Florence for children: what to see and visit in the city

Have you ever wondered if there is a Florence for children? If you have thought of spending your next holiday in Tuscany with your children, today we want to suggest you a series of places that they might like them and cultural initiatives designed for the whole family. There are many proposals for an itinerary in Florence with children or teenagers. We want to give you just a few ideas on how to spend your free time during your next stay at the Brunelleschi, family hotel in Florence Italy. These are proposals that can easily adapt to a 3-day itinerary in Florence.

Things to see in Florence with children

Here are some ideas to spend time on holiday in Florence with children and build unforgettable memories of the moments spent together:

• Take the children for a ride in a horse-drawn carriage. The carriage will pick you up directly at the hotel entrance (carriages also available in Piazza Duomo) to take you to discover the most characteristic corners of the city. Just contact our concierge for information and reservations for the carriage tour at the counter or via email to concierge@hotelbrunelleschi.it;
  
• Climb the 463 steps that lead to the top of Brunelleschi’s Dome and admire a breathtaking view from up there. Tickets to visit Brunelleschi’s Dome are available online on the official website of the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore;
  
• Discover the city with the Family Tour available for free for hire at the Palazzo Vecchio and Istituto degli Innocenti infopoint. Each family will have a kit with “explorer backpacks” to visit the centre of Florence independently. There is also the free Family Tour App to download with interactive digital itineraries;
• Take a bicycle tour through the streets of the historic center;
• Take a boat ride on the Arno to discover the city from another point of view. To book, just contact our concierges and they will take care of everything;
  
• Celebrate the birthday in the museum with activities and workshops for children aged 4 to 12 at the Civic Museums organized by the MUS.E association which offers many educational activities to enhance the heritage of the city;
• Shop in the toy shops in the centre of Florence such as the Disney Store, the City of the Sun, Dreoni or visit the historic Bartolucci wooden toy shop in Borgo dei Greci, open since 1936.

Children’s museums in Florence

Here is a list of museums in Florence suitable for children and for a different, stimulating and interactive visit, accompanied by parents:

• Visit the Galileo Museum where every Sunday morning there are initiatives for families with children over 5 years old. The updated program of initiatives with the relative costs is available on the museum website;
• Participate in one of the initiatives or workshops dedicated to families and children scheduled at Palazzo Strozzi (click here to book). Each proposal is dedicated to creating a relationship between visitors and works of art or artists;
  
• Participate in the “A casa Medici nel Quattrocento” initiative organized at Palazzo Medici Riccardi every weekend with activities for children aged 8 to 12;
• Visit the Egyptian Museum in Florence with children which is located inside the National Archaeological Museum of Florence which offers thousands of finds in nine largely renovated rooms;
• Visit the Leonardo da Vinci Museum in Florence with children in via del Castellaccio, at a short distance from the Florence Cathedral. It is an exhibition dedicated to the genius of the Renaissance with the faithful reconstruction of the machines he designed, based on his original drawings. There is an entire floor of interactive workshops where you can have fun learning and experimenting;
• Reach Dante’s House where there is a museum built around the Divine Comedy and the poet’s life. Through reservations, you can participate in educational workshops and various games inspired by the characters of Virgil and Beatrice;
• Visit the Museum of Natural History for those who love dinosaurs.

What to do in Florence with children: workshops, shows and activities

In addition to the museums mentioned above that organize workshops, activities and guided tours for children, there are other initiatives to involve and entertain them that are often organized in the city. Among these:

• The Florentine municipal libraries offer educational activities aimed at families, children and young people of all ages to promote books and reading. Some examples are: animated and aloud reading, workshops, comics courses, theatrical and puppet shows, book presentations, spaces with boxed games, literary games, treasure hunts among the shelves and much more. You can find a lot of information by clicking here;
• Terza Cultura, a reality that deals with scientific dissemination for children and young people through various topics such as Earth Sciences, Natural Sciences, Educational Robotics, Web, Information Technology, Communication and New Technologies. At this link you will find updates on workshops for families;
• Theatrical performances and musicals in the different theaters of the city for which we suggest you consult the billboards of the individual theaters. Some examples of children’s theaters in Florence: Teatro della Pergola, Teatro Puccini, Nelson Mandela Forum or Teatro Verdi;
• If you visit Florence during the summer, you can take your children to the artificial beach on the banks of the Arno River;
• I Pupi di Stac, the wooden puppets of Florence since 1946, with performances of about 60 minutes in two sung and recited acts representing ancient Tuscan folk tales.

Planetarium of Florence for children

The Florence Planetarium of the Science and Technology Foundation is the ideal place for families with children and teenagers who are passionate about astronomy. In addition to the Planetarium, it is also possible to visit a Physics Cabinet with a vast collection of materials and appliances and the Natural History Cabinet with numerous minerals, rocks, zoological finds, fossils, herbariums, naturalistic models and much more.

Visits for families are available on weekends, by reservation at 055 2341157.

In addition, special visits and workshops dedicated to families are organized every Sunday, suitable for both children and adults.

The structure is temporarily closed due to Covid-19 but at this link, it is possible to consult the calendar of activities as soon as they become available.

Children’s parks in Florence: green places for the little ones

We also report you the parks and gardens of Florence where there are play areas for children in Florence:

• The Cascine Park, accessible for free, which from Piazza Vittorio Veneto reaches the Ponte all’Indiano with a play area or skates for hire;
• The Parco dei Tulipani del Mensola with free admission to admire 900 square meters of tulips arranged in an area that reproduces the plan of an Etruscan temple;
• The Boboli Gardens is the historic garden of Palazzo Pitti, a real open-air museum with statues, labyrinths, caves and botanical rarities. Admission is free up to the age of 18 but for a fee for adults;
• The Horticultural Garden, with its “tepidarium”, a spectacular structure in iron and glass, intended for the shelter of plants in the winter months. The garden also has a children’s play area and it is directly connected to the Orti di Parnassus (also accessible from Via Trento), with the characteristic stone fountain and colored glass in the shape of a dragon with its mouth wide open and its teeth in full view!
• Garden of villa Strozzi with play area, with entrance from both via di Soffiano and via Monte Uliveto and via Pisana.

If, on the other hand, you are simply looking for a playground for children in Florence with the classic equipped areas, here are some ideas:

• The carousel in Piazza della Repubblica;
• The playground in Piazza Massimo d’Azeglio a few steps from the Duomo;
• The Garden of Villa Strozzi in Oltrarno with wooden games;
• Playground on Lungarno Santa Rosa, located about fifteen minutes from Ponte Vecchio.

Out-of-town trip around Florence for children

The surrounding area of the city of Florence offers many opportunities to organize a trip out of town. The countryside and the surrounding villages can become an ideal destination for a picnic, especially in spring or summer and in the small villages around Florence, ideal events are often organized for families with children or teenagers. They range from horseback riding to farm visits, from chestnut picking to visiting naturalistic areas. Depending on the different periods of the year, there is no shortage of interesting ideas for a family outing.

We certainly recommend a visit to the Il Gigante Adventure Park in Vaglia, a few kilometres from Florence.

You will also find numerous services for your children at the Brunelleschi Hotel: from the meal preparation service to a menu dedicated to the restaurant, from reducers for toilet in the bathroom to babysitting service on request. Our Family rooms are large and welcoming and a Special Family package is available with dedicated amenities.

PRENOTA ORA

We wait for you in the city to discover Florence for children!