Italy With Kids: 4 Off-the-Beaten-Path Towns Most Families Miss

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[ IMAGE: hero, your family in Tuscany / Chianti hills · alt: “Family with two young girls in the Chianti hills, Tuscany” ]

We didn’t plan to fall this hard for Italy. The first time, our eldest was 18 months old and we rented an apartment on the Adriatic coast for a month. No tourist trail, no agenda, just local markets, afternoon passeggiatas, and Italian grandmothers taking turns holding our toddler’s hands in the piazza.

Then we went back with both girls, ages four and six months, and spent three months in Tuscany. That trip is the reason my kids now ask for Italy by name.

If you are planning Italy with kids and want the slow, real version instead of the Rome, Florence and Venice sprint, these are the four off-the-beaten-path places I would send you to first. One of them comes with a family you will never forget.

1. Chianti, Tuscany: stay with the family who has lived here for six generations

[ IMAGE: the tower villa exterior / view to Florence · alt: “900-year-old tower villa in the Chianti hills with views toward Florence” ]

This is the one I tell every family about, and it is not a hotel. It is Majla and Marco.

They have lived in a 900-year-old tower villa in the Chianti hills, within sight of Florence, for more than 30 years. The tower dates to 1146. During WWII, Majla’s grandfather hid Jewish families and Partisans inside these walls. Today they welcome travelers in that same spirit. As Majla puts it, “Many lives were saved in this house. Today we welcome the world.”

Stay in the tower villa. It sleeps up to 10, as one apartment, two separate spaces, or the whole thing combined. High ceilings, panoramic sunrise-to-sunset views, a wood-burning Swedish stove, a reading nook built into what was once a fireplace, a century-old garden, and Florence in the window. Honest note: the layout is lofts and niches rather than separate bedrooms, full of character but light on privacy, which is perfect for families who do not mind being close.
👉 Book the tower villa on Airbnb

Cook pasta with them. Majla has run pasta classes in her Tuscan kitchen for 28 years. More than 40,000 guests have rolled dough at her table, and afterward you sit down and eat it together. Some come back. Some become friends.
👉 Book the pasta experience with Accidental Tourist

Around Chianti with kids: farm stays where the girls met cinta cinese pigs, gentle hikes with picnic stops, natural thermal springs, and the best pici pasta of our lives over in Montepulciano.

2. Ormea: the medieval mountain village in the Ligurian Alps

[ IMAGE: Ormea stone village / Pizzo d’Ormea · alt: “Medieval stone village of Ormea in the Ligurian Alps” ]

Ormea is next on our list, and I cannot wait. It is a medieval mountain village close to both Turin and Genoa, yet it feels a world apart. Narrow stone streets, a 15th-century church with Romanesque frescoes, and the Pizzo d’Ormea rising up behind the town.

Cows roam the pastures freely, the local gelato is made from their milk so you can actually taste the difference, and the wine, Ormeasco, comes from the high Arroscia valley. This is the slow, real mountain Italy that kids grow up talking about.
👉 Book our Ormea pick on Airbnb

3. Bogliasco, Liguria: the pastel fishing village that skips the crowds

[ IMAGE: pastel houses + pebble beach, Bogliasco · alt: “Pastel-coloured houses above the pebble beach in Bogliasco on the Italian Riviera” ]

Everyone piles into Cinque Terre and Portofino. Bogliasco is the antidote, and it is high on our list too. A tiny pastel-coloured fishing village on the Italian Riviera, just 13km east of Genoa, still completely off the tourist radar. A small valley meets the sea, a medieval bridge crosses the stream in the heart of the village, and the Sentiero Liguria coastal path runs right through it. The pebbled beach is small but perfectly formed. It is the slow-beach-day contrast to Ormea: fresh seafood and all the colours of the Riviera.
👉 Find family stays in Bogliasco

4. Viareggio, Tuscany: soft sand and a beach built for little kids

[ IMAGE: wide sandy beach / Art Deco promenade, Viareggio · alt: “Soft sandy beach and Art Deco promenade in Viareggio, Tuscany” ]

If you want Tuscany plus a proper beach, Viareggio is the one I would point you to. The sand is soft, the water shallow and clear, and it has held a Green Flag for being child-friendly for 17 years running. The Art Deco promenade is all gelato, flat easy cycling, and slow days. Pick a lido with shade and facilities, or spread out on the free beach (spiaggia libera). Let them run wild at Parco dei Bambini, visit the Carnival Museum with its giant papier-mache floats, and tag on Pisa and Lucca as quick day trips.
👉 Find family hotels in Viareggio

A few honest tips before you go

• Slow down. Three months in Tuscany taught us that one town done properly beats four rushed.
• Travel in shoulder season where you can. June and September give you Italy without the August crowds.
• For the long travel days, the compact travel stroller we have dragged around the world is my number one thing to pack. My link gives you $20 off with code BRAVE20.
• We never travel without travel insurance, and our toddler flight activity kit has rescued more than one flight.

Off-the-Beaten-Path Italy With Kids: Frequently Asked Questions

Which Italian regions are best for families who want to avoid tourist crowds?

Piedmont, Basilicata, Calabria, and Le Marche consistently deliver authentic Italy with almost no tourist infrastructure. Piedmont (where Ormea is) combines stunning alpine scenery with world-class food and wine, tiny medieval villages, and a genuine slow-life pace that families find immediately restorative. Basilicata has the extraordinary cave city of Matera. Le Marche has medieval hill towns, beaches, and exceptional food without the Tuscany prices or crowds.

How do families get around off-the-beaten-path Italy with children?

A rental car is essential for most off-the-beaten-path Italy travel. Public transport connects the major cities well, but the smaller villages and valleys that make Italy genuinely special require your own wheels. Italian driving is more confident than chaotic, the roads through mountain valleys are well-maintained, and with a car you have the freedom to stop at the roadside truffle market, the valley swimming hole, or the village sagra (festival) you stumble across.

Are Italian village hotels and agriturismos suitable for families with babies and toddlers?

Most agriturismos (farm stays) are exceptionally family-friendly: outdoor space, farm animals, simple food that children eat readily, and hosts who are often running the property with their own extended family in residence. They typically accommodate cots and highchairs without issue. The tradeoff is they are rarely air-conditioned (Italian summers are hot — plan accordingly) and are usually cash-only. Always call ahead with very young children.

Want the full plan? Grab our free Italy with Kids guide

We put every town, stay and hard-won tip from raising two girls across Italy into one free guide, including the quiet regions most families skip.
👉 Download the free Italy with Kids guide

Planning beyond Italy? Our Spain, Portugal, Greece and Japan with Kids guides live here too.

What family travel insurance actually costs

We never travel or live abroad without it. Here is the live price from SafetyWing:

Xoxo, Marae: your travel mom bestie
www.bravefreetravel.com

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For everything we actually travel with for kids ages 2-8, browse our Worldschooling Supplies list on Amazon, curated from real trips to Spain, Italy, Japan, and Peru.

Planning a village stay or heading to Ormea? Browse our Italy Village Trip Essentials on Amazon, everything we packed for slow travel in Piedmont.