Madrid-Venice-Florence-Rome Reccs?

[criscam]

Didn't see too much updated info so...
Taking the fam to Italy over Christmas via Madrid for a few days. Kids 14 and 12. First time for all so will likely check out some touristy stuff but looking for any and all recommendations while at ea location (1-4 nights). Lodging mostly set. Food a big priority. Must see? To do off the tourist path? Day trip(s) from Florence as we'll be there the longest? Doing the train thing in Italy so likely no car but...
Thanks!

[old goat]

You can find plenty to do in Florence for 4 days without looking for side trips. Especially since you're going in the winter--so the countryside probably won't be that appealing.

[skaredshtles]

I'd suggest a day trip to Siena. I liked it much better than Florence.

[old goat]

Nah, just stay in Florence and see the museums. Teenagers love museums.


Young Goat in the Van Gogh room at the Orsay

[dan_pdx]

I'd suggest a day trip to Siena. I liked it much better than Florence.

We spent a week in Siena in May of 2023 as part of a longer trip. I did some gravel biking and my wife worked remote, poor thing. We enjoyed it 100x more than Florence, which was Walmart on Black Friday levels of crowded. Having said that, not sure if I would recommend it for a day trip: the big draw for us was getting a taste of Italian lifestyle outside of a major tourist center. Not sure if that translates into something appealing for a family with kids

[singlesline]

On the madrid side, I'd also suggest a day trip to Segovia. Real cool spot, ancient roman aquaduct, and the kids will probably think the 310KPH trains that go out there are pretty neat (one of the fastest rail lines in europe). Its a short ride so easily more like an afternoon trip.

Pick some up some baguette sandwiches from one of those shops with dirt cheap Jamon and channel your inner Hemmingway (or just grab a copy of The Sun Also Rises as your airplane/train book to get in the mood).

Also, you gotta see Guernica in person at the Reina Sofia. It hits way different at scale.

[plugboots]

Siena and Florence are very, very different places, but since your lodging is already set and you’ll be in Florence, it might be worthwhile to head over to Siena and check out the Piazza which is pretty amazing. Although, there are a lot of cool things that are about an hour from Florence, (if you wanted to see more of the Tuscan countryside). Play it by ear. If the kids are bored of the Duomo, David, Uffizi, etc. go to Pisa have your picture taken trying to hold the tower up like all the tourists. I mean on one of my trips I went to Sansepolcro and went fly fishing.
We spent about four days there when my daughter was young, (like your kids), and we did not get bored climbing up the inside of the Duomo, going to the leather market, eating at Il Latini, etc..
Oh yeah, Venice is amazing, I don’t care what people say. Especially in the evenings and mornings when most of the people who even work there, kind of leave, and it’s quiet.

[skaredshtles]

We spent a week in Siena in May of 2023 as part of a longer trip. I did some gravel biking and my wife worked remote, poor thing. We enjoyed it 100x more than Florence, which was Walmart on Black Friday levels of crowded. Having said that, not sure if I would recommend it for a day trip: the big draw for us was getting a taste of Italian lifestyle outside of a major tourist center. Not sure if that translates into something appealing for a family with kids

Yeah - since he indicated that lodging was already sorted, I didn't recommend *staying* in Siena. But that would definitely be preferable. But it's super-easy as a day trip and worth it just for the much mellower scene than Florence.

We lucked out when we were there because there was some sort of festival going on and the neighborhoods were doing " 'hood parades" around town.

And the food in Siena... gotdam. Not that you can't find excellent food in Florence, it's just that it seems to be a bit of a competition there.

Oh - and while in Siena get the ragu al cinghiale and ribollita at a minimum.

[skaredshtles]

On the madrid side, I'd also suggest a day trip to Segovia. Real cool spot, ancient roman aquaduct, and the kids will probably think the 310KPH trains that go out there are pretty neat (one of the fastest rail lines in europe). Its a short ride so easily more like an afternoon trip.

Wholly agree with this - Segovia was spectacular. And, like Siena vs. Florence, it is a much mellower scene than Madrid IME.

Oh - and get yourself some suckling pig while you're there.

[skaredshtles]

<snip> Although, there are a lot of cool things that are about an hour from Florence, (if you wanted to see more of the Tuscan countryside).

Agreed - Lucca is another *excellent* Tuscan city to visit. And if you can get the bus sorted, a tour of the Chianti area would be fantastic, although maybe not so much for the children.

[zion zig zag]

Maybe Mrs. ZZZ will have some reccos for you next week, she hasn't been there in 20 years but I think she went a few times for work. She'll probably tell you about the restaurant with the suckling pig.

[plugboots]

Agreed - Lucca is another *excellent* Tuscan city to visit. And if you can get the bus sorted, a tour of the Chianti area would be fantastic, although maybe not so much for the children.

We climbed a couple towers, and visited a couple Roman ruins in Bologna. A work friend went to a topless beach near Ravenna. Should be great in December.

[singlesline]

Wholly agree with this - Segovia was spectacular. And, like Siena vs. Florence, it is a much mellower scene than Madrid IME.

