Visiting Monteriggioni with kids: the toddler friendly hilltop village in Tuscany you’ll love
All you need to know to plan a day trip to Monteriggioni with kids: tips for visiting one of the most toddler friendly towns in Tuscany (Updated 2023).
Beautiful Monteriggioni is the quintessential Tuscan village and one of those places that embodies the very reason people love to visit this part of the world.
An ancient castle in the purest sense of the world, Monteriggioni is medieval, and still retains its impressive walls, so that stepping into the town you feel as if you’re entering a distant past.
It is on a hilltop, and therefore treats its visitors to the stunning views over picture perfect countryside that Tuscany is famous for.
It is, also, a great place to eat Tuscan specialties and shop for Tuscan crafts.
But there is one more thing that makes Monteriggioni stand out and that is particularly meaningful for families who, like us, travel with little kids: unlike many other Tuscany hilltop towns, Monteriggioni it toddler friendly!
Yes! You read that correctly!
I love Tuscany with kids but there is not doubt that some of those charming Tuscan villages are so steep, pushing a stroller there is a real workout. But not Monteriggioni!
Monteriggioni is flat, stroller friendly, (mostly) car free, it has kid-friendly attractions and family friendly restaurants. It’s perfect!
We discovered all this when we went to Monteriggioni the first time, when the kids were only 5 and 3.
We drove there from Florence and simply adored Monteriggioni.
Small and compact, you can see Monteriggioni in a matter of minutes (give yourself an hour if you also want to see the museum and have a bite – it is that small!)
however, it is so pleasant and easy, it is a lovely place to visit with kids and a wonderful and mellow stop if you are driving from Florence to maybe Volterra (like we did) or the coast.
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What is special about Monteriggioni for kids
A hilltop hamlet dating back to 1200 a.D, Monteriggioni was originally built by the Senesi (inhabitants of Siena) as a military garrison against Florence and this military origin is still evident in what is probably the most incredible of its traits: the village is entirely surrounded by tall walls most of them still intact.
With San Gimignano, Monteriggioni is one of the best and most beautiful examples of a walled Tuscan village.
This characteristic makes Monteriggioni special for kids.
If they are old enough to appreciate the history of the place, they’ll feel the emotion of being in a real medieval castle and will have no difficulties imagining the bursting life it hosted.
It is so easy to picture villagers with carts of harvest, knights, horses, religious men, kids filling this place in ancient times!
If they are younger than that, they’ll also enjoy Monteriggioni as the walls make the town a safe and car free space where kids can run around in (almost complete) safety!
Top Tip! Monteriggioni is proud of its past and each year in early July it celebrates it with a medieval festival with costumes, shows are parades! The festival is family friendly and you can find info and tickets on eh official Facebook Page of Monteriggioni Medievale here. It is an incredible opportunity to get the kids to experience a medieval re-enactment in real medieval surroundings!
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Monteriggioni with kids: what to expect
Monteriggioni is tiny.
Once you leave the car, you must access the city on foot through its main door. Be careful: while YOU cannot access the village by car, residents can so watch out for the odd car driving in!
It’s difficult to imagine cars in such a place, but Italy loves its wheels…
This leads you to the main (and only) square with a beautiful Romanesque church, an old well and a selection of shops and restaurants with craft displays and inviting tables.
The city is far from being unknown to tourism, but we were pleasantly surprised by it: despite the many shops and restaurants the food was good, the service kind and the number of visitors not that high: the whole town was immersed in a sleepy and very pleasant atmosphere that made it perfect for a day trip outside the busy streets of Florence.
Monteriggioni with kids: what to see
Monteriggioni is very small, yet it has more kid-friendly attractions that its size suggest.
The best things to do in Monteriggioni with kids include:
A walk along its tall wall – I am afraid of heights, so apologies for the photo from the bottom! But Monteriggioni has a truly spectacular wall walk that all non heigh averse families will enjoy.
