Whether you have a toddler, a class of primary-age children or a couple of teenagers in tow, Abruzzo has a day out to suit. It is a special place where kids can paddle in a clear river in the morning, see deer in a village square in the afternoon, and fall asleep to folk music in a mountain piazza. Best of all, Abruzzo is still largely under Italy’s tourist radar, so you rarely find yourself queuing in a blazing car park to get in. The further you move inland from the coast, the truer that becomes, and the region itself, its three national parks, soft-sanded coast, clear rivers, high plateaus and hilltop castles, turns out to be the real adventure, much of it free or gentle on the purse.
I have explored Abruzzo with my own son over the last 15 years, from toddler to teen, and I have visited most of the places in this guide myself. A handful come warmly recommended by friends and families I trust who know them first-hand. Where something is worth checking before you travel- opening times, prices or a booking, I say so, because nothing here is copied from a brochure.
This guide is organised by the type of day you want, so busy parents can quickly find ideas. Each entry shows a website link, the price, and the opening details, where applicable, followed by the recommended ages and the province. If you’re staying in one area, check the “At a glance, by province” list at the end.
This guide is for the warmer months. If you’re visiting in autumn, see my companion guide, Abruzzo with Kids: Autumn Half Term, which covers seasonal highlights like chestnut woods and castles with pageantry and feasts.
On the Water
Canoeing the Tirino
Website | c. €15 adult, €5 child under 10 | Daily in summer, hourly departures Ages 3 and up. Province of L’Aquila and Pescara.
Out on the Tirino: clear water, quiet banks, mountains ahead.
The Tirino is known as one of the cleanest rivers in Italy, and paddling it is the single loveliest water outing in the region. The water is so clear you can watch trout and waving green weeds slide past beneath the canoe. Trips start near Capestrano and Bussi, in the provinces of L’Aquila and Pescara, and the guides put two adults and a small child in each Canadian canoe. It is calm, safe, and suitable even for families who cannot swim. Little ones from about age three can join, sitting in the middle. One honest tip: the northern San Martino stretch is the clearest but costs more, while the Bussi operators are cheaper and better for young children. Operators include Il Bosso, Majellando, Canoa sul Tirino and Abruzzo Wild, which also has a little farm and a play area.
The See-Through Boat at Capodacqua
Website | Season roughly 1 July to 15 September; booking needed Ages 3 and up; under 3s ride free on a parent’s lap. Province of L’Aquila.
Near Capestrano lies a tiny lake locals call the “little Atlantis of Abruzzo.” A dam flooded the valley in the 1960s, and an old mill and a paint factory now lie under the surface. You glide out on a silent electric boat with a glass bottom and look straight down at the sunken buildings. Children are enchanted. Bathing is not allowed to protect the birds that nest here. Bring a hat and sun cream.
Lake Days
Website All ages. Province of L’Aquila and Chieti.
Abruzzo’s mountain lakes make a glorious change from the sea. Lago di Scanno, a heart-shaped, Blue Flag lake, is the family favourite: you can swim from its little sandy beaches, hire a pedalò, and settle at shady picnic spots with children’s play areas.
Its twin Blue Flag beach across the water at Villalago is quieter, and red deer often wander right down to the shore. Just below sits the turquoise Lago di San Domenico, worth the short hop for its picture-book stone bridge and the tiny hermitage of Saint Dominic, perched over a cave, where legend says the saint once tamed a wolf.
Deeper in the national park, Lago di Barrea, at Villetta Barrea, is perfect for a dip, with bikes and e-bikes to ride right around the shore and the wolf museum at nearby Civitella Alfedena to pair with it. Lago di Bomba is quieter still, with gentle shallows, pedalòs and a watersports centre where families can hire a canoe or kayak. And Lago di Campotosto, the largest lake in the region, is worth the scenic mountain drive for a walk along the silver shore under big skies, with plenty of birds to spot. For the Blue Flag lakes and the coast’s Blue Flag beaches, see my own beaches guide.
Sea Kayaking on the Trabocchi Coast
Website Best for ages 8 and up. Province of Chieti.
Older children who want a taste of the sea can join a guided kayak paddle along the pretty southern coast, exploring hidden coves beneath the old wooden fishing platforms called trabocchi. Passucci Travel runs guided trips.
Rafting and River Fun
Website Ages vary by operator, often 6 and up; check each one. Province of Chieti and L’Aquila.
For a bit more splash, the River Aventino is easy enough for family rafting, with all the kit provided. There is rafting on the Sangro too, and Roccaraso runs summer trips. Abruzzo Rafting is based at Civitella Messer Raimondo.
Tubing Down the River
Website | c. €25 a head | Several turns daily through summer; booked ahead Ages 10 and up, with a parent along; maximum 80 kg per person. Province of L’Aquila.
For pure giggles, Majellando runs river tubing in the Valle Peligna near Pratola Peligna: you float about two kilometres downstream on a big rubber ring over small, splashy drops, helmet and lifejacket provided, with a guide alongside. It lasts around half an hour and is the sort of thing children ask to do again the moment they climb out. Bring trainers you do not mind getting wet and a full dry change.
Canoeing on Lake Penne
Website | Booking needed; the oasis also has an adventure park and a wildlife area All ages. Province of Pescara.
Tucked below the Gran Sasso near Penne, the Lago di Penne is a WWF oasis around a calm reservoir, and it makes a restful, easy water day. With Wolf Tour, the agency that runs the oasis, families glide out across the still lake in stable Canadian canoes, the big open boats that even small children ride happily, with the mountains mirrored in the water. It is calm, safe and unhurried, and you can easily make a whole afternoon of it: the Collalto adventure park is right there in the trees, and the reserve’s wildlife area, home to rescued wolves, a fox, a porcupine and tortoises, is a short walk round the shore. A grand little nature day, all in one place.
Up High: Cable Cars and a Plateau in the Clouds
The Gran Sasso Cable Car to Campo Imperatore
Website All ages, though it is high and cool, so bring layers. Province of L’Aquila.
