Italy for three generations: Venice, Florence and Rome

1. Day 1: Arrive in Venice by water taxi

   Venice Marco Polo Airport to your hotel in Venice by water taxi

   • By boat
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Venice
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE), where a water taxi takes your family and your bags across the lagoon to the hotel in the historic centre. Venice has no roads, so the boat is the way in, and the ride of about 30 minutes is a first sight children remember: the city low and pale on the water, the posts that mark the channels, the boats that serve as buses, ambulances and delivery vans. If you arrive by train, we meet you at Santa Lucia station instead, and porters bring the bags. Check in and rest; family and connecting rooms are requested for every party when we confirm your dates. At about 5:30 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets everyone, grandparents and children included, for a short briefing on the days ahead. Then we walk a few minutes to an early welcome dinner of Venetian dishes at a local restaurant, with simple pasta for children who want it, and everyone is back at the hotel by about 8 pm.

   Included

   • Water taxi from Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE), or a meet at Santa Lucia station with porters
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Early welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the early-evening briefing

   Activity: Plan to land by about 3 pm to reach the briefing; the exact time comes with your final itinerary.

2. Day 2: San Marco, then the Lido beach

   A morning in San Marco, then the Lido by vaporetto

   • By boat
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Venice
   Day 2 details

   We walk out at about 8 am, before the day visitors arrive, so Piazza San Marco is still open enough for children to run a little and for grandparents to take it in from a café table. Your guide shows the clock tower, where two bronze figures strike the hours, and the winged lion of St Mark on the waterfront column. At 9 am, opening time, we go into the Doge's Palace with a local guide who keeps it to about an hour and a half and tells it as a story of the Republic, its armoury and its prisons, ending on the Bridge of Sighs. Late morning we enter St Mark's Basilica on a reserved slot for its gold mosaics; cover shoulders and knees. Lunch is cicchetti, small bites at a bacaro, with seats for anyone who wants one. The afternoon is free. From late May to mid-September the vaporetto pass takes you about 15 minutes to the Lido, where a sandy public beach faces the Adriatic, about 10 minutes' walk across the island from the boat stop.

   Included

   • Early walk round Piazza San Marco with your guide
   • The Doge's Palace and the Bridge of Sighs at opening, with a local guide
   • St Mark's Basilica on a reserved entry
   • Cicchetti lunch at a bacaro
   • Vaporetto pass for the Lido and the lagoon

   Optional experiences

   • Sunbed and umbrella hire at a Lido beach club
   • St Mark's Campanile (a lift goes to the top)
   • Peggy Guggenheim Collection

   Easier option: Skip the Doge's Palace and keep the morning to the square and the Basilica, then rest at the hotel or a café on the Riva degli Schiavoni.

   More active option: Walk on from the Lido boat stop to hire bikes along the lagoon side of the island.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About two and a half hours on your feet in the morning, with some steps in the Doge's Palace. St Mark's Basilica opens only in the afternoon on Sundays, so departures are set so this day is not a Sunday. The Lido beach afternoon depends on season and weather; outside summer we suggest the Giardini instead.

3. Day 3: Glass on Murano, colours on Burano, a gondola at dusk

   Venice to Murano and Burano by vaporetto, then a gondola ride in Venice

   • By boat
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Venice
   Day 3 details

   The boats today are included on your vaporetto pass, and the guide picks seats near the front for anyone who wants them. We cross to Murano first, where Venice moved its glass furnaces in 1291 to keep fire away from the city, and stand back from the heat while a glassmaker shapes a small horse or a vase from molten glass in a few minutes; it is the moment children talk about afterwards. Then on to Burano, about 40 minutes further, with its fishermen's houses painted in strong colours along flat canal-side paths, an easy walk for every age. Lunch is a sit-down meal on Burano, where risotto made with lagoon fish is the local dish and plain pasta is easy to ask for. We are back in Venice by about 2:30 for a rest. At about 5 pm we meet near the hotel for a gondola ride of about 30 minutes through the small canals, a few guests to each boat, with no steps to climb beyond the boarding platform. Dinner is your choice.

