Pisa and surroundings with children: what to see and what to do
Traveling with your children is a pleasure and represents for them an excellent opportunity for cultural growth, but it is also a challenge: you need to be able to combine the interests of young and old by alternating the most “busy” visits with moments of relaxation and fun. to all the family. Pisa like all the great art cities of Tuscany has a lot to offer with many attractions and interesting places to visit. Let’s see together some of the things you can do with your children while visiting the city.
- Visit Piazza dei Miracoli
- Strolling along the Arno river
- Parco Divertimenti Piccolo Mondo
- Museo di Storia Naturale
- Certosa di Calci
Visit Piazza dei Miracoli
If you visit Pisa you just can’t not go to Piazza dei Miracoli, whether you are alone or with your family. The square contains all the most important monuments of the city, and is a real treasure trove of wonders. Here is the symbol of Pisa, the Leaning Tower, one of the most famous monuments in the world, the marvelous Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the Baptistery of San Giovanni and the Monumental Cemetery. There are no words to describe the beauty of these architectural masterpieces and I’m sure your children will be fascinated too. If your children are over 8 years old, you can climb the tower to admire the panorama of the city.
Strolling along the Arno river
Among the many beautiful things to see in Pisa there are also its Lungarni, the roads that run along the Arno river. A walk along the river will take you to many points of interest and exquisite monuments. Among the historic buildings that can be admired along the Arno river are the church of Santa Maria della Spina, a real Gothic jewel, the Palazzo Pretorio, the Palazzo Gambacorti, the Museum of San Matteo and the Palazzo Reale. So… grab an ice cream and go!
Parco Divertimenti Piccolo Mondo
Those who are visiting Pisa have several opportunities for fun for their children. One of the most spectacular is certainly the Parco Divertimenti Piccolo Mondo. Here there are many attractions, very varied, able to guarantee a fun experience for both children and their parents. The best time to visit the park is certainly the summer when you can cool off in the water park by taking advantage of its pools and water slides, without forgetting the pirate ship that always manages to impress the little ones. Other attractions include the go-kart track for thrilling challenges at full speed, the rodeo with its mechanical bull, the panoramic train and the trampolines for acrobatic jumps.
Museo di Storia Naturale dell’Università di Pisa
In Calci, which is located in the immediate vicinity of Pisa, there is the Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa. The museum is an excellent opportunity to bring the little ones closer to the world of nature and scientific research. Inside there are numerous collections with natural finds of various kinds. The most interesting sections are those dedicated to zoology and paleontology. The rooms that children are most passionate about are undoubtedly that of the dinosaurs, that of the archeocetes (mammals that lived from 50 to 35 million years ago) and the cetacean gallery with a collection of skeletons among the most important in Europe. Inside the museum there is also a very large aquarium (the largest freshwater aquarium in Italy) which allows you to admire various species of fish, both local and exotic. The Natural History Museum has a lot to offer and there is no shortage of educational activities as well as guided tours.
Museo Nazionale della Certosa Monumentale di Pisa
The visit to Calci can only lead you to the Certosa too. Former Carthusian monastery founded in the 14th century, the Certosa Monumentale di Calci is today a splendid complex with clear Baroque forms, the result of a renovation carried out between the 17th and 18th centuries. Maybe younger children will not be able to appreciate this visit, but if the your children are a little older, they will surely be struck by the beauty of this place. Among the various places that can be visited there is the large courtyard that once served as a meeting point between the friars and visitors from the outside world, the monks’ cells, the pharmacy, the library, the guesthouse and above all the church.