From Fonte Cerreto, near Assergi, a cable car climbs in about seven minutes to Campo Imperatore, a vast high plateau at around 2,100 metres that people call Italy’s Little Tibet. Children love the ride up, the sudden cold mountain air, and the wild ponies and grazing sheep at the top. You can even carry bikes up in the cabin.
The Prati di Tivo Cable Car
Website | Around €12 return in past seasons All ages. Province of Teramo.
On the Teramo side of the Gran Sasso, the eight-seat cabins carry you from Piazzale Amorocchi up to La Madonnina at around 2,007 metres, with huge views from the highest Apennine peaks all the way to the Adriatic. After a long closure, the lift is expected back for summer in the last week of July 2026.
The Cave Cable Car at Cavallone
Website | Book online; the whole visit takes about 3.5 hours Best for ages 6 and up, in trainers or boots with grip. Province of Chieti.
For a proper adventure, the Grotta del Cavallone is the highest show cave in Europe, at 1,475 metres in the Majella above Taranta Peligna and Lama dei Peligni. You reach it on one of the last historic bucket cable cars left in Italy, little green two-seater cabins that swing you up the gorge in about fifteen minutes, with the Aventino valley falling away below. At the top a helmet goes on, and a rocky path of 300 steps climbs to the cave mouth, where a guide leads you through a run of vast, dripping chambers of stalactites and strange stone shapes, the very cave that inspired D’Annunzio’s Figlia di Iorio. It stays around 10 degrees inside, so pack a fleece even in August. Children under 6 are admitted only with a signed parental waiver.
A Ride on the Historic Train
The Transiberiana d’Italia
Website | Adults c. €50, children 4 to 12 c. €30, under 4s free or nearly so Best for ages 4 and up. Runs from Sulmona, province of L’Aquila.
A treat for train-mad little ones. From Sulmona, the historic Ferrovia dei Parchi, with vintage wooden carriages, slowly climbs through the Majella and the high Alto Sangro, past green valleys, gorges and little stone villages, stopping at hill towns along the way. It is one of Abruzzo’s best-loved days out and feels like stepping back in time. One honest word for parents: it is a long day, and fidgety bottoms may still get bored despite the frequent stops, snacks, and entertainment on board, so pack a few distractions for the youngest. Small dogs travel free, and there is a baggage car for bikes. Book well ahead, as it sells out fast.
Towers and Castles to Climb
Children who like a good vantage point will not run out of them here.
The Medici Tower in Santo Stefano di Sessanio
Read my review All ages. Province of L’Aquila.
This cylindrical stone tower crowns one of Italy’s most beautiful villages. It fell in the 2009 earthquake and was carefully rebuilt from its original stones, reopening in 2021. You can climb to the top for a sweeping view over the Baronia hills.
Rocca Calascio
Read my review | Free to visit All ages. Province of L’Aquila.
The highest fortress in Italy, standing alone on a ridge at around 1,450 metres. Film fans may know it from Ladyhawke and The Name of the Rose. It is a romantic ruin rather than a polished castle, which is exactly why children love scrambling among its broken walls. A short, exposed walk of about twenty minutes leads up from the car park. Bring water and sturdy shoes.
Roccascalegna
Website | Entry about 4 euros; open daily in July and August, roughly 10:00 to 20:00 All ages, with care on the steps. Province of Chieti.
For little knights and princesses. In the province of Chieti, this dramatic little castle perches on a needle of rock above its village, reached by a stone stair that children climb like proper explorers, with big views at the top. It comes with a spooky old legend of a baron and a bloodstained handprint, which older children relish. It pairs perfectly with the truffle hunt below.
Two More Towers
Province of Teramo and L’Aquila.
On the coast, the Torre di Cerrano near Pineto is an old watchtower inside a marine reserve, with guided visits and a little sea museum, a nice pairing with a beach day. In the Marsica, the medieval star tower at Aielli houses an observatory and planetarium that older children enjoy.
Flying and Climbing Among the Trees
The Zipline at Pacentro
Website | April to October, booking needed Riders 35 to 130 kg and 120 to 205 cm; a child under 35 kg can fly with a parent if the pair together weigh under 130 kg. Province of L’Aquila.
Made for thrill-seekers and daredevils. Abruzzo’s first zipline sends you flying almost a kilometre across the valley beside the beautiful village of Pacentro, in the Majella National Park, at up to 80 km an hour. It is a thrill best suited to older children and teens, though smaller ones can fly strapped in with a parent. A GoPro is available to hire.
Tree-Top Adventure Parks
Ages 2 and up, depending on the park.
Made for fidget bums with energy to burn, these rope-and-zip courses among the trees are a brilliant half-day, with routes graded by height so everyone from toddlers to teens has a level. A few to know:
- Gran Sasso Adventure Park, at Assergi beside the cable car, starts as young as age two on a course just off the ground, with archery and a free picnic area. Province of L’Aquila.
- The Prati di Tivo Adventure Park threads seven courses through ancient beech trees and stays open even when the cable car does not. Province of Teramo.
- The Majella Adventure Park, run within the Majella National Park, has routes for every age strung through the trees. Province of Chieti.
- The Caramanico Terme Adventure Park is a gentler family park in the heart of the Majella, well suited to younger children. Province of Pescara.
- At Civitella del Tronto, an adventure park sits in the woods below the mighty Bourbon fortress, so if all that military history starts to pall for the little ones, they get their own fun among the trees. Province of Teramo.
- Others worth naming: Castel di Sangro (by the river, from age three), Cerrano near Pineto, Roccaraso (reached by chairlift), and Collalto at Lake Penne, which also has canoeing.
Meeting the Animals
Deer That Come to the Village
Website All ages. Province of L’Aquila.
In Villetta Barrea, red deer wander down into the streets and even the children’s playground, especially at dusk. The village is signed as the “Borgo dei Cervi,” the village of the deer, and there is a small deer visitor centre nearby. A word to parents: it is best not to feed wild deer, so this is deer spotting rather than deer feeding, which is also kinder to the animals.
Feeding the Fallow Deer at Scanno
Website | About 5 euros a head | Open daily, roughly 9:00 to 18:00 All ages. Province of L’Aquila.
