10 Best Places to Visit in Italy with Family

Rome is large and fast-paced, with exceptional excursions you can enjoy during your family trip to Italy. Whether on your first or your seventh visit, Rome is a city that captures your imagination. With ancient ruins at the Roman Forum and masterpieces displayed in the Vatican Museums that bring fascinating history to life, your kids will love the adventure and you will love spending time as a family.

Everyone will enjoy becoming amateur archeologists, historians, and chefs. Immerse your family in the detailed lives of Ancient Romans on a tour of the Colosseum. Pair the experience with a visit to a Roman gladiator school, where the kids can learn how to fight like a warrior and experience the ancient training routines.

From age five to teenagers, your children can have a blast participating in a cooking class, learning to make gelato or pasta, and uncovering the culture through engaging activities.

Kid-friendly things to do: Bike the Borghese gardens • Explore the Christian catacombs • Climb Michelangelo’s dome • Scavenger hunt in the Vatican Museums • Cooking class • Art class • Become amateur archeologists • Attend gladiator school

Recommended length of stay: 3-4 days

Learn more: Rome Travel Guide

Florence is an irresistible city for children that feels like a feast for all your senses, with exceptional food, vibrant palaces, captivating art, and a welcoming ambiance. It is a joy to get lost among the labyrinth of winding Renaissance streets, with each new turn leading your family to views of 16th-century castles or the looming dome of the cathedral.

Walking around the city feels like a hunt for iconic history, the best gelato, or the perfect slice of pizza. Florence is an icon of Italian culture, with dozens of fascinating churches and famous artworks that can introduce the family to Michelangelo’s David or Botticelli’s Birth of Venus.

Palazzo Vecchio establishes a dramatic foundation of medieval architecture, while gelato shops offer mouthwatering varieties of typical Italian flavors. Your children, no matter their age, do not just witness Florence, but experience the city with cooking classes, learning to make gelato, or dressing like the Medici family inside the historic palace.

Kid-friendly things to do: Period costumes at Palazzo Vecchio • Cooking class • Scavenger hunt at the Uffizi Gallery • Artesian visits on the Oltrarno • Art class • Climb the Duomo • Visit the Leonardo da Vinci Museum • Gelato-making class

Recommended length of stay: 3-4 days

Learn more: Tuscany Travel Guide

Venice is a city of magic that quickly enchants the entire family. It offers the perfect blend for family activities spread across colorful houses, fanciful architecture, and canals churning with boats, with endless excitement for kids and adults.

Upon your introduction, your family will be amazed by Venice as it rises out of the water. Exploring the city at your pace is part of the joy and allows you to experience the beauty, charms, and history the way your family would like best. Venice is endlessly inspiring, draped in the elegance of the High Renaissance.

Riding a vaporetto creates adventure on the Grand Canal and viewing the smaller canals on a gondola unveils historic beauty. From chasing pigeons in St. Mark’s Square to reveling in the gilded mosaics decorating the basilica, searching for winged lions hidden around the city, or crafting a Carnivale mask, Venice has a hidden charm perfect for young and middle-school children, as well as teenagers.

Kid-friendly things to do: Grand Canal Vaporetto tour • Explore Doge’s Palace prisons • Scavenger hunt for Venetian lions • Gondola ride • Mask-making class • Glass-blowing demonstration • Cooking class • Tour an antique maze

Recommended length of stay: 2-3 days

Learn more: Venice Travel Guide

Siracusa, or Syracuse, will captivate children aged five to 18, with titles like oldest, biggest, and best-preserved popping up around the city. With foundations dating back to the Ancient Greeks, you will quickly become enchanted by the past as you discover new corners of the city.

Siracusa has a timeless beauty, where ancient ruins rest beneath citrus orchards and cafe tables spread across Baroque piazzas. The ancient architecture connects to medieval alleyways that lead to views of the dazzling Ionian Sea. The city is flat and easy to navigate, with traditional shops and enticing aromas of gelato to granitas.

Casteloos Maniace can become the focal point of knights and pirates, and the traditional puppet theater brings stories of epic sword fights and dramatic beasts to life. You can stroll through history at the Archeological Park to find one of the world’s largest Greek Theaters or enjoy the panoramic view of the city from the water on an exciting boat ride.

Kid-friendly things to do: Ancient Ortygia tour • Mount Etna visit • Cooking class • Food tour • Visit Museo del Papiro • Explore the Greek Archeological Park • Visit the local markets • Discover fishers at the harbor • Wander Castello Maniace

Recommended length of stay: 2-3 days

Learn more: Sicily Travel Guide

Cinque Terre is undeniably memorable for its natural beauty, particular heritage, and absence of the usual “must-see” sights. The five towns on the Ligurian coast offer your family the perfect active destination, with natural charm and indelible wonder stretching from the cliffs to the cafes, the sparkling waters to the colorful houses.

The small towns are full of old-world wonder and feel completely absorbing. Cinque Terre’s five towns were isolated from greater Italy and practically unknown to visitors until the late 19th century. Cars are still not allowed in each town, making the cobbled lanes great places to explore as a family. The most famous sight of Cinque Terre is not the towns themselves, but the trail that connects them.

Each town remains rooted in antiquity and carries a medieval ambiance significantly connected to the sea. The aromas of basil often blend with the scent of citrus chiseled into the cliffs. Instead of elaborate churches and grand art galleries, Cinque Terre represents the grandeur of Italy and the wonders of family adventure. It’s an excellent place for children of any age.

