and a small sandy beach that is great to get close to water.

Around the small center, the modern town develops ensuring you have all you need in terms of essentials so in Monopoli you have a mix of seaside / resort vibe and local feel.

I love it for toddlers because it is very pretty, mellow in atmosphere, very friendly in vibe, it seems to be a real family place (we fond so many local kids!) and I also love it because it has the train, which means you can explore without the headache of car seats, should you wish to

Being in Puglia, it has the delicious food this regions is so well known for and, of course, it is close to some of the best family friendly beaches in the country (for these, you do want a car though!)

Season: spring, summer, fall | Closest Airport: Bari | Train: Yes | Day Trips: Ostuni, Polignano, Alberobello, Grotte di Castellana, Fasano Zoo

Find here >>> my guide to the town of Monopoli with kids

Siracusa

Siracusa, or to be more precise Ortygia, the ancient center of Siracusa is one of the most beautiful towns in Sicily and a fantastic place in Sicily for toddlers.

Ortygia is a small island just off Siracusa’s main center and it is connected to it by a bridge, which means it poses no logistical issues in terms of arrival (no ferries or anything needed), yet gives this center a wonderful contained and mellow vibe as all the hustle and bustle of the city is very much outside of it!

Ortigia itself is mostly flat, stroller friendly and car free and it is full of lovely restaurants, accommodation options and sightseeing opportunities for adults. It is absolutely perfect for taking it easy and go for leisurely strolls!

The rest of Siracusa with all the services, playgrounds and even the train are minutes away on foot and, if you have a car, you can easily explore the stunning beaches of this area, go to pretty Marzamemi, the stunning Noto Valley and even Catania.

This is one of my favorite toddler friendly towns in Italy and a great kid-friendly city in Sicily if you are looking for a city, as opposed to a summer beach resort (in that case, San Vito lo Capo would work better)

Season: all | Closest Airport: Catania, Comiso | Train: yes | Day Trips: Val di Noto, beaches, Catania

I hope you enjoyed my selection of toddler friendly towns in Italy and it helped you pick your destination. Safe travels!