Northern Italy must sees

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We are planning a northern Italy road trip this summer with our two children who will be three and four years old. We are planning to visit one of the lakes, Portofino and Cinque terre and possibly Florence- is Florence realistic with small children? And possibly Lucca. Any suggestions of places that are great for families? Or are we being too optimistic with our plan? We plan to be away for 2-3 weeks and probably do a mix of campsites and airbnbs

I would recommend Lake Garda and Dolomites (cooler, beautiful scenery). Verona is very close by too if you want to see a historic city.

I definitely wouldn’t bother with Florence or Lucca with small kids especially in summer, baking. I don’t know Portofino or Cinque Terre well but imagine they will be absolutely heaving in summer so be prepared.

I'd question having such young kids cooped up in a car for long periods.

Florence gets very very hot in Summer- even more so than Rome, because it's in a kind of bowl in the hills. I think I'd give it a miss at that age- the attractions are pretty "grown up"- galleries and architecture, without much green space.

OTOH, Venice could be good. Yes the centre gets very crowded, but if you invest in a day transport pass (I think kids of that age could be free) you can visit outlying islands, the beach at the Lido etc, and the boat will save little legs. Obviously it's all traffic free too, so there are plenty of places they can run around safely.

I imagine that the Cinque Terre will be appallingly heaving at that time of year. It's a shame the DC aren't a bit bigger for Portofino because it's set in a national park and you can hike there, but you can also get the boat there from S.Margherita Ligure I think.

My top tip is Genova. Its outlying suburbs have got beaches and that Ligurian prettiness, there are boat trips, a lighthouse, maritime museum, aquarium (pricey!), great public transport including free lifts and funiculars, and endless focaccia!

That’s a lot of driving with (bored) young kids
florence last year was beautiful and boiling! Not sure about taking such young kids (I mean pont vecchio and all the shops are beautiful but not to toddlers)

Thanks all for the advice we will perhaps give Florence a swerve until the children are older. The driving we plan to do either setting off early in the am or late in the evening so they hopefully won’t feel it too much. I will consider fair Verona and Venice for a bit of history and culture for sure. I think we might also try and get a villa somewhere for a few days so the children can have a few days of downtime at the pool.
Any recommendations of which of the lakes is best to visit?
We are planning early July before UK schools break up but of course the Italien and French schools with have broken up already.

Has anyone visited Courmayeur in summer time? We will be bringing a hiking carrier for the younger child but the elder will be almost five so too big to be carried really but we could manage two/three hour hikes with her if not too hot.

Lake Garda is definitely the most family friendly of the lakes. There is Gardaland a small child friendly theme park down the SE corner, but there’s plenty for kids without doing that. If you stay in Lasize, Garda or Bardolino there is a boardwalk that connects all three along the lake which makes for nice walks. Also these towns are fairly well connected by boat to other towns which could be fun (Sirmione is good for a day trip). Lasize has some beachy areas, Bardolino has a bit although less so.

It’s also easy to access the Dolomites from Lake Garda.

Italians will have been on holidays sine early June. Any coastal areas will be super busy.

Venice - really depends on whether your kids can be trusted not to go in the water?! Otherwise could be quite stressful. It can smell a bit in summer. But it is fun to take the boats and go up and over canals, and a good place to just explore without having to see “sights” or museums (as the whole city is a museum basically).

I haven’t been to Courmayeur in summer but have been to other Alpine resorts. Would highly recommend. It’s not just hiking, a lot of them have loads of other family friendly things to do like outdoor playgrounds, outdoor pools, farms to visit. And the hiking is easy as you can take a ski lift up and just walk downhill - reduces the whinging a lot! Quite a few mountain restaurants open in summer too. What’s on offer varies a lot between different resorts so have a look at different ones and see which seems to be best set up for summer activities and kids specifically.

We did holidays to both Lake Garda and Tuscany (including days in Florence and Siena - big hit as very colourful just before the Palio) when kids were pre-schoolers, but not road trips. Both worked well but our kids were always pretty chill and quite happy to potter around towns with an occasional play ground or ice cream and we’re used to long car journeys. Lakes are always good for boat trips etc. We went to Switzerland when youngest was 4.5 and she could walk up to 10k by that point but I think she was unusual. As a pp said, lots of alpine resorts have loads of family activities in the summer.