   Included

   • Vaporetto to Murano and Burano with your guide
   • Glassblowing demonstration at a Murano furnace
   • Sit-down lunch on Burano
   • Gondola ride of about 30 minutes

   Optional experiences

   • Burano Lace Museum

   Easier option: See Murano only, then ride the vaporetto back down the Grand Canal and rest before the gondola.

   More active option: Add Torcello, a short boat ride from Burano, for its cathedral mosaics and the walk along its single canal.

   Free time: Mid-afternoon and dinner free

   Activity: Public vaporetti have a small step on and off; crew help with balance. The lagoon crossing can be choppy on windy days. Gondoliers help everyone in and out.

4. Day 4: Fast train to Florence and a gelato walk

   Venice Santa Lucia to Florence by fast train

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Florence
   Day 4 details

   A slow start. Your bags leave the hotel after breakfast and go to Florence by road in our vehicle, a luggage-only run of about 260 km and 3 hours with no guests aboard, so the family travels on the train with day bags only. A short boat ride takes us to Santa Lucia station, and the direct fast train reaches Florence in about two hours, through the Po plain and the tunnels of the Apennines, with reserved seats together and a table for cards or colouring. Our vehicle meets the group at Santa Maria Novella station for the short ride to the hotel, where your bags are waiting. Lunch is a sit-down meal near the hotel, and the afternoon is free for a rest or the pool if your hotel has one. At about 5:30 pm your guide takes an easy, flat walk to the Duomo and the Baptistery so everyone has their bearings, and ends at a gelateria with a cone each. The rest of the evening is yours, with dinner at whatever hour suits the children.

   Included

   • Your bags taken by road from your Venice hotel to your Florence hotel
   • Boat transfer to Santa Lucia station
   • Reserved direct fast train from Venice to Florence
   • Transfer from Santa Maria Novella station to the hotel
   • Sit-down lunch in Florence
   • Evening walk to the Duomo with a gelato

   Easier option: Skip the evening walk and stay at the hotel; the Duomo is a few minutes away for any other evening.

   Free time: Afternoon and dinner free

   Activity: About two hours on the train. The evening walk is about 2 km on flat streets. The drive figures are for the luggage-only run; no guest travels by road between the cities.

5. Day 5: The Uffizi, the Ponte Vecchio and an evening view

   A morning in central Florence, then Piazzale Michelangelo by vehicle

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Florence
   Day 5 details

   We are at the Uffizi for the first entry at 8:15, before the corridors fill. A local guide used to families keeps the visit to about an hour and a half and to the paintings that hold a child's attention: Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera, a hunt for animals and hidden faces, and the view over the Arno from the top-floor corridor. Benches line the rooms, and quiet-guide headsets mean nobody needs to crowd in to hear. Late morning the same guide walks a short loop past Piazza della Signoria and the statues of the Loggia dei Lanzi, then across the Ponte Vecchio with its goldsmiths' shops. Lunch is your choice, and the afternoon is free: the Boboli Gardens behind Palazzo Pitti have shade and space to run, or rest at the hotel. At about 6:30 pm our vehicle drives everyone up to Piazzale Michelangelo, about 15 minutes, to see the city in the golden evening light, with no climb, then back for an early dinner on your own.

   Included

   • The Uffizi at 8:15 with a local family guide and headsets
   • Short guided walk: Piazza della Signoria and the Ponte Vecchio
   • Evening view from Piazzale Michelangelo, by vehicle both ways

   Optional experiences

   • Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens
   • Museo Galileo
   • Climb of Brunelleschi's dome (463 steps, timed slots, booked ahead)

   Easier option: Leave the Uffizi after the Botticelli rooms and rest at a café on the Piazza della Signoria until the walk continues.

   More active option: Walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo by the steps from the San Niccolò gate, about 20 minutes, and meet the vehicle at the top.

   Free time: Afternoon free

   Activity: The Uffizi is closed on Mondays, so departures are set around it. About two and a half hours on foot in the morning, with lifts in the gallery.

