Off the beaten path activities - Italy with teens

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Definitely do a food walking tour.

+1. My favorite part of our Rome vacation was a street food walking tour where we visited many parts of Rome I would not have went to by myself.

Another very very memorable experience was a private tour of the Vatican which we booked through Viator. It was not cheap (about $350 per person), but they took us to several areas that were closed to the public and we got to be inside the Sistine Chapel after it had closed. It was just our small group of 10 and it was absolutely magical. Considering this was a once in a lifetime experience, it was well worth the cost for us.

[Anonymous]

There are designer outlets in Florence. My teens are very interested in this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely do a food walking tour.

+1. My favorite part of our Rome vacation was a street food walking tour where we visited many parts of Rome I would not have went to by myself.

Another very very memorable experience was a private tour of the Vatican which we booked through Viator. It was not cheap (about $350 per person), but they took us to several areas that were closed to the public and we got to be inside the Sistine Chapel after it had closed. It was just our small group of 10 and it was absolutely magical. Considering this was a once in a lifetime experience, it was well worth the cost for us.

Definitely book a skip the line tour in Rome as its a Jubilee year! 3-5 mill more visitors expected this year.

[Anonymous]

My teen enjoyed a photography tour in Florence -- we took polaroids with a professional photographer through much of the center city. She liked the old tech and working with someone new (she has taken several photography classes at school).

[Anonymous]

My teen really enjoyed the pasta-making class we did one evening at a restaurant. I did it again on another visit with a group of adults and there were 5 college kids studying abroad in our class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you aware that it’s a jubilee year?

Maybe it will be busier around the Vatican, but I don't think it will impact every village in every corner of Italy. The Olympics actually had a negative impact on tourism in Paris because it scared off tourists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP again. It's really hard to know what will interest kids without knowing them personally.

From my first trip to Italy at age 9, I was pretty interested in buying souvenirs. And I learned to drink tea from an English girl my age. The sightseeing highlight was definitely Pompeii. My next trip, at 16, it was the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and all things Venice.

I revisited my Rome and Venice trip with my kids at age 50. So I mostly took them to the standard sights then filled in with what I missed on my first visits. Occasionally the parents divided up, with my husband taking the boys while I did a deeper visit to a museum. He sometimes does bike tours with them while I go to museums.

Both for myself as a kid, and my own kids, St. Peter's was not fun to visit. It's just huge. I went to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel with the kids. They are crowded and full of people who don't seem to be too interested in art. So maybe skip those. I hadn't seen them at age 16. My kids saw the Sistine Chapel then about an hour of the museum on the walk back to the main entrance. After that they were done and just sat in the cafeteria playing on devices. (Yes, the Vatican Museums have pizza by the slice!)

In Rome, I think it's interesting to learn about the Etruscans. There is some of their art at the Vatican but there is a specialized museum elsewhere in Rome that I didn't get to. A kid who is interested in Egyptian and Greek civilizations might like Etruscan artifacts and a smaller museum.

I liked art, architecture, and history as a kid but my own kids don't feel the same. Everything I've recommended to you so far was neutral to positive for my kids. On some days, neutral was a family win if I really liked the place. Neutral means the kids did sightseeing with no complaints, seemed mildly enthused, and good gelato could make the whole day a win for everyone.

Something I really like to do with kids in Europe is to buy groceries at local grocery stores. It can be fun for them to pick out stuff to try. If you're staying in a hotel, you can still have a supper made from deli foods and boxed foods like cookies, crackers, etc. In Italy, we bought food from grocery stores at least four times despite staying in hotels. Our preferred way to travel is to get an apartment and live like a local for a few days, including shopping. But we do it on the go, also. I find it helps with picky eating. And sorry to say, I haven't had much luck with stumbling into great Italian restaurant food during my trips. When my family members are hungry, that's when we eat ASAP. Targeting restaurants requires structuring the day around the meals. We structure days around the sights we want to see.

This is much a much more polite and appropriate response than I had in my head.

The most people can do is give some suggestions— we can’t predict how your teens will react. Mine likes food tours and shopping for example.

[Anonymous]

Why is OP asking strangers what her kids would like??

(Hint: ask your kids)

[Anonymous]

Via Ferrata

[Anonymous]

Do you or your kids speak Italian? Do you feel comfortable driving in Italy? What is your tolerance for crowds in a jubilee year? Just got back from solo trip in Italy with younger kids and I still think the above questions is your starting point. As an Italian speaker with Italian speaking kids, I did a mix of local programming and museums and outdoor hikes/walking - but all in cities and towns with maximum one connection on the high-speed train - and avoided Rome. If you will drive in Italy (I will not), you could really drill down on a specific region with less over tourism, Umbria, Marche, or other areas in Tuscany (Pitigliano, for example). Valle d'Aosta doesn't feel particularly like Italy but is lovely.

[Anonymous]

NP but also planning a trip. Will the jubilee bring more crowds to Venice and Florence? Or mainly just Rome?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP but also planning a trip. Will the jubilee bring more crowds to Venice and Florence? Or mainly just Rome?

Rome is likely to be unbearable this year at all times, but particularly around Christian holidays and in August. Florence is overrun with tourists in a non-jubilee year. Venice in summer is pretty unbearable. Go to “less traveled” places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Via Ferrata

this, if they like hiking

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is OP asking strangers what her kids would like??

(Hint: ask your kids)

Because kids are experts on what's available in Italy!

This and the other poster who keeps asking "for teenagers?" need to understand that teenagers are not a monolith. What OP is getting is suggesting about what, other than the sights every guidebook mentions, there is to do with people who as a rule are more physically fit and less historically informed than some other demographics, but have longer attention spans than little kids

[Anonymous]

I would not spend for than 2 days or so in Rome which involves seeing Colleseum for one. If you must spend 3. It's a city like any other. The exception is if you must see Vatican.

I'd do day trips from Rome to Ponza/Venice/orvieto and if you could do a 2-3 night I'd go down to Naples for with Pompeii or Hereceleum not both - you really don't need.

If you had any extra time I'd see Ischia.

I've been around the world and most but cities are the same. Good food, lots of people and of course museums and landmarks. I have only a few cuties that I can spend more time in and it's cause they offer such diversity, like Paris, maybe NYC, Tokyo, HK. Otherwise you spend 3 days there and it's all good. Mainly to eat For me, Rome is that brief visit of a city.