Oh - and get yourself some suckling pig while you're there.

I assume it is far enough south to still be legit in the winter too?

I wasn't thinking it through when I wrote my comment--not sure what the weather gets like there but it would probably be a lot less cool on a gray and cold day.

edit: nevermind, even if winter hits for real (unlikely in december), it still looks real cool apparently: https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comm...segovia_spain/

[t-the-east]

Been in Italy for 2 weeks now. Have one more to go. Rome was pretty cool, we had no agenda, just left the hotel and walked the whole city in 2 days. The lines to any landmark looked like hell. I was way more into Rome than I thought I would be.

Naples is no bueno.

Just did a week in Conca Dei Marini, and man that’s a special place. Amalfi and Atriani were cool, Positano a bit overly touristy. Currently in Capri for a night.

Really the only reason I replied to this thread is because we are heading to Florence tomorrow for 4 nights, so I guess I’ll update if I find anything cool.

We’ve traveled quite a bit, the Amalfi coast in mid October is really spectacular.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

My mother has lived part time in Tuscany (she married and Italian fellow, who happened to be a terrific skier) for almost 30 years. I've been all over. I think Florence is great, a truly worthy tourist town. But it can also be overrun with tourists. I recommend driving around Tuscany. It's not that big. Don't ignore the countryside. Go for some hikes. Eat here (a bit south of Florence) if you like meat at all: https://www.dariocecchini.com/?lang=en

[criscam]

thanks all and keep em coming!
suckling pig is def on the eats list.
there will def be a give and take w the kids. i can hear some complaining already but well,...tough shit. they'll thank us when they're older

[skaredshtles]

<snip> Eat here (a bit south of Florence) if you like meat at all: https://www.dariocecchini.com/?lang=en

Man... this place has been on my list for a number of years, now.

[El Chupacabra]

I just posted some info from our recent Spain trip in liv2ski's thread here:
https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...11#post7143311

We went to Florence and Venice a few years ago too. We flew into Florence, which was a giant PITA (airline issues) and I wouldn't bother again -- instead, I'd just find the most direct / most affordable ticket to a large city, and take a train. Italy's train system is great -- fast and cheap. So if I were doing it again, I'd probably just fly to Milan, look around there a bit, then train to Florence -- or fly into Rome and start there.

For visiting Venice, we actually stayed just outside Venice in Mestre, because it was much much less expensive, and just took the bus or train back and forth. (We actually stayed in Mestre on points.) Suggest taking the boat ferry from Venice out to one or more of the outlying islands -- we went to Murano (known for glass art), and also just took the ferry around for a sightseeing boat ride too, as you get a nice view of Venice from the water.

IMHO, the food in Italy is amazing, and far surpasses any of the Spanish food we had. Neither Mrs C nor I were that impressed by Spanish traditional food -- and so we ended up at a lot of arabic, mediterranean, halal, indian, etc. restaurants. Oh, and local beer in Italy and Spain is pretty much all lager / pilsner -- but there are Irish bars, so there's Guinness available!

[Peruvian]

thanks all and keep em coming!
suckling pig is def on the eats list.
there will def be a give and take w the kids. i can hear some complaining already but well,...tough shit. they'll thank us when they're older

It's all about the cinghiale (wild boar). Order it slow roasted.

The coolest part of Tuscany is the medieval hill towns. You really feel like you have stepped back in time and can picture the city states as they might have been A few towns I would recommend if driving between Florence and Sienna are San Gimignano (cool medieval architecture and towers), Monteriggioni (small walled town which is now mostly a museum), & Volterra (run by the Medici family in the 1500s).

[east or bust]

Did a Florence-Rome-Positano-Naples trip in 2019, but it was with my college roommates a few years post grad, so maybe not totally applicable to having children in tow.

I really liked Florence. We were there in August and yes it was busy, but didn't find it overbearing. It's a city after all. The museums were cool, we went just just about every notable one and by day 4 we were kind of tapped. With kids, maybe pack museums into 1-2 days and call it good. The countryside is cool to see, I'd second the recommendations to check out another Tuscan town/city for a day, and get your sight seeing in on the way there and back. We did a wine tour that took up most of one of the days, thought it was worth it... but again, kids. One of the beautiful things about Florence to me was the walkability. Went for a few early AM runs in the city when the streets were empty. Did a lot of walking along the river and up to Piazzale Michelangelo. We were staying about a block away from Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, thought it was a nice central spot for museums and restaurants. Plus, the train station is literally right there.

Rome - we were only there for like 36 hours. Arrived mid late afternoon and walked around the neighborhood (Trastevere, lots of bars and restaurants). Next day were up early to do a pretty much full day tour that included Vatican City and ancient Rome. It was a long day with a lot of but really enjoyed all of it.

[skaredshtles]

It's all about the cinghiale (wild boar). Order it slow roasted.

Yup. Cinghiale is the right call.

[54-46]

I'd suggest a day trip to Siena. I liked it much better than Florence.

Add San Gimignano while around Siena


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