Visiting florence this week

Joanne Formosa

New member
Hi

We will be coming over to Florence this Thursday for a week. We are a family with two children aged 15 and 10. We will be based in florence and i was planning to spend the week as follows:
First 3 days going round florence and visiting interesting places, some museums, churches etc. We wont be going into too many museums since kids will then get bored. Can you please suggest what would be the most interesting for our children while going round there.
Then we would another day visiting Pisa and Lucca
We thought about going down to Rome since our kids are head over heals in love with Rome( we ve been to Rome 2 years ago and spent a whole week there)
Can you suggest other parts of tuscany we can visit, i read about San Gimignano, Volterra, Cinque Terre,Siena...can you please guide me.

And another thing , can you suggest good restaurants in florence which are not that sky high in prices .

Whilst thanking you in advance i eagerly wait for your answer

Good day

Joanne
 
Hello Joanne,
good afternoon from sunny Florence! Choosing Florence as base for the daily activities is surely ideal!
As far as Florence with kids, considering the heat, I may suggest to walk around and stop often for gelato tastings. Florence has lots of great ice-cream makers! Two of the most entertaining museums for families are surely the Secret passages of Palazzo Vecchio and Museum Stibbert, which houses armor and swords. It is also interesting because it is surrounded by a lush garden with ponds. If the kids like drawing, it would be interesting to see the antique laboratories of Florentine paper making or climbing to the top of Tower S. Niccolo', as the crenelated battlement offers a fabulous view over the town at sunset.
At sunset you may also plan a tour on the traditional oak boats of Florence.

One day could be easily spent in Lucca, where you can enjoy the ramparts of the town cycling with bikes that you can rent close to the main gates of the town. The entire city center is closed to the traffic, so it is a wonderful city to be visited at ease.

Another full day could be spent in Siena where you can easily get to either by train from Florence or coach in an hour. The Palio race will be over, but you will sure breathe the atmosphere with the entire town "dressed up" for the big Sienese event. I recommend a special tasting of the local almond cookies called "ricciarelli" and lunch at GUIDO (OSTERIA Guido, vicolo del Pettinaio). Franco, the host, is a very welcoming gentlemen and serves great local genuine dishes.

Rome in one day would be quite stressful with the kids, IMO.

Last but not least: restaurants in Florence. There are a lot of great solutions. As a native Florentine and local tour guide, I would surely recommend Trattoria Gargani in Via del Moro. Painted walls, informal atmosphere, frequented by locals, great food.
Also in Borgo SS Apostoli you have lots of trattorie....have a look at them..I am sure you'll find the one perfect for you and the kids!

I wish you and your family a wonderful stay in Firenze,
A presto
Elena
 
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