6. Day 6: David, a Chianti farm lunch and San Gimignano

   Florence to Greve in Chianti, a farm lunch, San Gimignano and back to Florence

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Florence
   Day 6 details

   Michelangelo's David stands in the Accademia, which opens at 8:15, and we are on the first entry with a local guide for a visit of under an hour. With the hall nearly empty, children can walk all the way round the marble figure, more than five metres tall, and spot the unfinished Prisoners still half inside their blocks. By 10 am we are in our own vehicle heading south into Chianti, about 45 minutes, for a short stop in Greve and its arcaded piazza. Lunch is long and seated at a family farm estate: a walk to see the vines, olive trees and the cellar, then Tuscan dishes, wine for the adults and fresh juice for the children. Where the estate has a pool or a garden, the early afternoon is for that; we ask for one when we choose the farm. At about 4 pm we drive about an hour west to San Gimignano, a walled hill town and UNESCO site since 1990, for its towers and a gelato in Piazza della Cisterna once the day coaches have gone, then about an hour back to Florence by 7 pm.

   Included

   • Michelangelo's David at the Accademia at 8:15, with a local guide
   • Greve in Chianti
   • Lunch at a Chianti farm estate with a walk in the vines and a tasting for adults
   • San Gimignano in the late afternoon

   Easier option: Stay in Florence after the Accademia for a free day, or join only the farm lunch and come back with the vehicle after it.

   More active option: Walk from Piazza della Cisterna up to the Rocca di Montestaffoli for the view over the towers while the others enjoy a gelato.

   Free time: Early afternoon at the farm and the evening free

   Activity: About 2 hours 45 minutes of driving, 140 km, in three legs of an hour or less, with lunch and San Gimignano between them. San Gimignano's lanes slope up from the gate; the vehicle drops the group as close as it is allowed. The Accademia is closed on Mondays, so departures are set around it.

   

7. Day 7: Fast train to Rome, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain

   Florence to Rome by fast train, then the old centre on foot

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Rome
   Day 7 details

   A free morning in Florence: the Mercato Centrale, the leather stalls by San Lorenzo or a last gelato. Your bags leave by road after breakfast, a luggage-only run of about 280 km and 3 hours with no guests aboard. Late morning the fast train takes about an hour and a half south to Rome, and our vehicle meets the group at Termini for the ride to the hotel in the centre. After a rest and lunch on your own, your guide leads an easy walk of about 3 km on flat streets. The Pantheon comes first, rebuilt under Hadrian with a concrete dome still open to the sky at its centre; children like to stand under the hole and look up. A few minutes away is Sant'Ignazio, where Andrea Pozzo painted a ceiling that seems to open into heaven and a flat canvas that passes for a dome; a mirror on the floor helps you see it without craning. We finish at the Trevi Fountain, where everyone throws a coin over their shoulder, and at Piazza Navona as the evening comes on. Dinner is your choice.

   Included

   • Your bags taken by road from your Florence hotel to your Rome hotel
   • Reserved fast train from Florence to Rome
   • Transfer from Roma Termini to the hotel
   • Guided walk: the Pantheon (entry included), Sant'Ignazio, the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona

   Easier option: Join the walk for the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain only, then take a taxi back to the hotel.

   Free time: Morning free in Florence, evening free in Rome

   Activity: About an hour and a half on the train and an easy afternoon walk of about 3 km. The drive figures are for the luggage-only run; no guest travels by road between the cities.

   

8. Day 8: The Vatican at opening, then Villa Borghese

   The Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Rome
   Day 8 details

   Our vehicle takes the group to the Vatican Museums for an early guided entry, at or before the public opening and timed when we book, with a licensed guide and headsets. The museums are huge, so the guide keeps a family route of about two and a half hours: the Pinecone Courtyard, the Gallery of Maps, where children can find Venice and Florence on the painted walls, and finally the Sistine Chapel, where Michelangelo painted the ceiling from 1508 to 1512. The chapel is kept silent and photos are not allowed, so we explain what to look for before we go in. Lifts and ramps avoid many of the stairs; your guide knows where they are. From there we cross to St Peter's Basilica for Michelangelo's Pietà; cover shoulders and knees. Lunch is a sit-down meal in Prati, the neighbourhood beside the Vatican. The afternoon is free; the gardens of Villa Borghese, a short taxi ride away, have rowing boats on a small lake and bikes and pedal carts to hire.

