Rome, Tuscany & Venice Vacation Tour for Families

The morning brings the rush of Rome back to the streets. The sunlight glistens against the rippling water of the River Tiber. At breakfast, you can enjoy the soft, buttery sweetness of a brioche accompanied by the bitter zip of a freshly brewed espresso, allowing yourself to do as the Romans.

The kids are inconsolable with delight, eager to venture out into the city and witness the ruins they have seen in movies and read about it books. After lunch, your guide leads you to the Colosseum for a private tour of the incredible edifice. The entire family marvels at the magnitude of the building. The Colosseum was erected between 70 and 80 AD and could average an audience of 65,000 people. At the tallest point, the elliptical design reaches a height of 157 feet. The stone is coarse and cool when you rub your hands on the wall. You are as eager as the kids to touch the ancient history in front of you.

Your guide leads you on a fabulous VIP outing, taking you into areas previously inaccessible to the public. You enter through the dungeons where the gladiators once waited for their turn to fight in the arena. The mention of gladiators captivates the kids, thinking of the battles that took place above them. An earthy scent emanates from the historic stone. You follow your guide through the maze of tunnels, along the main halls of the upper levels, and to the third-story looking down on the meandering alleyways once covered with the gladiatorial stage. From the top, you can look down on all you have traversed, basking in the incredible history you just walked through. Each step inspired the kids in the way they view the past.

The aroma of freshly baked pastries emanates from breakfast. You sip on an espresso and quickly come alive in the Eternal City. Your guide meets you in the lobby of your hotel escorting the family around St. Peter’s Square. You will also visit the Basilica and nearby Castle Sant’Angelo.

After lunch, you enter the Vatican Museum for a unique After Hours Tour of the treasured Vatican collections. The Vatican has amassed artifacts spanning 25 centuries. There is a polished gleam to the marble floors in the entrance. The intimate group of just your family means you can hear your footsteps echoing off of the opulent floors and decorated walls. The impact of your surroundings suddenly hits you as a world of historical grandeur comes into view. Your guide points out the gold trimmings lining the walls and ceiling of the map room.

By the time you reach the Sistine Chapel, you could hear a pin drop. The kids are equally as enthralled, staring up at the painted ceiling with complete amazement. Michelangelo painted the chapel in the 16th century. The ceiling is painted with bright colors and easily visible from the ground floor 68 feet below the ceiling. The frescos covered over 5,000 square feet, enchanting everyone that enters the chapel. The kids still have yet to say anything, their mouths agape wondering how someone could have done such exquisite artwork without modern technology. You savor the moment with them, finding the faint herbaceous aroma of myrrh soothing.

In Italian, vespa means wasp. When the little vespas wind through the city streets, you can hear their buzzing from yards away, understanding the connection. Ruins continue to spread around the cityscape underneath the shade of sporadic palm trees. The zesty scent of orange is strongest in the morning.

After breakfast, you private transfer meets the family at the hotel and takes you northbound into the countryside of Umbria. Cypress trees disrupt olive groves. Vineyards spread across the golden fields beneath rugged volcanic rocks. You reach the medieval city of Orvieto to find charm drifting across the cobblestone lanes.

The city sits on a large bluff looking out to the encompassing rolling hillside. A staggering Gothic cathedral, known as the Duomo di Orvieto stands at the edge of the main piazza. The kids audibly gasp at the beauty of the 13th century cathedral. The black and white exterior gives way to a façade embellished with rainbow frescoes and bas-reliefs decorated with delicate vines braiding with flowers. The kids have embraced the historic aspects of Italy and are as eager as you to dive deep into the richness of the past, pretending they are knights or royalty journeying across the countryside.

In the morning, the sunlight stretches over the lush Tuscan hills. The emerald cypress trees tower over the sea of vineyards rushing against the rolling landscape. The scent of your verdant surroundings brings a graceful calm to the start of the day.

After breakfast, you travel to a working Tuscan farm so the entire family can experience the joy of Italian culture. The farm is located near San Gimignano, a medieval town known for its stunning towers overlooking Tuscany. The family who owns the farm welcomes you to their land of almost 250 acres. The hills are a mixture of olive trees and vineyards, combining the savory and sweet aromas.

