Please help me plan a 10 day trip in Tuscany with a young family.

[Lorraine Malta]

We have a 10 day trip booked arriving on the 18th April and leaving on the 27th of April.
We have booked a rental car and will be staying in Castellina in Chianti in order to be able to reach different towns and villages in the area. I am a bit overwhelmed with the planning, main concern is that I would love to include art activities, some adventure and cultural/fun site seeing in a way, to keep my 10 year old twins engaged and entertained! Also, I know that Easter time attracts a lot of tourism and I am not too keen to be stuck in huge crowds and never ending waiting lines. So I'm not too sure when I should be visiting the city of Florence or Siena, when it is the best day to go to the markets, visit some caves or go to family/interactive museum...
My kids are curious, they love art and Italian food, so I know that they re going to love it no matter what we do.

Has anyone ever planned a 10 day break around this beautiful region and would like to share some tips on best places to go with 10 year olds, some activities or museums that are hands on and kids friendly? On Top of that a rough itinerary (even detailed would be fine )on how I should plan this around since it's Easter time (crowds and closure of places).

THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading this and for your time.
cheers
Lorraine

 

[Lourdes]

Ciao Lorraine,

Your family will love being in Tuscany and exploring -- especially the small towns that often have castles/fortresses, those are always cool places to visit and explore! Close to Castellina make sure to mark down the castle of Monteriggioni and Stabbia as places you should go visit, both are really close by.

Here are some suggestions to get you some ideas as far as things to do in the area:
https://www.chianti.com/what-to-do-in-chianti/kid-friendly-activities.html

As far as activities in Florence, you can either do a planned activity such as a cooking class or art class (we loved doing marbled paper!) or walking tour that shows the highlights without being too museum-heavy:
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-tours/family-fun-tours-with-kids-in-florence.html
but also mark those museums that are perfect for kids:
https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-museums/museums-for-families-in-florence.html

As far as Easter and crowds, the only days you have to worry about places being too crowded (mainly Florence around Piazza del Duomo in the morning when the Scoppio del Carro takes place and throughout the day museums) or closed are precisely Easter Sunday and Monday (this year, the 21st and 22nd of April). Lots of places will be open exceptionally to accommodate the crowds on those days in Florence and Siena, it is more likely you'll find closed places in smaller towns, making them quieter. They are perfect days to relax at your lodgings if you really don't want to face the crowds, on one of the two days. They are often days that families do picnics if you don't want to book ahead to eat out (as restaurants do get crowded, you should book a few days earlier where you want to eat out) or plan to make meals at your place (assuming you will have an apartment with kitchen).

Make sure to check these out for more ideas of places to go/visit with kids:
https://www.discovertuscany.com/what-to-do-in-tuscany/fun-with-kids/
https://www.visitflorence.com/what-to-do-in-florence/parks-gardens-picnics-playgrounds.html

Since your twins are 10, they can also climb up the tower of Pisa, I think they'd love the experience!!