10 Fun Things to Do in Florence With Kids 

Updated On: November 22, 2023 by   Marwa Alaa

With activities appropriate to their ages, Florence has museums that offer children of all ages the chance to learn and enjoy a bit of Italian culture and art. There are also gardens, parks, and amusement parks in Florence where your children will have fun. Keep reading to know the most exciting things to do in Florence with kids.

There are many well-known Florentine characters, some of which are Leonardo da Vinci, the famous Painter, and Galileo Galilei, the father of modern physics. That is why Florence has museums that exhibit the works of Galilei and da Vinci in a way that suits adults and kids. Here we list the best things to do in Florence with kids.

1. Museo Galileo (Galileo Museum) 

Housing Galileo Galilei’s inventions, Museo Galileo offers inspiring educational tours for kids. It is located in Piazza dei Giudici along the Arno River. Its first floor’s nine rooms exhibit Galileo’s two early telescopes, the 15th-century scientific instruments, the Medici collections, a collection of terrestrial and celestial globes, and much more. Visiting it is one of the best things to do in Florence with kids.

In the second floor’s nine rooms, there are experimental apparatuses collected by the Lorraine dynasty in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. These centuries witnessed the contribution of Italy, especially Tuscany, to the progress of chemistry, electricity and electromagnetism. Ticket prices start from €10.00 for adults, €6 for six to 18-year-old kids, and free for kids under six years old. 

2. Museo Stibbert (Stibbert Museum) 

One of the best things to do in Florence with kids is Museo Stibbert. Named after Fredrick Stibbert, the English-Italian collector and businessman, the museum contains around 50,000 artefacts of his collection from eastern and western civilizations. This collection consists of armours, paintings, manuscripts, costumes, tapestries, ceramics, music instruments, archaeological items, and more.

In the museum, the kids will love meeting the life-size armoured knights on their horses. Due to the amazing architectural configuration of the museum’s buildings, Museo Stibbert organises dinners, business meetings, and events in the garden, the party room, and the lemon house.

3. Museo dei Ragazzi (Children’s Museum)

Situated in Palazzo Vecchio, Museo dei Ragazzi is another museum in Florence where you can go with your kids. It offers interactive games, theatrical workshops, family visits, and animated tours. It includes Renaissance sculptures and halls dedicated to the Medici districts and public life, such as the Sixteenth Century Hall, the Sala dei Gigli, and Sala dell’Udienza.

4. Museo Di Leonardo Da Vinci (Leonardo Da Vinci Museum) 

Visiting Leonardo Da Vinci Museum is one of the best things to do in Florence with kids. It is located in a historic building within a short walking distance from the main Cathedral “Il Duomo.” 

With everything designed by Leonardo Da Vinci, the museum includes the recreations of more than 240 models of Leonardo’s most fascinating Renaissance mechanical inventions, like Leonardo’s mechanical lion and knight. To create these machines, the materials used in the Renaissance era such as wood, fabrics, metal, and ropes were used.

5. Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze (Florence Museum of Natural History)

If your kids have a passion for science and natural things, Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze in Florence is the ideal museum. With six major museums spread throughout the bustling centre of Florence, Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze is part of the University of Florence. 

The museum includes the Giardino dei Semplici, Europe’s third oldest botanical garden with more than 9000 plant specimens. It also has the Museo di Botanica (the Botanical Museum), the first scientific garden established by the Medici that cultivates about four million medicinal plant specimens. 

Another major museum there is Zoologia, also known as “La Specola,” which includes around 1400 wax anatomical models. Museo Nazionale di Antropologia ed Etnologia is also an important part of the Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze. It has around 15,000 ethnological items and 6100 anthropological items, with a historical photographic archive. 

The last museum is Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia (The Geology and Palaeontology Museum). It houses fossilised skeletons of dinosaurs and elephants. Visiting Museo di Storia Naturale di Firenze is one of the most exciting things to do in Florence with kids.

6. Giardino di Boboli (The Boboli Gardens)

Behind Pitti Palace is the Boboli Garden. As an example of green architecture, the Boboli Gardens are an open-air historical museum with fountains, caves, centuries-old oak trees, and sculptures of various styles and ages. Having fun there is among the most exciting things to do in Florence with kids. They will enjoy exploring the maze-like pathways in the gardens. 

In the Boboli Gardens, there is the Amphitheatre with the statues-decorated and bronze-lily-crowned Artichoke fountain. Above the Amphitheatre, there is Neptune’s fountain, also known as the Fork. 

At the Viottolonethe or the large avenue, enjoy the fascinating pond called “Isolotto,” and the amazing fountain called “Ocean.” In the Boboli Gardens, there are also the Koffeehouse with its glamorous dome, the Garden of the Cavaliere, and the Grotta Grande with its three sections. 

From November to February, the ticket costs €6 for adults and €3 for kids. However, it costs €10 for adults and €5 for kids from March to October. Entry is free every first Sunday of any month between October and March.

7. Piscina Le Pavoniere

If your kids love swimming, then head to the Piscina Le Pavoniere in Florence. Enjoying the water activities in Piscina Le Pavoniere is one of the fun things to do in Florence with kids. It is a large outdoor swimming pool with a separate area for kids, a pizzeria, and lounge chairs. 

Piscina Le Pavoniere is part of the Parco delle Cascine (Cascine Park). There are a lot of activities that you and your kids can do there. Some of the activities include swimming, aqua fitness, underwater activities, and free swimming!

8. Museo di Palazzo Vecchio 

Palazzo Vecchio Museum is the most famous museum in Florence that a lot of tourists with their kids visit around the year. So why is the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy so famous? It is because the museum is a symbol of Renaissance Florence. As the most important historic government building, it was the government centre of the Medici grand dukes of Tuscany. 

Located in the Piazza della Signoria, Museo di Palazzo Vecchio, better known as Palazzo Vecchio, is also called Palazzo della Signoria. In 1872, the Palazzo Vecchio became a town hall. When you go there, your kids can enjoy dressing up in Medici clothes and act as Renaissance noble. Kids under the age of six have free entry. 

9. Piazza della Repubblica

Another fun place you can go with your kids is Piazza della Repubblica which is one of the main city squares in Florence. Visiting it is one of the fun things to do in Florence with kids. Several craftsmen’s workshops, noble palaces, and medieval towers were lost due to the massive cleanup campaign. Piazza della Republica is the only thing left from the ancient era.

In Piazza della Repubblica, you and your kids can enjoy riding the brightly-painted antique merry-go-round and have lots of fun. The square is a theatre for street artists and musicians so that you can enjoy listening to music or watching short plays there. The square is surrounded by many cafès and restaurants to relax and drink a cup of tea.

10. Il Papiro

If your kids love colouring and artwork, going to Il Papiro is one of the best things to do in Florence with kids. Il Papiro is a paper store that has a wide range of handmade marbled papers and stationery items. The store offers paper-marbling workshops for kids. You can join your kids and try how the use of different colours and tools can create marvellous varying patterns. You can take your masterpieces home. 

There are numerous things to do in Florence with your kids. Florence, Italy has fun activities for both kids and adults. To know more details about Florence and its activities, read this article. You can also read our article about the free things to do in Florence.