Life is sweet for visiting bambini, writes Sara Dajani.
1 Rome
The Eternal City is wonderful for kids and has endless amounts of pizza, gelato and ancient ruins to keep their excitement levels buzzing all day long. Try a pizza-making course with Rome Tours for Kids for a delicious interactiveexperience. Then ignite their imaginations with a tour of the Colosseum, where they'll learn about the gladiators who fought there thousands of years ago. After they've had a taste of the delicious food and history tours, visit the Trevi Fountain, where they can throw a coin in and make a wish. Legend has it that if you throw a coin behind your left shoulder, you're guaranteed good luck in returning to Rome — something they'll definitely want after all the fun and treats.
2 Sardinia
This island is edged with white sandy beaches and crystal-blue waters, making it an ideal family getaway with activities like kayaking, paddle boarding, biking and hiking on offer. Campana is a summer paradise and its shallow waters make it an ideal beach for younger children to play. Sardinia also has enchanting caves to explore. Neptune's Grotto, on the island's north-western corner, is one of the largest and most famous marine caves in Italy. You can reach it by boat, and inside you'll find stalactites and stalagmites, as well as a kilometre-long white sandy beach, an underground salt lake 10m deep, and four distinct "rooms". A day trip here will fascinate kids and adults alike.
This is the place to come for theme parks and water parks to keep kids of all ages entertained. Gardaland is thought of as Italy's Disneyland and comprises Gardaland Park, Gardaland Sea-Life and the Gardaland Hotel. With three million visitors every year, it's the eighth largest theme park in the world. Movieland has rides and attractions themed around Hollywood feature films. Park Sigurta is more of a chilled out option — it's a public park with water, flower and herb gardens, walking and cycling trails, and a maze. Bring a picnic with you to enjoy a scenic lunch break. The kids can run wild while you indulge in a bit of down time and everyone will be happy. Buonissimo!
Gardaland, Lake Garda, Italy. Photo / Getty Images