Kid-friendly things to do: Hike the famous trails • Visit Montorosso’s beach • Explore the ancient towers • Visit Castello Doria • Enjoy the scenic train between towns • Cooking class

Recommended length of stay: 2-3 days

Learn more: How To Spend 2, 5, or 7 Days in Cinque Terre

Lake Garda is the perfect destination for every kind of family with children of all ages. As Italy’s largest lake, Lake Garda reaches the foot of the great alpine hills and spreads to the edge of the Po Valley. Calm beaches connect to charming towns and the natural landscape accentuates the fascinating historic castles.

Roman ruins establish a rich sense of history in the area and give way to more contemporary stories of World War II. The lakeshores offer an endless ambiance of Italy’s famous la dolce vita, with access to fantastic museums, captivating mountain-biking trails, charming lakeside promenades, and delectable cafes.

The views from Monte Baldo spread across the lakeshores and the private Isola del Garda reflects the former grandeur of the Venetian Republic. Whether your family is eager to lounge on the beach, sail on the water, visit the castles, or explore the mountainside, Lake Garda is a fabulous base for every activity.

Kid-friendly things to do: Visit Sirmione Castle • Climb a clock tower • Cooking class • Sample typical cuisine • Visit famous amusement parks • Explore a Roman villa • Take a scenic ferry across the water • Swim in the lake • Hike • Mountain bike

Recommended length of stay: 3-4 days

Naples provides a perfect blend of ancient insights, a captivating ambiance, and accessibility to fascinating legends. The city looks chaotic and rushed, but it has a pace the entire family will love, finding authenticity in an exuberant lifestyle, delicious cuisine, and enchanting history.

You cannot beat taking toddlers, middle-graders, and teenagers to the uncovered cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD covered both cities in pumice and ash, preserving the villas, houses, streets, and, in some cases, the people, giving a view of daily life during the Roman Empire.

The thought of a museum may sound dull compared with the active discoveries of Italy’s first pizzeria or the nearby archeological site of Herculaneum, but the National Archeological Museum of Naples has one of the best collections of ancient western European artifacts. Whether making pizza in Naples or exploring ancient ruins around the region and beyond, you can discover our Top 15 Things to Do in Italy.

Kid-friendly things to do: Pizza-making class • Pompeii and Herculaneum tour • Climb Mount Vesuvius • National Archeological Museum of Naples scavenger hunt • Gelato tasting

Recommended length of stay: 3-4 days

The city of Matera is often overlooked, but captures the imagination of adults and children. The unique ambiance of Old Town’s scenery looming over Gravina Ravine leads to the habitable caves that residents of the city used as homes from ancient times until the 1960s.

Medieval architecture still decorates the upper levels of the city that overlook rugged cliffs and the edges of the ravine. The medieval streets crown the plateaus with a series of stairways leading down to the ancient sassi.

Your family can traverse the levels of the city and become archeologists, historians, and explorers as you focus on the ancient history and medieval life that has shaped contemporary culture. An expedition through the caves breathes life into the ancient fresco of Cripta del Peccato Originale and the churches crafted out of soft volcanic rock.

Kid-friendly things to do: Explore the cave houses • Descend into Palombaro Lungo • Discover Parco della Murgia Materana • Uncover the Museum of Contemporary Sculpture • Visit Casa Noha

Recommended length of stay: 2-3 days

It is hard to find cities more suited for bringing the dreams of castles and knights to life than in Italy, and Bergamo fills the imagination. The medieval walls protect the streets and its residents from foreign invaders in the shadow of more famous Milan.

Presenting the prestige of Italy’s past, the city allows you to step into the preserved ambiance of medieval life and the reign of the Venetian empire, filling the chivalric dreams of children. The Old City, referred to as Citta Alta, brings fantastic panoramas of the lower city and the bordering mountain peaks.

Trace Bergamo’s evolution on routes originally established for spices and explore the city walls to viewing platforms connecting watchtowers, four city gates, underground passages, and former noble apartments. Discover more by exploring our 7 Best Places to Visit in Northern Italy.

Kid-friendly things to Do: Explore medieval castles • Visit the Civic Museum of Natural Sciences • Wander the city walls • Ride the funicular • Sample the local food • Discover the public gardens • Climb the tower • Find secret passages • Scavenger hunt for Venetian lions • Uncover Palazzo del Podestá

Recommended length of stay: 2-3 days

Milan is known for its fashion and glamour, but it is also a great place to enjoy as a family. Romans settled the city as a legion outpost more than 2,000 years ago, leading to the prestigious rise of a powerful city-state during the Renaissance.

The streets provide a fantastic scavenger hunt for the whole family, with coats of arms decorating churches, castle walls, ceilings, and mosaic floors. The Duomo is an impressive structure decorated with more than 3,400 statues and 135 gargoyles.

The impressive Sforzesco Castle holds several museums, its rampart and underground cellars captivating children and adults. Milan retains its sense of majesty, allowing kids to run around and imagine knights and princesses roaming the scattered ramparts and former regal apartments.

Kid-friendly things to do: Shop in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II • Experience royalty • Explore castles • Enjoy a cooking class • Cruise the Naviglio Grande canal • Visit the Library of Children • Visit the botanical gardens • Sample chocolate • Scavenger hunt at the art museums

Recommended length of stay: 3-4 days

Learn more: Milan Vacations

Italy is a country that inspires families, with endless options that can shape your time together. Dive into ancient life, discover the traditions of favorite foods, or enjoy effortless fashion.

Find more ideas and tips on how to enjoy your customizable Italy family vacation by visiting our Italy Family Vacations. You can also uncover more ideas for your vacation in our Italy Family Travel Guide.