13
votes
Side trip from northern Italy
We're looking at doing a trip (2 adults, 3 young kids) from northern Italy to somewhere else in the region. We were thinking about Slovenia, Austria, or maybe Switzerland.
Any thoughts on where to go or what might be a good itinerary?
- budget is medium to high. Call it a few hundred dollars a day, not including lodging.
- we'll go in Juneish for about a weekish.
- the kids are too small to walk by themselves for long. We'll have strollers/backpacks/etc.
- we'd like to try some restaurants; we like fine dining but it's tricky with kids unless we engage a babysitting service at a hotel. I like museums, my wife is meh; some short hikes would be fun, but nothing too crazy. Getting some city stuff in would be nice. We also like looking at architecture, old castles, stuff like that.
- we enjoy doing some scenic driving, but no marathon trips with the kids in the back.
Asking for general recommendations of 3 countries without much information of what you're interested in leaves it a bit hard to narrow down possibilities. There's a lot on offer in the region.
Very good points. My bad.
Barring this statement
The hut to hut trips in Austria are amazing. You can choose some pretty mellow hiking days (like 2-4 miles per day) and they are pretty affordable. All bedding and food will be provided at the huts, in amazing decadent fashion.
As an aside I'll have 5 days in northern Italy from Wednesday to Sunday this week and we are deciding how to spend it as well. We're based in Padua but have a car and would be open to suggestions as well!
Cheers for the details. I can only comment on Switzerland as I haven't visited the other two yet. I've focused more on nature in my comment since June is quite a nice month for it. There is some nice architecture, old buildings and cultural/food experiences but generally, I wouldn't say that Switzerland is renowned for its architecture or culinary treats.
Luzern is a gorgeous spot in central Switzerland, the lake and surrounding mountains are just spectacular. If you buy a travel pass (linked below), you can get a boat and mountain railway tour from Luzern out to Rigi Kulm - itinerary linked but I think a day pass is better value since it's all included in that. It's stroller friendly and no hiking involved.
Pilatus is also nearby though you would may need to pay extra to access the cable cars. There's also a toboggan course there which might be fun for the little ones. Stoos is a close-ish car-free village with the steepest funicular in the world. You can grab a chairlift up to Fronalpstock, relax at the restaurant and still get great views. Short walks involved.
Interlaken/Jungfrau is also near to Luzern but not as easy by train if I remember correctly. Jungfrau is pricey and I'm not sure it's worth it, but there are a few things kids there. Views are spectacular though and you can see a glacier or two.
Zurich is only an hour by train from Luzern so it would be quite accessible for day trips if you wanted to go to the Kunsthaus (art gallery), Landesmuseum (national museum), and also Uetilberg mountain (views overlooking Lake Zurich but not as good as Luzern in my opinion). There's also plenty of restaurants around, but be prepared to pay high prices. Le Dézaley near the lake is a lovely fondue restaurant (which you can eat in June although it's more winter food). The Niederdorf area on the east side of the Limmat river also has a lot of cafes and restaurants. Lochergut area also has a lot of food places.
A bit further north in Winterthur, there's a science museum called Technorama, which has a lot of interactive exhibits aimed at children if you just need an easy day to occupy them.
Links:
Thanks!
To add onto this, particularly due to the seasonal considerations:
From what you said I would recommend going to Vienna. The museums are truly incredible and the architecture is amazing. Switzerland is great but it's expensive and for the alps it will be difficult to haul the kids around. Budapest might be a better option, it's a beautiful city and less expensive. I don't know if you're going to be based out of Milan or another airport in Northern Italy but I would look for direct flights out of that airport as it would be easier with the kiddos.
I would strongly recommend investigating Slovenia, particularly around Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj.
I was there at the start of last Autumn and it's a pretty magical place, I would say almost offensively picturesque.
There's great walking along the lakes and rivers (flat for the stroller), or into the mountains if you want something slightly more strenuous. Obviously there are many great lake based water activities like boarding, swimming etc... but there's also a bit of hang-gliding if you're feeling adventurous (it's pricey though!).
There are a few castles and old churches around, including one built on an island in the middle of Lake Bled, which you can get a little boat out to (very cute).
Restaurants I visited, despite being in a fairly tourist-based area, were pretty good and comparable to what I have eaten in both Austria and Switzerland (though maybe slightly better than the latter).
If you go out of town a bit you can also often find fresh dairy which is pretty sensational.
Depending of where you're travelling from connecting there may be a little challenging, when we went we flew in to Salzburg for a night and then drove down the next day.
I would call it the slightly cheaper, slightly less touristed and manicured younger sister to Switzerland and Austria, but of the three it is my favourite.
I do second those Austrian walking trips though!
Appreciate the input!
I think Switzerland is the most beautiful country of the Alps, but it is crazy expensive. But I still recommend it!
I haven't yet been to Vienna, but the Spanish Riding School is on my bucket list and might be impressive/entertaining for kids, depending on their age. The Spanish Riding School with the Lippezan horses
Seconded. BTW, tickets can be booked here:
https://www.srs.at/en/tickets-events/
And if you plan on dropping by to watch their morning exercises, definitely book in advance... because they're not always doing publicly viewable ones every day. When we went to Vienna we were in the area, so popped by the school hoping to get tickets at the door, but they weren't actually doing them that morning. Thankfully, we managed to talk our way in to quietly observe a few of the horses being trained, but YMMV with that. :P
p.s. Vienna is my favorite place in Europe. So much amazing architecture, art, music, food, culture, and history there. And while it may not be super fun for the kids, if you or your partner are a fan of history, you can't get much better than the museums in Vienna.
E.g. The Imperial Treasury / Weltliche Schatzkammer has some truly spectacular artifacts, including the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, various other crown jewels from the HRE, Austrian Empire, and Burgundy, the Sabre of Charlemagne, and even the Lance of Longinus (that supposedly stabbed Jesus on the Cross, and you may recognize from popular media).
The Imperial Armoury has some absolutely stunning sets of arms and armor.
And the Imperial / Capuchin Crypts have some incredibly detailed stone sarcophagi, and is well worth visiting if you enjoy a touch of the macabre.