If your children long to actually feed a deer, this is the place to do it properly. The Centro Visita Daini, a little deer park on the road between Scanno and Villetta Barrea, keeps a herd of tame fallow deer in a big wooded enclosure. A guide takes you in and hands you their food, and the deer come right up to eat from your open hand, calm and used to visitors. The whole visit takes only about 20 minutes, and the animals are clearly cared for with love. Best of all for hungry families, the little bar makes what many, and I can vouch for this, will tell you are the best sausage sandwiches for miles, on homemade bread, with shady tables to eat them at.
Wolves, Bears and Roe Deer
Website | Civitella Alfedena: about 3 euros adult, 2 euros child 8 to 14, free under 7. Pescasseroli: about 6 euros adult, free under 14 Province of L’Aquila.
One for wildlife fans. The national park runs small, carefully run wildlife centres where injured animals that cannot return to the wild are cared for. At Civitella Alfedena, you can watch wolves in a large enclosure, and the village has a dedicated wolf museum to go with it. At Pescasseroli, there is a bear, a deer, an otter and a roe deer.
Chamois and Bears in the Majella
Website Best for ages 5 and up. Province of Chieti.
For young nature-lovers. On the eastern side of the mountains, at Lama dei Peligni, guides set up spotting scopes at the edge of a protected area so children can watch the Apennine chamois springing along the crags, then explain it all at the visitor centre in the village. Nearby, in Palena, you can see rescued bears up close at the bear area. The small but delightful MOM, the Marsican Bear Museum, is one children adore, with its drawers to sniff, skeletons to peer at, and a pretend nighttime walk through the forest as a bear. A combined ticket takes in the Colle Veduta wildlife area, home to three rescued European brown bears. Early morning is best for the chamois.
The Wildlife Museum and Canyon at Caramanico
Website Museum suitable for all ages; the canyon walk is best for ages 6 and up, in good shoes, and not suitable for pushchairs. Province of Pescara.
Also on the Majella, the pretty spa village of Caramanico Terme has an excellent little nature museum, the Paolo Barrasso, which lays out the mountain’s geology, wildlife and history, with an otter centre and a bird-of-prey aviary that children make a beeline for. It is also the gateway to the Valle dell’Orfento, a deep green canyon carved by the river, where the much-loved Scalelle path winds down through woods and gorges past waterfalls and little wooden bridges. You register for free at the visitor centre first and can take a park guide who brings the whole valley to life.
A Bear’s Den in the Castle Museum, Pettorano sul Gizio
Website | Same days and hours as the castle; groups and school visits by arrangement All ages. Province of L’Aquila.
In the handsome medieval village of Pettorano sul Gizio, the museum inside Cantelmo Castle has a fairly new and rather special addition, well worth the trip: the Bear’s Den, an interactive section dedicated to the rare Marsican brown bear, set up by Salviamo l’Orso with Rewilding Apennines. Children can step into a recreated Apennine beech wood and crawl through a cavity in the rock into a bear’s den, a hands-on nest that makes the whole thing real to them, and it is best visited with the trained guides. Pettorano was Italy’s and Europe’s first Bear Smart Community, set up in 2015 to help people and bears live side by side safely, and the den was created with Rewilding Apennines and Salviamo l’Orso, so a visit quietly teaches children why these bears matter. There is a grown-up hook too: it was from the belvedere above the village that the artist M.C. Escher sketched the mountain backdrop he later used in his famous impossible-staircase print, Belvedere, and a short walk up to the marked Belvedere Escher rewards you with the very same view and a bench to sit on. The village also has a pretty picnic spot down by the river to round off the day.
A Quiet One Close to Home
Website | Free All ages. Province of Teramo.
In your own Teramo province, the Riserva Naturale di Castel Cerreto near Penna Sant’Andrea is free, easy for pushchairs, and home to two semi-wild deer, with squirrels and the odd fox in the woods. A calm, easy outing.
Donkey Trekking
Read my review All ages. Province of L’Aquila.
At Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Gira e Rigira leads walks alongside patient donkeys who carry the backpacks, so small legs go further. Some walks are told as stories, with fairy tales, songs and legends along the way, and little ones take turns riding a short stretch. There is even a minding option for children aged four to twelve while parents walk on.
Pony and Horse Trekking
Website | Roughly Easter to autumn; book ahead. Franchi Horses Ranch, tel 338 1470513 From about age 5, with a helmet. Province of L’Aquila, Pescara and Teramo.
Children who dream of a pony are well served here. At the family-run Maneggio La Camosciara, in the national park near Villetta Barrea, steady horses and ponies carry riders of all ages along easy trails through one of Abruzzo’s prettiest reserves, and the team are kind and patient with nervous first-timers. Many riding centres elsewhere run pony clubs and short lead-rein rides for children from about five, including in the Tirino valley near Bussi, handy if you have paddled the river, and at Santo Stefano di Sessanio. Closer to home in Teramo, the valley sits on the Ippovia del Gran Sasso, a long bridleway that rings the massif, so guided rides start almost from the doorstep. In Tossicia, the Franchi Horses Ranch at Le Casette runs guided rides. On the far side of the mountain, WildIn at Prati di Tivo offers rides and pony sessions for children.
A Magical Farm Near Rocca Calascio
Website All ages. Province of L’Aquila.
A joy for animal lovers. Just down the road from Rocca Calascio, Fattoria Valle Magica is an organic farm run by Ralph, who swapped a big-city job for raising rare old breeds with real care. Children can meet Black Abruzzo pigs, spiral-horned goats, donkeys, hens that lay olive-green eggs, rabbits, and even owls. The farm tour, given in English as well as Italian, is as entertaining as it is educational, the sort of thing a child will quote back to you for years. There are owl workshops for little ones, a grill-your-own barbecue where you cook the farm’s own meat on site, and a farm bistro for a relaxed lunch afterwards. It pairs beautifully with a scramble up to Rocca Calascio.
On Two Wheels
Family E-Biking on the Trabocchi Coast
Website | Bike and e-bike hire along the route from Il Bosso, Majellando, and Cycling Abruzzo. Some guided tours have a minimum age of 15 All ages for self-guided riding. Province of Chieti.
