Italy with the Family

Lake Como (first base): We spent three days in Lake Como, including a day trip to Lake Lugano across the border in Switzerland. We stayed in the small lakeside town of Lenno, which we loved, and had an amazing view of the lake. The highlight of our time in Lake Como was taking the ferry across the lake to see Bellagio. Bellagio is very bustling and beautiful, but also pricey, which is one reason we didn't stay there. The ferry ride alone was so gorgeous!

Portovenere (second base): We spent four days in Portovenere, along the coast, near the Cinque Terre. Portovenere is sometimes called the "sixth" town of the Cinque Terre, and it is truly charming. We wished we could have spent more time there! We stayed right up at the top of town in a section of Doria Castle. One day, we took a ferry around Palmaria Island, which is across a small channel from Portovenere. Another day, we took a ferry to the Cinque Terre, although we only made it to two of the towns (Riomaggiore and Manarola). They were incredible! We had great weather and went swimming in Manarola, and visited a playground with a view of the bay (as we were traveling with two small children). We ate our weight in pesto and gelato, swam in the Bay of Poets, and explored the quaint town of Portovenere.

We stayed in an agriturismo near the very small (but charming!) town of Tavarnelle val di Pesa. It was a stunning setting, although we did wish that we were a little closer to a town, for convenience. From our little villa, we visited San Gimignano, Certaldo (where we took the funicular up to the Old Town), Monteriggioni, and the small city of Siena. On our way back to Milan, we stopped in Collodi to visit Pinocchio Park, which was a little kitschy but probably the highlight of my daughter's trip! Besides all of the gelato, of course.