Florence with tween panicking a little:what there to do :as she's suddenly gone off everything

[FlounceFFlorence]

So when I booked this I was dealing with an entirely different person.. Now at easter we will have older dd and an extremely "bored" why are we doing this tween, 12.
What can we do?

Tell her to get over herself because not everything is about her, and she's lucky to have opportunities to travel?

No phone while away and she’ll be interested in stuff again. Mine magically enjoys things when she doesn’t have other options.

Can you get her to choose some places to go to? Get a travel guide book (get one from the library if you don't want to buy one). Or if she knows how to google get her to do some research and she can choose the itinerary for a few days or to select her top 5 things to do or whatever number and you make sure you do them, whether they are eat at restaurant x... Visit the museum of randomness or a day trip to Pisa.

Go to a traditional Italian passticeria for tiny cakes and really nice hot chocolate

Don’t miss the Medici chapel it really is jaw dropping.

I was 12/13 the first time I went to Florence. Blew. My. Mind. Absolutely adored it. I'd never been on that kind of city, culture kind of trip before but I was fascinated. Going up the duomo, hanging out on the Ponte vecchio.. I still have paintings framed in my house that we bought from street artists on that trip. Just go and she'll get swept up.

Be kindly brusque. Have no truck with it. It’s a tiresome aspect to early secondary age by 15 both mine outgrew it and started appreciating our holidays again. Bloody annoying though!

Sorry mine hated it at that age, but we did go in August. I live in south west England now but used to live in Italy, thought they'd love it but it was too busy and hot. I'd probably aim for mercato San lorenzo, loads of stalls and stuff to buy. Maybe the Boboli gardens? Really nice to walk round and loads of interesting things.

Never met a tween who didn’t like Italian food, or patisserie (pasticierra) and hot chocolate. So that’s at least 3 times a day sorted 😄. Bus up to Fiesole to look at a real Roman amphitheater and ruins. Ponte Vecchio. San Lorenzo market - full of stuff that she might like. Walk up or down to Piazzale Michelangelo for views especially at dusk. Plus any number of churches and museums.

Shopping in markets, a pizza making class? Is there a pool at the hotel?

Is she on social media? Get her to have a look at the pretty places everyone else goes to, and promise a trip there. Probably a sweet shop or bakery, or an aesthetically pleasing place to be.

Get a Polaroid camera for her if you can

Some wonderful ideas here thank you. Excellent idea to get her to choose something, don't have truck with it etc.

We are going at easter so hopefully pleasant weather.

She can't tolerate musuem and obviously we want to see David and the uffizi
We are there 4 nights and 3 and a bit days

Good idea about the food and lots of bribes with ice cream and pizza etc.

No pool we are in a pensioner type place in a Central Square, hotel.

Aside from the musuem what is there to do, obviously sitting around and absorb it but what else.
😱

We are also staying in sienna for a few nights and flying back form pisa

Ok so if you are central you're fine for stuff to do. Haven't been for ages but from memory: There's a small department store, which has make up etc. There's mercato San Lorenzo, near the duomo which is gorgeous and you can climb right up it. You can get a portrait done by a street artist if that's your thing by the duomo. You can go to the boboli gardens, go to Santa Maria novella to the church and the healthy juice bar. There's a tiny market near ponte vecchio (unlike everyone else it seems, I hate it, hideous over crowded bridge) which has a pig whose nose you rub for luck. Santa Spirito (another church) - piazza is lovely. Piazzale Michelangelo is a great view point and a bit of a trek. Interesting cemetery nearby. Nothing up there unless they have a drinks stall now. Nice view. Used to be the place to go and snog in a car 🤣 at night. Farmacia santa Maria novella (sp?) oldest perfume shop, gorgeous.
Cake and ice cream. Choose something to do and do that, it's a bit hard to find obvious sit and chill places. Although there is a large park along the river, can't remember the name but it's nice and you can walk to it.

Parco delle cascine - that's the one. Just a park but it's a space to breathe. You have to do the Uffizi obviously but book.

phas@Phase2 I'd really like to get their portrait done do you know how much it costs.

For museums if she doesn't like them... Ask if she might be interested in a tour of them... I don't really enjoy museums or art galleries as I never really understood them... Thing after thing. But remember being 15 and going to the pomdidou in Paris with a tour guide who knew the place and explained what we were seeing and it blew my mind. When we went to Florence with our 3 and 7 year old at the Palazzo Vecchio we did a tour for little children. I'm sure there were others for older kids and adults

https://musefirenze.it/ this us the actual museum site. We had to book before. The secret passages one night be interesting. Not that expensive

I would love to say under €100 but I had the kids done about ten years ago and from memory it was €60 ish each. But I don't know how much now, I don't recall it being unaffordable, more like a decent souvenirs? Maybe someone who has been recently would know, hopefully.

Menchetti pizzaria at the exit of the Uffizi has great pizza.

What kinds of things does she enjoy?

Been there many times and really love it. The art galleries in particular. Not sure what it's like with online advance booking these days but there was a fair bit of queuing at more touristy times of year last time I was there in the Easter hols in 2012. Not sure what to suggest re kids that say they don't like art galleries and museums. If the rest of you want to go then a tween can surely just go along with it.

Top sightseeing for me - Duomo, Academia, Uffici, Bargello, Boboli Gardens (but if it's hot there it too much), Pizza on the Ponte Vecchio, Leather bags at various markets and sometimes glasswear and jewellery, Santa Croce, Santa Spirita, Santa Maria Novella, English Bookshop, Piazzale Michelangelo, Markets.

There's a Da Vinci museum with interactive exhibits that I've not been to but hear good things about.

Restaurants etc - Ice cream, Pizza, near the leather market there are some good ones

Does she like fashion? There is the Gucci Museum and she may enjoy looking at the clothes and shoes and bags there. It's really close to the Uffizi.

@MrsTerryPratchett

She definitely appreciates beautiful places so I'm hoping she will absorb it.
She's sort of changed over night so I don't know 😱. For her probably an activity holiday with a pool. When I booked this she would have found the gallery a challenge but... When we are away they know we just target the big painting.

I may have to actually pay her to look at David and bottecli or at least not ruin it for us.

She used to like relatively nice clothes and now it's black and baggy. Extremely self conscious, noting remotely pink or petty.

@Rowaroundoundle I agree a tour makes sense if it

Interesting re activity holiday and pool. We are surfers and before around tween age body boarded with DS. But I think of that as summer holiday territory. Spring we might go walking in the Lake District or a city break. I'd never get a pool or look for outdoorsy activities if on a city break.