Made for bike lovers. The Via Verde della Costa dei Trabocchi is a flat, traffic-free path of about 42 kilometres along an old railway line, running by the sea from Ortona to Vasto and passing 25 of the wooden fishing platforms. It is made for families: smooth, level and easy. Best of all, bikes travel free on the local coastal trains, so you can ride one way and hop the train back.
Family Bike Rides From San Pietro
Website All ages. Province of Teramo.
For an easier ride inland, San Pietro, in your own Teramo province, makes an easy base for pottering along the valley tracks below the Gran Sasso. The Scuola Verde bike hire has child seats, trailers, and sizes for children, so even the smallest children can come along.
Cycling the Valley of a Hundred Waterfalls
Website | Tel 329 0844266 Best for older children and teens on the bikes; younger ones on the walk. Province of Teramo.
High above Cesacastina, in Crognaleto, the wooden chalet of 100 Fonti Rent Bike sits at the gateway to the Valle delle Cento Cascate, the valley of a hundred waterfalls, in the Monti della Laga. Fabio and his team hire electric mountain bikes and have waymarked a set of mellow, storybook routes through the beech woods and past the falls, with the Gran Sasso filling the view. Older children can ride out on two wheels while little ones splash along the waterfall path on foot. There are family days at the chalet with music, local food and entertainment for children, and one route even passes the little chapel of the Madonna della Tibia.
Walks, Picnics and Cooling Off
A Sunset Picnic at the Hermitage Above Fano Adriano
Read my review | Abruzzo Connections All ages, easy. Province of Teramo.
The Eremo dell’Annunziata sits on the Colle di San Marcello above Fano Adriano, a stone church and hermit’s cell looking straight down the upper Vomano valley. It is one of the most peaceful spots on this side of the Gran Sasso, wrapped in old frescoes and brigand legends, and it comes into its own with a picnic as the sun drops behind the mountains.
A Dip and a Barbecue at the Poggio Umbricchio Mill
Read my review | Abruzzo Connections | Temporarily closed All ages. Province of Teramo (Crognaleto).
A note for now: the mill is temporarily closed while the volunteers. It will be back, so do check my listing for the latest before you set off. When it reopens, the old water mill above the Vomano, restored by the Gran Sasso park and looked after by young locals, is a blissful place to cool off on a hot day: paddle in the river, spread a rug, and light the barbecue. There is a lively summer gathering at the mill in late July, and the village is proud of its beans.
Easy Family Hikes
All ages, easy. Province of L’Aquila and Chieti.
For undemanding walks that small children can manage, Val Fondillo in the national park is a green, shady valley with a stream, and the nearby Camosciara reserve has a short, easy path to pretty waterfalls that little legs love. The Bosco di Sant’Antonio near Pescocostanzo feels like a fairy-tale wood of thousand-year-old beeches, with a big picnic meadow. The Stiffe Caves, near Santo Stefano di Sessanio, follow an underground river past waterfalls and are cool on a hot day. Local park guides also lead themed children’s walks in summer, told as stories of gnomes and fairies, which keep even reluctant little walkers going.
Chasing Waterfalls
All ages for the walks, though some climbing is involved. Province of Chieti and Teramo.
The best kind of walk: a log to cross and a waterfall at the end.
Two special spots turn a walk into a splash. The Cascate del Verde near Borrello, in the province of Chieti, are among the highest waterfalls in Italy, tumbling in great leaps through a small nature reserve with easy-to-mark paths. And the Valle delle Cento Cascate above Cesacastina, in Crognaleto in your own Teramo province, is a whole valley of little waterfalls in the Monti della Laga, a woodland walk children take to, with a picnic and barbecue spot on the way up. You can also hire electric mountain bikes right at the foot of it to ride the valley, see Cycling the Valley of a Hundred Waterfalls in the two-wheels section above.
Rainy Days: Museums, Ruins and History
Abruzzo’s museums cluster here, ideal for a wet day or a hot afternoon in the cool. For a sweet indoor hour, the Pelino confetti museum is over in the food section, alongside the Sulmona cooking lesson.
The Mammoth at L’Aquila
Website All ages. Province of L’Aquila.
The mammoth at MuNDA, unearthed just up the road at Scoppito.
Children never forget their first mammoth. The National Museum of Abruzzo, MuNDA, in L’Aquila, has a huge skeleton of a mammoth unearthed nearby at Scoppito, and the museum runs family tours built around it.
Fossils, Amber and Dinosaurs at San Valentino
Website | Entry 2 euros, free under 6 | Sat, Sun and holidays 17:00 to 20:00; weekdays by arrangement All ages. Province of Pescara.
In San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore, on the edge of the Majella, the little Museo dei Fossili e delle Ambre is a treat for a dinosaur-mad child. It is small, but there is plenty to fire the imagination: models of the famous dinosaurs, drawers of fossils, glowing amber with insects trapped inside, minerals and crystals, and a room on how humans evolved. A new immersive digital trail arrived in 2026, and the volunteers run hands-on workshops for children. At two euros a head, free for under-sixes, it is a cheerful, cheap hour, and one of the few genuinely indoor options for a rainy afternoon.
The People’s Museum in Pescara
Website All ages. Province of Pescara.
For curious kids. The Museo delle Genti d’Abruzzo, the museum of the peoples of Abruzzo, on Via delle Caserme, tells the whole human story of the region across a dozen rooms, from the first Stone Age hunters right up to modern times. For families, it is one of the best in the region because it always has something on for children: art workshops, animated fairy tales, a puppet theatre, and holiday camps at Christmas, Easter, and throughout the summer. You can even hire a room for a birthday party.
The Gaming Museum at Avezzano
Website | Membership: c. €12, or €10 for under-12s for a card, then c. €5 a visit; guided tours by arrangement All ages, though the smallest may need a lift to reach the buttons. Province of L’Aquila.
One for young gamers, and a treat few children expect. ElettroLudica, in Avezzano, is one of the largest collections of arcade games in Europe, a big hall packed with hundreds of pinball tables, arcade cabinets and old consoles, from Pac-Man and Tetris to Street Fighter. Best of all, you play them, free and unlimited, with no coins needed, so it is hands-on from the moment you walk in. Grown-ups go misty about their own childhoods while the children rack up the high scores.