   Included

   • Vehicle to the Vatican Museums
   • The Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel on an early guided entry, time confirmed when we book, with a licensed guide and headsets
   • St Peter's Basilica
   • Sit-down lunch in Prati

   Optional experiences

   • St Peter's dome climb
   • Rowing boats and pedal carts in Villa Borghese
   • Galleria Borghese (timed entry, booked ahead)

   Easier option: After the Sistine Chapel, skip St Peter's and take a taxi back to the hotel before lunch.

   More active option: Climb St Peter's dome: take the lift to the roof terrace and climb the last 320 steps to the top.

   Free time: Afternoon free

   Activity: About two and a half hours on foot inside the museums. The museums close on Sundays except the last Sunday of the month, so departures are set so this day falls Monday to Saturday.

   

9. Day 9: The Colosseum and a pasta-making farewell

   The Colosseum and the Roman Forum, then a pasta class and dinner in Trastevere

   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Rome
   Day 9 details

   We are at the Colosseum for the first timed entry of the morning, with a licensed archaeological guide who knows how to talk to children about gladiators and grandparents about engineering. Inside the amphitheatre, opened in AD 80, the guide shows how around fifty thousand spectators were seated by rank and how animals rose into the arena from the passages under its floor. Then we walk the flat stretch of the Roman Forum along the Via Sacra, past the Arch of Titus, keeping the steeper Palatine for those who want it. Lunch is on your own in Monti, and the afternoon is free for a long rest. At 5 pm we meet in Trastevere for a pasta-making class: everyone, from six to seventy-plus, rolls and cuts their own fettuccine at the same long table, and it becomes our farewell dinner, with Roman dishes alongside. It is an early dinner on purpose, and we are back at the hotel by about 8 pm.

   Included

   • The Colosseum and the Roman Forum on a timed entry, with a licensed guide and headsets
   • Pasta-making class in Trastevere
   • Farewell dinner
   • Vehicle back to the hotel after dinner

   Optional experiences

   • Capitoline Museums
   • The Colosseum underground (separate ticket, limited places)

   Easier option: After the Colosseum, follow the flat Via dei Fori Imperiali, with views down into the Forum, and rest in Monti.

   More active option: Climb the Palatine with your guide for the ruins of the imperial palaces and the view over the Circus Maximus.

   Free time: Afternoon free

   Activity: About three hours on foot in the morning on uneven ancient paving with little shade; bring water and hats. Rome's public fountains run with drinking water.

10. Day 10: Leave from Rome

    Your Rome hotel to Rome Fiumicino Airport

    • Drive about 45 min
    • Breakfast
    Day 10 details

    After breakfast the trip ends. Our vehicle takes your family from the hotel to Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO), about 30 km and 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic, at a time set for your flight; your guide checks everyone's departure details the evening before. For an unhurried morning with children, book a flight after about 11 am and allow three hours at the airport for flights leaving the Schengen area. If you are staying on, the hotel can hold your bags after check-out, and we can book extra nights in Rome, or a transfer to Ciampino or Termini instead. Families who add two or three days often choose Ostia Antica, an ancient port city with streets children can explore, or a day by the sea at the beaches near Ostia, both easy to reach from the centre; your guide is happy to sketch a plan before you part.

    Included

    • Transfer to Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO)

    Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 11 am, or tell us your time and we set the transfer to match.

Wildlife and weather: Late May, June and September are the best months for a family trip: warm enough for the Lido beach, with school-holiday crowds lighter in May and September. July and August are hot, often above 30°C in Florence and Rome, so we sightsee in the morning and keep the middle of the day for rest, shade and water. From October to April the Lido afternoon becomes a garden or museum afternoon, and from October to January Venice can have acqua alta, high tides that flood low squares for a few hours.

• Venice3 nights
• Florence3 nights
• Rome3 nights