When in summer? And for how long? Italian schools break up at the beginning of June, but most people have normal leave allowances so family holidays are more likely to be in August. June will not be heaving, although in Liguria there are a lot of retirees and some may have grandchildren in tow.

I agree avoid central Italy, not least because it’s a 4-5hr drive from Milan. I live near Lakes Como and Maggiore, also Orta. Depending on what you want to there are also family friendly places in all. When my DD was small we used to go to Colico, on lago di Lecco (top end of Como lake), small resort with plenty of waters sports plus a short drive to the mountains.

if you want to visit Verona etc then Garda will probably be your best bet. If you want mountains, the whole of Val d’Aosta is set up with summer trails, as are the Dolomites. I would pick one area, either Liguria, Piemonte, Lombardia, or else Veneto/Trentuno Alto Adige. I wouldn’t spend time driving from west to east. Unless of course you’re coming for longer than 2 weeks.

i have been to Courmayeur but in the winter. In the summer we visit the smaller resorts around Monte Rosa, which are a bit cheaper. Some have fairly small child friendly routes, although I’ve not tried them, we didn’t go hiking until DD was around 7, so she could manage the main trails.

Thank you @Melassa we are planning the first two weeks of July or possible 2.5/3 weeks. We live in South East France so it’s only 1.5 hours to Courmayeur from door to door (as long as the tunnel is okay). We did a mini trip to Aosta in November last year but that’s as far as we have ventured into Italy since we moved two years ago. DH must take at least 12 Days annual leave in summer (French law) so that’s two and half weeks to play with already plus weekends.

Slight drip feed there OP! 🤣

Haha sorry @Fends I am not brave enough to drive from the UK to Italy with the children.

Cinque Terre might be tricky to negotiate with small children and not terribly interesting for them. The larger resorts along that coast like Santa Marguerita, Levanto or Bonnassola might be easier as they have long stretches of beach and more traditional seaside vibe and you could take a train to CT (Monterosso)for late afternoon when crowds have left. You can walk or cycle between the Levanto and Bonassola on a flat former railway line. Florence is heaving in high summer perhaps Bologna or Siena might be better choices.

We spent a great week at Arenzano which is north of Genoa when dc were little. Long promenade with children's rides and relaxed restaurants for the evenings, followed by a week in the alps.

Siena is beautiful (and much smaller and less crammed than Florence), parking is fine and there is a huge Campo (central piazza) which children can run around on, — within reason, there are still some light vehicles around, delivery bikes and so on — there are also many cafes and bars to sit at around the Campo so you can keep an eye on them.

We did it — twice! They were nine and 11 the last time. They were ok with it, we used to do lots of holidays to France by car when they were young.
We just made sure they were well hydrated in warm weather. Plus games, CDs etc.

Ha! We do the same journey only in reverse, from Italy to France, usually along the coast though. If you do have nearly 3 weeks then by all means explore the Veneto region. I’m not a huge fan of Liguria in season as they rip you off (hence us driving to the Côte d’Azur, weirdly cheaper all round if travelling in August), but Veneto is more reasonable, as long as you avoid the coast. You could break it up by stopping en route in Bergamo, the città alta is very pretty, plus you could hike nearby as in the Alps, then on to Brescia, then you’re at Garda. You could also take a round about route and visit Turin, with its art nouveau architecture. It’s also less stifling than Milan in July.

when in Veneto you should also visit Padova and Treviso, which is also built on water. Both very pretty and walkable cities. I won’t propose the vineyards as not kid friendly (or parent friendly when with kids 😉) but there are a lot of very excellent wines produced locally too. Then on to Riva del Garda, you can drive right up to Bolzano as well but it is a bit of a hike.

Wow, I'm surprised to hear that Liguria can be more expensive than the Cote d'Azur!

Mind you, I've never been/ looked in August (am going at the beginning of April).

I did notice that campsites are way more expensive in Italy than in France, though. I love a camping municipale.

If your route takes you anywhere near to Bergamo, try to make a stop there. It's beautiful - there is the lower town, the upper town (renaissance), and the upper-upper town (with views over the others).