Would you recommend Pisa or venezia for a family with a 5yo and almost 3yo?

[StealthPolarBear]

Which is better for children?

bump - I'm thinking Pisa might have more to do, but would love to hear from anyone who actually knows what they'er talking about

Venice is a cultural holiday - we went there for a long weekend when DD was nearly 4 and it was fine, but there were two adults to one child and we took a buggy as Venice requires a lot of walking and even my energetic DD got defeated. What do you want out of your holiday?

we want a mixture of things to do and nice places to walk round, and lazing by the pool.
(well one parent lazing and one parent guarding the DC like a hawk)

How about Lucca? It's beautiful, compact and has lovely hotels around and about, with pools.

How long are you planning to go on holiday for?

I,ve been for a weekend in Pisa ( not with children)
Um once you've dodged the Japanese tourists doing the comedy photo op ( pushing it over ) and walked along the river that's about it. It's very nice for a wander ( but avoid the tourist trap restaurants directly by the tower.

found a few good bars but not really what you're after I suspect !

We went to Lucca on a day trip ( took the train v easy) which was beautiful

How far is that? We are restricted by where we can practically fly from, and thiose seemed to be the options

Not lots in Pisa itself for kids IME. I would stay somewhere nearby and go in for a couple of days.

would be going for 5-7 days

Lucca is about 25 mins in a cab Irrc from Pisa airport

It depends on how many days and most crucially when you are going.

Venice is splendid, of course, and you can combine visits to the Lido and the tiny islands like Pellestrina, where the children can run on the beaches and have fun on the boats.
If you have more than a weekend you can also go to visit Chioggia and the delta of the river Po.

I am not wild on Pisa, Lucca is much more beautiful, but very compact, you will see it in a day.
However you can combine Pisa and Lucca with some beach, Viareggio for instance

ooh that sounds very promising
OK I will unleash the paranoid mummy - how do we get a taxi in Italy with a 5yo and a 2yo. Do they have car seats?

No, taxis don't usually have car seats here.

When are you going Stealth?

Beginning of June (well, if I get booked :o)
I assume you live in Italy and know what you're doing
CAN WE COME AND STAY WITH YOU??

I am in Milan Stealth , no one really wants to come to Milan (even if it's the most beautiful place in the world, but I appear to be the only one who believes this...)

Unlikely cabs would have car seats. Venice you could get about by water taxi and vaporetto (water bus). Perhaps stay on the Lido so you get a bit of a beach holiday too.

Exactly, if you don't want taxis or bring car seats or hire car etc, Venice is the best location for you.

If you stay at the Lido you will have beaches. The sea is not as beautiful as the sea you'll find in Southern Italy, but hey. You can take ferries to go into Venice and also visit the little islands on the laguna.
It is amazing, trust me. I think it is possible to take the boat and go visit the delta of the river, which is beautiful.

I've been to Venice pre-baby, and it's fab without a car. There's a water ferry that runs regularly along main canal. It's walkable all over the island if you are energetic. There are places to eat everywhere. The islands just outside of Venice are fab too. We even took public transport to get to the hotel from the airport as ours was on the main canal (but on a quieter area than st marks square).

I like cultural holidays with lots to see and not a sun and beach type though.

I guess it depends on what you want. I prefer sightseeing to beach and don't mind doing some driving.

Venice has more to see and the water taxis would be fun for children. It is always busy in my experience. I last went in May a couple of years ago (without the kids) and it was full of American tourists. But Venice is an amazing place to visit. Unless you stay on the Lido, you won't get a pool.

Personally I don't like the Lido but that's just me however it would be a good place to stay with children because you do ge the access to the beaches.

Pisa is smaller and less to see in my opinion. Plus beware if you want to go up the Leaning Tower, under 8's aren't allowed to climb it. When we went last my 2 were both under age and we had to leave them with my BIL who doesn't like heights!

There is a beach resort close to Pisa but it's pretty typical Italian ie private beaches with loads of sunbeds next to each other.

I would recommend San Gimignano, Tuscany and the countryside around there. Have been several times. I love San Gimignano, which is a beautiful walled town. Last time we went my 2 were 4 and a half and 2 and we hired a villa with a pool and mixed it between sightseeing and swimming. The kids loved SG and the narrow streets and towers and ice cream! We also flew into/out of Pisa so managed to do that as sightseeing and we got the train to Florence from Certaldo train station, which is also a good place to stay. There are lots of little, beautiful apartment complexes with shared pools around there. But you'd need a car.

ps Can you tell I don't like Italian beaches????

You must have gone to the wrong beaches Bingandbear...

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.it/imgres?q=riserva+dello+zingaro&hl=it&client=safari&sa=X&rls=en&biw=1236&bih=862&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=eQhdL4DjNRaQ0M:&imgrefurl=www.fotografieitalia.it/foto.cfm%3Fidfoto%3D24227&docid=Fke1wDIRllAGxM&imgurl=www.fotografieitalia.it/foto/1397/zingaro%252520riserva_1397-11-26-01-1232.jpg&w=550&h=412&ei=zaOWT8PKCoWh4gSuvtFG&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=530&vpy=510&dur=3351&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=123&ty=109&sig=105210374200174378480&page=1&tbnh=145&tbnw=209&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:13,s:0,i:134" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">try here

Francagoestohollywood that looks absolutely lovely? We didn't get to that beach when we were in Sicily but to be fair, it is on a nature reserve.

I haven't been to loads of Italian beaches but the ones I have been to I haven't particularly liked.

I've been to beaches on the Tuscan coast, Sicily (South/West, North/North East), Capri, Ischia, Venitian coast, Neapolitan coast and Puglia and none of them were as nice as that beach.

Last year we stayed the Union Lido caravan/campsite at Cavallino, quite close to Venice. Cavallino was a bit like an Italian Blackpool, but the actual site was so amazing we didn't mind. Our DDs were 7 and 3 at the time, and really enjoyed Venice.

We had pre-booked a taxi transfer from the airport as we didn't want to hire a car, and we they asked for the children's ages and provided appropriate car seats. I'll ask DH which company we used when he gets home if you like.

Our 3 year old wasn't a great distance walker at the time, so we took the buggy, and this was quite tiring as we had to carry it over all the many many bridges in Venice. This wouldn't stop me doing it again though.

One little warning, please make sure you google 'tiger mosquito' before you go. These are a horrible species of mossie from Asia that have found their way to this part of Italy. None of the stuff we bought from the Uk touched them, and my DH's leg went black after he was bitten. The stuff we bought there was more effective, as must be applied morning and night.

There are beaches in Sicily (mostly in the islands like
Pantelleria, Marettimo, Lampedusa), Puglia ( nr Gallipoli), Sardinia (pretty much everywhere), Isola d'Elba, Ponza etc that ar eqally stunning.
The problem is that Italian beaches get very crowded in August.

I am not usually sentimental about Italy, I proud myself to be particularly critical of my country, but the beaches are mostly fab !!!