Italy foodie, family holiday!

[ranoutofquinoaandprosecco]

Help needed for next summer, I know it will be hot, but looking for some suggestions for Italy possibly fly into Rome for a few nights then travel by train to 3/5 destinations to do a bit of sightseeing and foodie stuff ie cooking classes, pick olives, grapes etc and also chill out.

4 of us, 2 teens? Any ideas please?

We stayed in a lovely hotel in Sorrento last August which was 10 mins away from the centre, family owned and lovely so sort of looking for something like that with experiences (it’s my 50th so no idea on budget!). TIA.

Florence and Bologna? We stayed at Artimino among the vineyards and olive groves although maybe difficult to access by train.

Ours wasn't foodie themed, but we did an Italy travel-around holiday a few years ago with teens and it was brilliant. Flew into Venice, spent a few days, onto Florence, then down to Naples for the ferry across to Ischia for a bit of a chill, then back to Naples for the train for our final few days in Rome. Flew back from there. Trains were clean, reasonable and fast. We loved it.

I’d second Bologna for a foodie visit. I’ve
particularly enjoyed the food at the fish stall tables in the market. Would also suggest an overnight stay at an agriturismo as the food at them can be amazing and you can sometimes also do experiences like making mozzarella, etc, too. Plus a lot of them have pools, which the teens - and you! - might welcome in the summer.

The hotel where we stayed at Lake Garda has loads of cooking/food experiences https://www.lido-palace.it/en/restaurants/gourmet-highlights/

@ranoutofquinoaandproseccocan I ask what the name of the hotel you stayed in in sorrento? We’re planning a trip in 2026 and trying to find a good hotel in a good location is a minefield! I’m sorry I have no answers to your original question

@Beautifulsunflowersit was the Conca Park Hotel. It’s about a 10 minute walk from Sorrento centre. The owners live next door and they try and grow as much of their own fruit and veg as they can.
We went half board and thought the food was decent. The pool area isn’t huge but that wasn’t what we went for, if that makes sense.

The best food I’ve had in Italy was in Naples. I was blown away by just how good it was, and it was in no way limited to the pizzas. Not sure what you can do in either city re cooking classes etc, but for restaurants and street food you can’t really go wrong. I bet you could do some pizza making classes somewhere.

Loving all these ideas, we’ll be researching them over the next few days. Thank you.