The Warrior at Chieti
Website Best for ages 6 and up. Province of Chieti.
One for budding archaeologists. The National Archaeological Museum of Abruzzo, in the Villa Frigerj in Chieti, is home to the Capestrano Warrior, the great stone statue that symbolises Abruzzo, which ties in nicely if you have paddled the nearby Tirino. Also fascinating for children is the vast historical collection of money through the ages.
Play the Gladiator at Alba Fucens
Read my review | Website | Free; open daily, dawn to sunset All ages, outdoors with uneven ground and a little climbing. Province of L’Aquila.
Room to run in a whole Roman town: Alba Fucens, with the mountains behind.
A dream for young history buffs and would-be gladiators. Near Avezzano lies a whole Roman town you can walk right through, Alba Fucens, with its streets, market square, baths and, best of all, an amphitheatre carved into the hillside where gladiators once fought. Children can stand in the middle of the arena, find the gladiators’ entrance, and act out their own contests with the mountains as a backdrop. It is open to wander and free to enter.
The Tunnels That Drained a Lake
Website | Opening is occasional, so check locally before you go Best for ages 8 and up. Province of L’Aquila.
One of the great feats of Roman engineering sits just outside Avezzano. To drain the vast Lake Fucino, the emperor Claudius had a tunnel driven right through Monte Salviano, and centuries later, the Torlonia family finished the job, emptying the lake for good. You can go down and visit a stretch of these underground tunnels and the great outlet works, a cool, echoing, faintly eerie place that older children with a taste for engineering and history find unforgettable. It is not always open, though, and access is by arrangement, so it is worth ringing ahead or asking locally before you set your heart on it. It pairs well with Alba Fucens and the story of the lake, which the People of the Fucino know inside out.
Roman Amiternum
Website | Free; an open site, though staffed hours can be haphazard All ages, outdoors. Province of L’Aquila.
Just outside L’Aquila, near San Vittorino, the Roman town of Amiternum has left two spectacular things to run about in: a Roman theatre and, across the way, a great elliptical amphitheatre that once held thousands, its arches and vaults still standing. Children can climb the tiers, find the entrances and imagine the games and the wild-animal hunts. It is free, right off the road on the way up towards the Gran Sasso, and now looked after by MuNDA, so it pairs perfectly with the mammoth in town. It was the birthplace, too, of the Roman historian Sallust.
Roman Peltuinum
Read my review | Free; an open site All ages, outdoors on an exposed plateau. Province of L’Aquila.
Up on the wide, windswept Navelli plateau, the Roman town of Peltuinum stands almost alone: a theatre, a temple and long stretches of wall set against the Gran Sasso, straddling the ancient sheep-droving road. There are no barriers and few other visitors, so children can roam the ruins freely with the mountains all around, which is half the magic of the place. Bring hats and water, as there is very little shade. It sits handy for the Tirino and the see-through boat at Capodacqua.
Roman Iuvanum, and a Museum of Everyday Things
Website | Free; park open 9am to sunset; guided visits and the museum by arrangement (tel 0871 331668) All ages, outdoors. Province of Chieti.
High on a plateau under the eastern Majella, between Montenerodomo and Torricella Peligna, lie the ruins of the Roman town of Iuvanum: a paved forum ringed by little shops, temples, baths and a small stone theatre cut into the hillside, all with the mountains as a backdrop and hardly another soul about. What makes this one land with children is the museum beside it. Roman remains can be a touch dry for little ones, all foundations and no faces, but here the cases are full of the small, human things that bring it alive: dice and gaming pieces, toys, trinkets and everyday objects the people of Iuvanum actually held. Suddenly a Roman child feels real, which is worth more than any row of stones. Free, and gloriously uncrowded.
A Walk Under Atri
Website | Monuments and museums open daily 1 July to 13 September in summer; the underground is seen on a guided tour Best for ages 5 and up. Province of Teramo.
For little explorers. Atri was once a city of water, and beneath its streets runs a warren of Roman cisterns and tunnels carved into the rock. Children are thrilled by the walk down into the cool, torch-lit passages, first dug to gather rainwater, later turned into ducal stables, with a huge cistern-crypt hidden under the Cathedral. It is a welcome, cool escape on a hot afternoon. Above ground, the town’s museums are worth pairing with it: the archaeology museum in particular gives children a clear overview of the long story that ties the whole place together.
Murals to Hunt For
Free All ages. Province of Teramo and L’Aquila.
For young artists. Three painted villages turn a walk into a treasure hunt. Azzinano, near Tossicia in your own Teramo province, is covered in cheerful, naive murals of old-fashioned children’s games, from hopscotch to spinning tops and kites; it is a free, open-air museum open all day, every day. Scorrano, a tiny hamlet of Cellino Attanasio, also in Teramo, is Abruzzo’s Borgo delle Favole, the Village of Fairy Tales, its walls painted with stories from Sleeping Beauty to Alice in Wonderland, and a QR code beside each one that plays the tale aloud on your phone. Aielli, in the Marsica near Avezzano, is a street-art village of bright, dreamlike walls, with free maps to follow.
The People’s Museum at Tossicia
Read my review All ages. Province of Teramo.
In your own Valle Siciliana, the Museo delle Genti del Gran Sasso fills the rooms of the fifteenth-century Palazzo Marchesale. It is a warm, hands-on look at how mountain families really lived, arranged around four old crafts: copper, weaving, wood and grain. It also holds the paintings of Annunziata Scipione, the naive artist behind the Azzinano murals just up the road, so the two make a perfect pair for one day out. It is diverse enough to spark a child’s curiosity and quiet enough to enjoy.
Throwing Plates Off the Belvedere at Castelli
All ages. Province of Teramo. The plate-throwing is on 15 August.
