Jenny, we are so thrilled to have you contributing to our Travel Diaries series! As one of Kibou’s best customers ever (how many Kibous have you gifted at this point?!), a close personal friend of mine, and an avid traveler–and avid family traveler–your travel recommendations are ones I know I can trust. 

Today we’re transporting ourselves to one of my favorite regions in the world: Tuscany, Italy. While I have spent over two weeks in Tuscany on a couple of different trips, I’ve never brought my children. I’m dying to know everything that you discovered that made it a great family-friendly destination!

Nell: First and foremost: what’s the ideal amount of time to visit Tuscany with your children?

Jenny: We spent a total of two weeks in Italy with our three children ages 3, 12 and 9 over their winter vacation. It was the perfect amount of time for us as we were able to split the time equally between cities (Florence + Rome) and the countryside (Castiglion Del Bosco in Tuscany). We stayed four nights in each place which also felt like the right amount of time to meander, see the sites, get to know the city and then move on to discover somewhere new. Traveling to Italy over Christmas time was also really nice as we avoided the massive summer crowds but the weather was still mild enough to enjoy being outside. 

IN & AROUND FLORENCE

N: Best parts of the city to stay in or visit with your family:

J: I had been to Florence several times on my own but had never stayed on the other side of the Arno, (the opposite side of popular tourist sites like the Uffizi) which tends to attract throngs of tourists. It felt slightly quieter and less hectic but still walking distance to all the attractions we wanted to see.  We stayed at a hotel right on the water and the views were breathtaking, the center of Florence was just a short walk over one of the several iconic bridges and there were plenty of cafes, restaurants and shopping right outside the front door of the hotel. 

N: Best Accommodations (hotels or places to rent):

J: We stayed at Hotel Lungarno which we absolutely loved. Again the location was perfect, we had a larger family suite overlooking the Arno with our own balcony connected to a double room for the kids. The setup was ideal for the five us and the staff at the hotel were so nice in helping to arrange a babysitter when we needed it and also a last minute rental car for a day trip to Pisa.  

N: Attractions Not to Miss:

J: Florence for us was all about walking and meandering its cobblestone streets, popping into cafes, grabbing a slice of pizza, and obviously bribing kids with daily treats like gelato. The one tour I arranged ahead of time was a 3 hour art and architecture overview of Florence that included a quick stop to the Uffizi. I know my own kids' limits at art museums, so this tour worked perfectly. Whenever we’ve booked tour guides I make sure that they are comfortable working with kids and know that sometimes spontaneous stops for snacks are necessary! 

A highlight for us was visiting the old synagogue in Florence, it’s stunningly beautiful and you can take a self-guided tour at your own pace including a small museum inside which provides some of the history of the building and the Jewish community in the city. 

I also heard the Church of San Lorenzo just opened access to see Michaelangelo’s original drawings alongside the tombs of Lorenzo de’ Medici. We couldn’t get tickets but that might be something else to check out.

N: Best Places to Play/Kid-friendly Entertainment:

J: We made multiple trips back to the carousel in the center of the city and spent time in the Piazza della Signoria where the kids enjoyed street performances and the Christmas market. We also always try to find a playground for our little one whenever we travel. Google Maps comes in very handy for that.  

N: Best Grown-Up Fun:

J: Shopping of course was a highlight in Florence, I stumbled upon a little shop selling the most beautiful textiles – Lisa Corti who is based in Milan but has stores in Florence and Rome. Her block prints are all designed in Italy and crafted in India. I brought home a table cloth I am in love with and am reminded of our trip every time I use it. 

I am also a big fan of letting our kids have a little downtime at points during the day depending on what the schedule is. Even if that means giving them some screen time so that we can have a drink at the hotel bar with uninterrupted adult conversation!

We also try to book a babysitter so at least one night in each place my husband and I get a meal to ourselves whether it’s a fancy lunch or dinner! See below recs!

N: Best Places to Eat (kid-friendly and adult-only):

J: Here are some of our food highlights from Florence, most we enjoyed with the kids including:

Il Santo Bevitore – about a 5 min walk from our hotel, we loved this restaurant. We stumbled in for a late lunch the day we landed without reservations and it was delicious. I got the sense you need to book ahead, we definitely would have come back for dinner. 

Cibreo Trattoria – we had a great lunch here on the way to the Jewish Synagogue. It’s also next to the Lisa Corti shop and the Mercato Sant Ambrogio – Florence’s gourmet food market which is fun to wander through and grab some snacks. 

Ditta Artigianale - great artisanal coffee shop also close to our hotel. I think there are a few locations in Florence. 

Gelateria La Carraia - a tiny little gelato place also close to our hotel, serving craft gelato using natural ingredients. Loved this place and they had a decent selection of non dairy options. 

For an adult night out I would definitely recommend 13 Gobbi which was our favorite dinner in Florence. It’s a pretty traditional trattoria and was full of locals, we had a reservation ahead and by the time we left there was a line around the corner. We shared a delicious Florentine steak and the pastas were all great. It’s the kind of place where we could have stayed for hours drinking crafts of house wine and people watching.

N: Best Places to Shop:

J: Shopping at Aqua Flor with my daughters was definitely a highlight of our trip, you can book a perfume experience ahead of time where they take you down to the laboratory and you can actually create your own scents but it’s expensive and there was more than enough to sample in the shop. 

Santa Maria Novella was also fun to visit with the girls, it’s one of the oldest pharmacies in Italy in an old church which itself is worth walking in to see – I personally preferred the products at Aqua Flor and so did my daughters. 

N: Any other must-see/do that we missed above?

J: We ended up renting a car in Florence for a day trip to the town of Pisa. Whenever we travel, we ask each of our kids to do some research ahead of time to pick any bucket list places or specific activities they want to do. Seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa was a dream of my daughter’s and despite having traveled to Italy many times before, I had never personally seen it. I’m actually glad we went, our daughter was delighted and thought it was super cool, the history behind it is fascinating. There’s not much to see in Pisa other than the leaning tower so adding on a visit to Lucca which is a beautiful small town about 30 minutes away made it a perfect day trip. Lucca reminded me of a smaller version of Sienna, it’s known for the old stone wall enclosing the city center. It was beautiful to just meander around the cobblestone streets, do some shopping and get out of Florence for the day. 

N: Any cultural traditions or differences you noticed or recommend that traveling families are aware of here?

J: My only word of caution traveling to Italy now is that it’s  just gotten very touristy. We went to Rome the following week which fell over Christmas and it was mobbed whereas Florence felt more deserted because it was before the holiday. I would say as much as you can, travel on an off season to Italy (and probably to Europe more generally). Also, don’t be afraid to meander outside the cities a little. One of the best meals we had in Rome was in a more residential neighborhood that we never would have discovered had I not booked a reservation at the restaurant. 

Also, the babysitters we found were wonderful with the kids and I think this speaks to Italians’ love of children in general. We also never felt bad about having kids in a restaurant either!

N: If you had to pick your top 3 family trips ever, what would they be?

Mexico City, Barcelona and a tie between Joshua Tree + Yosemite National Park! 

N: What is your next dream vacation (with or without kids)?

J: Morocco and definitely Japan, with kids! 

N: And lastly, what is in your Kibou? We’d love a photo to see!

J: Since our trip to Italy, we have officially graduated from diapers so my Kibou looks a little different today than it has in the past. I had said we could get a dog once my last kid was potty trained so now my Kibou change pad + diapers have been replaced with doggie bags, dog treats, kids snacks, sunglasses, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, bandaids and of course my cell phone!