3 Towns in Italy for Traveling with Toddlers

While the picturesque charms of Tuscan hill towns and waterside villages around Lake Como are enticing, for family travelers with toddlers in tow, these may not be the best choices. Steep medieval streets paved in uneven stones can be exhausting when you’re pushing a stroller. These three options are just as charming — and a lot easier to navigate with wheels.

Lucca
On the train line between Florence and Pisa, the Tuscan town of Lucca is not only table-top flat, but its marble-paved streets are also traffic-free. Stroll through its lanes and into the oval piazza once the floor of the Roman arena, and look up to see houses built into its former walls.

Lucca is full of little surprises, including the wide wall surrounding the center. At its top you’ll find a wide, tree-lined promenade where you can easily push a stroller as you enjoy views of the town’s distinctive towers.

Santa Margherita Ligure
On the Ligurian coast near Genoa, travelers head for idyllic Portofino, but those with toddlers will find a more authentic charm (and flat streets) in the laid-back little. Santa Margherita Ligure. Spread along its crescent sand beach, it’s a place of Old World charm and classic, pastel-colored beach-front hotels.

Join the leisurely evening passeggiata along the promenade with your stroller, and feel as though you’d stepped back a century. You may not see A-listers sipping Campari in the cafés here, but you can always take one of the frequent ferries to look for them around Portofino’s photo-worthy harbor.

Bardolino
Although Lake Garda’s northern shores are steep, the southern towns are quite flat. Bardolino stretches along the eastern shore with a wide lakefront lined by trees, flowers and benches. Cafés surround the little boat basin, and the stone tower is all that remains of the medieval castle that once guarded the shore. A large playground is behind the church of San Nicolò with different play areas for children of various ages.

Bardolino makes a good base for exploring the lake by boat, either taking a scenic trip around the lake or hopping off to see other lakeside towns. Riva, at the narrow top of Lake Garda, has level streets along its center; Sirmeone, on the southern shore, is also flat, but often too crowded for comfort with a stroller.