Castelli, tucked under Monte Camicia in your Teramo province, has been a village of hand-painted maiolica for five hundred years, and it throws one of Abruzzo’s most gleeful festivals. Every year on the 15th of August, Ferragosto, the whole village gathers at the belvedere on Piazza Roma for the Lancio del Piatto, the plate-throwing contest: competitors spin plain terracotta plates off the bastions and out over the gorge to see who can hurl one furthest down towards the river below. It is gloriously silly, a real crowd-pleaser for children and grown-ups alike, and it caps the summer ceramics craft market that fills the streets with stalls. Any time of year, you can also visit the restored Ceramics Museum in the old convent and peek into the church of San Donato, whose ceiling is a dazzling canopy of hundreds of painted tiles.
Food You Can Make and Taste
In Abruzzo, food is part of the fun, and children can get their hands right into it.
A Cooking Lesson in Sulmona
Website All ages with a grown-up. Province of L’Aquila.
In the pretty town of Sulmona, you can spend a morning learning to make classic Abruzzese dishes with Novelia, from pasta alla chitarra, cut on a wooden frame strung like a guitar, to pallotte cacio e ova, the little cheese-and-egg balls children love. It is hands-on, warm and homely, the sort of thing they remember.
Truffle Hunting With Ezio and a Castle to Climb
Website All ages. Province of Chieti.
This is one of the best family days going. With Ciao Abruzzo’s Chef Ezio, you first explore the dramatic clifftop castle of Roccascalegna, in the province of Chieti, then follow a real truffle hunter and his dogs through the groves, watching them sniff out the musky truffles. Children adore the dogs and the digging. It finishes with a long truffle lunch, the truffles you found shaved over handmade chitarra pasta. Ezio runs truffle days right through the summer, and larger groups can book on request.
More Excursion Days to Book
Website Various ages and places. Book ahead. Province of L’Aquila and Chieti.
Beyond the truffles, Ciao Abruzzo and other local hosts run whole days out that families can book through the summer, from sea canoeing along the coast to cheesemaking, and English-language town walks with the long-established Passucci Travel. One honest, practical tip: smaller excursions sometimes require a minimum number of people to run, so a family of two or three may find that a date falls through. Ezio in particular draws in the local expat community, so his trips tend to fill up and go ahead, which means that when you are a small group, it pays to pick excursions that already have numbers behind them.
Grill Your Own Lunch at Mucciante
Website | Roughly mid-May to autumn, when the road is open; arrive before midday to be sure of a free grill All ages. Province of L’Aquila.
High on the Campo Imperatore plateau, at Fonte Vetica, the rustic Ristoro Mucciante lets you buy local meat, cheese, and salami at the counter, then cook them yourself over the open coals at long wooden tables in the fresh mountain air. Children love choosing at the counter and watching lunch sizzle. It pairs nicely with a high-country drive, up to Campo Imperatore or on towards Lake Campotosto.
The Sweet Museum in Sulmona
Read my review All ages. Province of L’Aquila.
Sulmona is famous for confetti: sugared almonds bunched into flowers, displayed in shop windows like bouquets. At the Pelino factory, there is a little confetti museum where you can see how they are made, which children rate as highly as any sweet shop.
Beach Days
Abruzzo’s coast runs sandy and wide in the north, wilder and pebblier in the south, and there is a beach here for every kind of family day, free or with all the trimmings.
Blue Flag Beaches
Read my review All ages. Province of Teramo.
The northern coast is known as the seven sisters, seven towns that each fly the Blue Flag: Martinsicuro, Alba Adriatica, Tortoreto, Giulianova, Roseto degli Abruzzi, Pineto and Silvi. The sand is soft and wide, the water clean and shallow, and there are pinewoods for shade behind, so they are calm and safe for small children. My beaches guide has them all.
The Lidos, With a Playground and a Cafe
All ages. Along the coast.
If you would rather have everything to hand, the paid lidos, the stabilimenti balneari, are the easy family option. You hire a sunbed and umbrella for the day, and most lay on a little playground, and often a baby club or holiday-camp style entertainment, so children have somewhere to play when they tire of the sand. Nearly all have a bar or a proper restaurant too, so lunch is a few steps from your towel and the youngest can be kept happy while you eat. It costs more than a free beach, but for a full day with children it earns its keep.
Free Beaches, Reserves and Wild Coast
Read my review All ages. Province of Teramo, Pescara and Chieti.
Much of the coast is free. A spiaggia libera costs nothing, unlike the paid lidos with their rows of sunbeds, and many of the loveliest sit inside nature reserves with clean, shallow water. Think Torre del Cerrano near Pineto, the Borsacchio reserve at Roseto, and Punta Aderci near Vasto. My guide to the best free beaches has them all.
Beaches You Can Reach in a Wheelchair
All ages. Province of Teramo, Pescara and Chieti.
Abruzzo takes accessible beaches seriously, which matters enormously if your child uses a wheelchair. Several lay firm boardwalks right across the sand to the water’s edge, with reserved parking and accessible changing rooms, and best of all they keep JOB beach wheelchairs, the amphibious chairs that let a child roll straight into the sea. Look for the Al Faro beach at Alba Adriatica and the “Mare per Tutti” free beaches at Tortoreto, both well set up in Teramo. Montesilvano, in Pescara, was the pioneer, with a solid walkway to the water and trained staff on hand mornings and late afternoons. There is also Chalet Rosa Blu at Martinsicuro, the l’Isola beach at Foro just south of Francavilla, and several free beaches along the Costa dei Trabocchi. Do ring ahead to make sure the beach wheelchair is free on the day.
Beaches For the Dog
Along the coast, mainly in Teramo.
If the family dog is travelling with you, Abruzzo is unusually welcoming: regional law lets dogs onto the beaches, and several towns have designated dog beaches with shade, water and space to run. The biggest is Unica Beach at Giulianova, with agility games and even a dog pool. There is a dog beach at Pineto, in contrada Villa Fumosa, where the free beaches are dog-friendly too, a Bau Beach at Martinsicuro, and Chalet Luna Rossa at Roseto, with more spots further south around Vasto and Fossacesia. So nobody, four legs included, need wait in the car.
Splashing About: Waterparks
Onda Blu and Aqualand
Onda Blu | Aqualand del Vasto | Onda Blu opens for 2026 on 13 June, daily 10:00 to 18:30, free for children under 1 metre tall All ages. Province of Teramo and Chieti.