You enter a family grotto where the cooking classes takes place. The kids look around the farm enthusiastic to learn how to spend time in a kitchen. The chef introduces herself and the traditions of pasta in Italy, along with the specific types of pasta used in traditional Tuscan dishes. The kids focus on the chef’s preparation, eager to reproduce any scrumptious flavors. They also enjoy digging their hands into any lingering flour. By the end of class, the entire family has created the flat, wide noodles of pappardelle.

Tuscany is a region that lingers as a lifelong dream destination for those who haven’t been, and as a number one place people return. When the morning light highlights the color of the hills, you understand both sentiments at once. After breakfast, the family journeys to the Renaissance city of Florence, known as the home to Dante Alighieri and the Medici family. The old walls continue to encircle the city to the north.

Cobblestone streets turn into cobblestone avenues and open into large cobblestone piazzas. The dome of the cathedral is inescapable, towering over the city in all directions, acting as a compass to visitors uncertain of where they are or where they are going. Florence maintains an artistic elegance and is captivating with its museum that holds countless, priceless paintings, furniture, and sculptures. You make your way to the Accademia dell’Arte. The immaculate interior walls help the art stand out.

The kids curiously peek their heads into the room to find the 17-foot tall marble statue displayed on a large platform. The family circles around Michelangelo’s David rendered speechless from the magnificent size and extraordinary detail. The statue was carved in the early 16th century, and continues to inspire people from around the world. You expect the kids to want to grow up to be sculptures after witnessing such an ineffable masterwork of marble. When you exit the museum, the aroma of creamy gelato calls the family.

After breakfast, you are taken to the train station to catch the ITALO bullet train that will take you on a comfortable journey between Florence and Venice. The verdant, rolling hills of the Tuscan countryside shift into a vibrant forest and eventually open up to the edges of the Grand Canal. The family marvels over the lagoon and the charming buildings rising above the edge of the tranquil waters. Venice was founded in the 5th century AD. The city embodies its rich history in the way the Byzantine domes sparkles in the sunlight, and how the gondolas continue to wind through the canals with grace.

Your private gondola meets you at the train station and ferries you around the ancient roadways of Venice. You come to the Rialto Bridge and float underneath the stone archway. The covered passage spans 100 feet, connecting two sides of the city across the Grand Canal with celebrated beauty. The bridge was erected in the 16th century with two inclined ramps leading to the central entryway. The kids feel like they’re in a movie, and so do you. Your gondolier paddles the vessel forward. Small speedboats drift past. The family has the entire city floating around them, filled with the images of moored gondolas and canal-side windows offering subtle views into historic mansions.

The kids spend time by the pool in the morning looking out at the expanse of the lagoon. In the quieter hours before the city comes to life, you can imagine Venice in its zenith in history, a picture of opulence and influence on the Mediterranean. The city maintains its historic, powerful ambiance.

Your private guide leads you through the narrow, polished lanes of the city and into the Venetian Gothic grounds of the Doge’s Palace. Columns support the upper floors and provide a stunning colonnade lining the portico. The palace was erected in the 14th century and continues to inspire visitors, including kids. The kids are ecstatic to enter a castle of Venetian royalty. Your guide keeps the interest throughout the tour by having them search for certain details in the palace that would otherwise go unnoticed.

At the Bridge of Sighs, you enter into a piece of architecture that connected the palace to the newly constructed prisons. A small window brought in natural light and offered prisoners one final look at the city before being locked away. The name comes from a romantic notion that people could hear the prisoners sigh as they took their final view of the lagoon. The kids listen to the stories and touch the cool walls of the bridge imagining what life was like in the historic and wealthy city.

In the morning, you sit on the tiled deck and enjoy the view of the wide waterway. The gas lamps lining the canal create a charming effect, adding to the already enchanting city. You sip one last espresso and listen to the kids recount their favorite moments of the trip, from the Bridge of Sighs to the bright colors of the Sistine Chapel.

Your private transfer meets you at the hotel and escorts you to the Marco Polo International Airport for your flight home. For now, you embrace the atmosphere, listen to the stories, and know you have given your family an unforgettable adventure.