San Gimignano
If you are looking for fun experiences and tours for you and your family, Tuscany offers countless activities to explore the best of local food traditions.
Visit a farm
A “fattoria didattica” or educational farm, for example, organizes fun educational activities for children and families. Its aim is to bring kids closer to nature, guiding them to discover the relationship between food and farming. Here your kids will, for example, learn how a farm works, gather fruit and vegetables, learn all about herbs, how bread is made or meet the many animals on the farm. Near Florence you can visit these amazing farms:
- Podere Le Fornaci (Greve in Chianti, Florence area)
- Fattoria di Maiano (Fiesole, Florence area)
Ride the “milk route”
The best local companies and farms that furnish the central dairies of Florence, Livorno and Pistoia are part of an itinerary called the “Milk Route” (La Via del Latte), which runs through Firenzuola, San Piero a Sieve, Borgo San Lorenzo, Scarperia, Vicchio and Barberino del Mugello. The route allows visitors to learn step by step the stages of milking and milk processing.
Piazza del Campo – Siena
Get on a vintage train to explore Siena
Trains fascinate children. In Tuscany there’s a steam train that can take you back in time around Siena. From spring to autumn there are many rides departing from Siena to fascinating hamlets in the countryside always combined with food events.
Experience the kitchen
Learn how to cook the best dishes of the Tuscan tradition with your kids. At Toscana fair restaurant (in Pistoia), you can book a cooking laboratory for kids: in addition to the pleasure of tasting healthy food, children can learn all about food smells, tastes, quantity and colors through fun games.
Many of Florence’s cooking schools offer special courses for kids (or with kids) in English, such as Mama Florence cooking school, where your kids can discover how to make homemade pasta or pizza.
Enjoy a walking food tour
There are many treats and food stories to discover in Tuscany. You can create your own itinerary or book a walking food-tour. Coral from The Curious Appetite, for example, organizes a great “tour del gelato” which includes artisan gelato shop visits, tastings and behind-the-scenes experiences in a gelato laboratory.
Italy