When the coast gets hot, two waterparks save the day. Acquapark Onda Blu at Tortoreto has a big wave pool and a dedicated shallow area for little ones called Isola Felice, with soft slides. Aqualand del Vasto is the largest in the region, with slides for braver children.
After Dark: Shooting Stars, Night Walks and Torchlit Processions
The Night of San Lorenzo
All ages. Anywhere with a dark sky and a clear horizon.
On the 10th of August, the night of San Lorenzo, the sky fills with shooting stars, the Perseids, and the whole of Italy looks up. In its simplest form, this is the loveliest and cheapest thing you can do all summer: carry a rug and a packet of biscuits up onto a dark hillside, lie back, and watch the stars fall. Away from the coast, Abruzzo’s mountain skies are gorgeously dark. Children can stay up late, wish on each one, and remember it for years. Some villages, like Pretoro on the Majella, throw a whole roaming food feast on these very nights, so you can eat, dance and watch for falling stars all at once, see the festivals section below.
Fireworks Over the Sea
Around midnight on 18 August; check locally, as the sea launch sometimes shifts to the beach or moves a day for weather All ages. Province of Chieti.
All through August, Abruzzo’s seaside towns fire spectacular displays for their patron saints and for Ferragosto, and children are spellbound by them. The most famous is at Francavilla al Mare, where the fireworks for San Franco light up the sky over the water around midnight on the 18th of August, launched from the pier and the beach and drawing crowds from all along the coast. Spread a towel on the sand, look up, and let the little ones stay up far too late.
Stargazing With a Telescope
Book the Campo Imperatore visit in advance Best for ages 6 and up. Province of L’Aquila.
For budding astronomers, the observatory high on Campo Imperatore, at around 2,150 metres, is one of the highest in Italy and offers hour-long summer visits with an astronomer, booked in advance. In the Marsica, the star tower at Aielli has a small planetarium and telescope.
Night Walks and a Mountain of Torches
Feast on 9 August; the torchlit walk on the 17th Best for ages 5 and up, a steady uphill walk in the dark. Province of Teramo.
Local guides run quiet family night hikes in summer, walking quietly by torchlight to listen for owls and watch for deer. And in Crognaleto, in your own province of Teramo, there is something completely different. High on a rocky outcrop at 1,187 metres stands the little chapel of the Madonna della Tibia, home to a wooden Madonna the villagers fondly call la paesana, the village woman. Her feast falls on the 9th of August, and on the 17th, the whole village walks up to the chapel by torchlight in the dark and rings the bells at the top. There is a good tale to tell on the way: a captain’s mules, carrying a Madonna statue all the way from L’Aquila to Teramo, are said to have tumbled off the cliff here long ago, only to be found safe and grazing quietly in the field below.
Festivals the Whole Family Can Dance At
Abruzzo’s summer festivals welcome children as a matter of course. A favourite is Valfino al Canto in Arsita, three days of folk music where families of all ages dance in the square to the little button accordion. The Guardian once named it among the 20 best folk festivals in Europe. It runs alongside a food fair, the Sagra del Coatto (Arsita, province of Teramo, [9 to 11 August 2026]). Families visiting from Britain are often struck by how freely Italian children move about at these feste: little ones run in packs across the piazza, older ones come and go on their own, and nobody blinks. It is one of the loveliest things about an Abruzzese summer evening, and children slip into it at once. For the full run of village sagre and feste, see my Diary Dates calendar rather than expecting to find them all here.
Costumed Historic Processions
Both free All ages. Province of Teramo and Chieti.
Summer is the season of the historic procession, when whole towns dress in medieval or Renaissance costume and parade through the streets with drums, flags and horses. They are free, colourful, and easy for children to enjoy from the kerb, and the moving spectacle suits little ones far better than sitting still. Two stand out. The Palio del Barone at Tortoreto Alto, in your own Teramo province, is a glorious night: the old town lit by braziers and torches, flag-throwers spinning their banners high, fire shows and drummers, two rival quarters competing at old games, and a firework “burning of the tower” to finish, usually on the 16th of August. And the Toson d’Oro at Vasto, in the province of Chieti, in late August, sends a candlelit Renaissance procession from the great Palazzo d’Avalos through the old town, with flag-throwers and fire-eaters, and lays on a whole afternoon of children’s games and archery first.
The Sulmona Joust
Website | The street procession is free; the joust itself is ticketed Province of L’Aquila. Last weekend of July.
Sulmona holds Abruzzo’s grandest pageant, the Giostra Cavalleresca, on the last weekend of July, with a second, international “European weekend,” the Giostra d’Europa, bringing delegations from across Europe. The historic procession that opens it, hundreds of figures in Renaissance dress with flag-throwers and drummers, is genuinely fabulous and worth the trip. With little ones, come for that free procession rather than the joust itself, which is a hot, sit-and-watch affair far better suited to older children. Younger families might prefer the Cordesca, Sulmona’s own children’s joust, held in early June.
Fighting the Turks and a Medieval Feast
All ages. Province of Chieti.
Best of all for children is a battle reenactment. At Tollo, in the province of Chieti, the Battaglia tra Turchi e Cristiani recreates a Turkish siege of 1566 in early August: a wooden tower, hundreds of costumed figures, and a mock battle in which the defenders pelt the attackers with water, pasta and even watermelon, which children find gloriously funny. Not far away at Villamagna, I Saraceni e Santa Margherita restages a Saracen pirate raid around the 13th of July, with a torchlit repeat often on the first Saturday of August. As the pirates storm the town, local legend has Saint Margaret loose a miraculous beam of fire from the sky, and the beaten raiders convert on the spot, a real piece of theatre. Several of these events lay on a medieval banquet or open-air tavern too, so you can eat the way they did, which turns the evening into a proper adventure.
Two More Steps Back in Time
Website | Crecchio banquet usually in late July All ages. Province of Pescara and Chieti. Spoltore is free; the Crecchio banquet is ticketed.