From there, you get wonderful views and truly gain an understanding of why castle were up high: the dominant position over the land is notable and spectacular!
Learn about Via Francigena
Monteriggioni is along Via Francigena, the pilgrim’s route connecting the north of Europe to Rome.
Reading about it in the info panels in the town has been interning for us parents, but also a great opportunity to chat with the kids about transport in more ancient times and pilgrimages.
When we first came here, they were so tiny they only cared about the little drawing of pilgrims but as they returned once in school, it all made more sense to them and found it fascinating!
Explore the child friendly Medieval Museum (with armours!)
Monteriggioni is proud of its heritage and has a fascinating and fun medieval museum which is great for kids.
Here you can learn about the town but, more interestingly for little ones, see and even try medieval armours!
The items are replicas therefore kids can handle them safely!
Find opening hours, info, prices and photo on the official: Monteriggioni in Arme Museum website
Cruise the little shops
Monteriggioni has some cute shops with crafts from the area. Here you can get gifts such as pottery and leather goods.
Need to know: shops close over lunch between 12 and 2.30pm.
Drink from the little fountain
Because of its hilltop position and medieval structure, Monteriggioni gets very hot in the summer and offers little shade outside the restaurant terraced patios.
We got there on a very hot day (38 degrees Celsius, it takes some getting used to…) so we were happy to discover a fountain of cool drinking water just at the far side of the piazza: the kids spent quite some time splashing around and loved every second of it!
Have lunch
After a bit of splashing, we were ready for lunch: we chose the very first restaurant after the main gate, attracted by their menu, and had a lovely lunch.
The menu had typical Tuscan The menu had typical Tuscan specialities (cured meat, cheese etc), refreshing cold beer and a good selection of child-friendly dishes like pasta and caprese salad.
The meal finished with a lovely home made gelato: history loving parents and gelato-loving kids all very happy.
A perfect family day trip destination in Tuscany!
Monteriggioni, Tuscany: when to visit
We were there in the late morning, mid-week, and if you can pick any day to visit Monteriggioni, I would recommend you do the same.
Monteriggioni is on many tourist trails and I can imagine it getting easily overwhelmed by big crowds and buses.
If you have time, the best option would probably be to stay the night: near the main square there is a gorgeous hotel and, once all the tourists are gone and the shops are closed, you would be guaranteed dinner in a truly special setting.
Each July, Monteriggioni celebrates it heritage with a popular and siccessful medieval fete called Meonterioggioni Medievale. This is a busy yet wonderful time to visit Monteriggioni with kids, arguably the best one of all (if you can take the heat, July gets very hot here)!
How to get to Monteriggioni with kids and where to park
The best way to get to Monteriggioni with kids is by car.
The town is off the main driving road between Florence and Siena (A1/E35 Motorway), less than one our from Florence and only 25 minutes from Siena.
You first spot Monteriggioni when leaving the autostrada.
The town is well indicated and you will quickly see it as you approach the motorway exit: its mighty walls will be right above you!
As soon as you get the Strada Provinciale, you see it sitting on top of the hill, overlooking the surrounding flatter land from the safety of its tall walls, their colour making them a flawless continuation to the dry land.
The sight of Monteriggioni from afar is incredible and shook the kids from their road-trip daze.
In a matter of seconds, we got them interested in knights and medieval times, something up to that point they had only encountered on TV!
To reach the top of the hill, you must drive along a well-paved winding road, which brings you to a big parking space just outside the city walls.
The higher you climb, the more you can see above the many olive trees dotting the hill, out to the wide countryside around you.
The drive up doesn’t take more than a few minutes and the sight is truly relaxing.
There are two parking areas outside the city, one at the bottom of the hill and one just outside the main gate.
If you can, avoid the long walk with kids and drive up to the second one. Make sure you have change ready: parking is pay and display and you need coins (no cards accepted) to operate the machine.