Early July brings the Medieval Times Festival to the old centre of Spoltore, in the province of Pescara, usually on the first weekend of the month: costumes, reenactments, music and artisan crafts fill the streets from late morning until midnight, and children can wander it like a living picture book. Later in the month, at Crecchio in Chieti, A Cena con i Bizantini turns the ducal castle, home to the museum of Byzantine and early medieval Abruzzo, into a torchlit banquet from the courts of the sixth century, with costumed figures, period dishes and a gorgeously theatrical atmosphere inside the ancient walls. It is one of the most memorable evenings of the Abruzzese summer, so book ahead through the Pro Loco.
The Night Italy Got Its Name
Website | Usually the second Saturday of July Best for ages 7 and up. Province of L’Aquila.
For a family with a taste for history, Corfinio, in the province of L’Aquila, stages something remarkable in early July. Italia reenacts the moment in 91 BC when the rebel peoples of the Apennines gathered at ancient Corfinium, made it their capital and called it Italia, the very first time the name stood for a nation. From late afternoon, costumed processions wind through the village to the cathedral of San Pelino for the Italic League’s solemn oath, and after dark there are combat displays, fire shows and music. It is a moving, torchlit evening, and older children who like their history will remember it.
A Few Summer Feste to Look Out For
All ages. Province of L’Aquila and Chieti, and just about everywhere. See my Diary Dates for what is on where.
Beyond the big pageants, the little village feste are where much of the magic lives. Around Ferragosto, the middle of August, Scanno and Villalago stage Ju Catenacce, a costumed reenactment of an old betrothal procession in the town’s beautiful traditional dress, on the 14th and 15th. At Orsogna, in the province of Chieti, the night of the 15th brings the Talami, huge illuminated tableaux of living scenes carried through the streets on decorated carts, which children watch wide-eyed. And almost every village holds a food sagra through July and August, an evening of long trestle tables, music and one local speciality, from arrosticini to fresh pasta, where children are always welcome and usually still running about at midnight. In all honesty, not every sagra is a thrill for small children. So for a weekly, child-tested list of what is worth taking little ones to, I happily send you to Mamma dove mi porti, who each week rounds up the Abruzzo events best suited to infant and primary-age children. She writes in Italian, but your phone or browser will translate it in a tap, and she always posts the event flyers, so you can catch the dates, times and places at a glance even before you translate a word.
Pretoro’s Nights of San Lorenzo
Website | A shuttle runs from the car parks, free for children under 10 | [8 to 11 August 2026] All ages. Province of Chieti.
The loveliest of these for a family is at Pretoro, an old woodcarvers’ village on the Majella in Chieti, one of the most beautiful in Italy. Over the nights of San Lorenzo in early August, the shooting-star nights, the whole hilltop turns into a roaming feast: each quarter of the village runs its own tasting station, so you wander the stone alleys from one to the next, sampling Abruzzese dishes to folk music, dancing and flag-throwers, with craft stalls and the little Wolf Museum open along the way. The treat not to miss is the Torta del Lupo, the Wolf Cake, a rich chocolate cake made with red Montepulciano wine and cocoa that children and grown-ups love alike. And when you have eaten your fill, you need only look up, because the Perseids are falling overhead.
At a Glance, by Province
L’Aquila: Tirino canoeing, the see-through boat at Capodacqua, river tubing in the Valle Peligna, Lakes Scanno, Villalago and San Domenico, Lake Barrea, Lake Campotosto, the historic Transiberiana train from Sulmona, the Gran Sasso cable car and Campo Imperatore, the Campo Imperatore observatory, a cooking lesson and the confetti museum in Sulmona, the grill-your-own lunch at Mucciante, the Medici Tower at Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Rocca Calascio, the Zipline at Pacentro, Gran Sasso and Castel di Sangro adventure parks, deer and wolves in the national park, feeding the fallow deer at Scanno, the bear’s den at Pettorano sul Gizio, the Fattoria Valle Magica farm near Rocca Calascio, donkey trekking, pony trekking and the waterfall walk at La Camosciara, the Stiffe Caves, the mammoth at MuNDA, the gaming museum at Avezzano, the Roman town and gladiator arena at Alba Fucens, the Roman tunnels that drained Lake Fucino, Roman Amiternum and Peltuinum, the murals at Aielli, the Italia reenactment at Corfinio, the Sulmona joust and its processions, Ju Catenacce at Scanno and Villalago.
Teramo: the Prati di Tivo cable car, the Prati di Tivo and Cerrano and Civitella del Tronto adventure parks, the Torre di Cerrano, the deer reserve at Castel Cerreto, family bike rides from San Pietro, horse riding at Le Casette in Tossicia and WildIn at Prati di Tivo, the sunset hermitage above Fano Adriano, the Poggio Umbricchio mill, walking or cycling the Valle delle Cento Cascate at Crognaleto, the Madonna della Tibia torchlit walk above Crognaleto, the murals at Azzinano, the fairytale murals at Scorrano, the Genti del Gran Sasso museum at Tossicia, the plate-throwing festa at Castelli, underground Atri and its history museum, the Palio del Barone at Tortoreto Alto, the Blue Flag, free, accessible and dog beaches and the Torre del Cerrano reserve, Onda Blu waterpark, Valfino al Canto at Arsita.
Pescara: Tirino canoeing at Bussi, canoeing, the Collalto adventure park and the wolf area at the Lake Penne WWF oasis, the wildlife museum and Valle dell’Orfento at Caramanico Terme, the medieval festival at Spoltore, the fossils and dinosaur museum at San Valentino, the People’s Museum (Museo delle Genti d’Abruzzo).
Chieti: family e-biking and sea kayaking on the Trabocchi coast, rafting on the Aventino, truffle hunting and the castle climb at Roccascalegna, chamois and bears at Lama dei Peligni and Palena, the Grotta del Cavallone cave cable car, the Cascate del Verde at Borrello, the Turks and Christians reenactment at Tollo, I Saraceni at Villamagna, the Byzantine banquet at Crecchio, the Toson d’Oro at Vasto, the Talami of Orsogna, the Nights of San Lorenzo at Pretoro, the San Franco fireworks at Francavilla al Mare, the Punta Aderci reserve and free beaches, the Majella adventure park near Guardiagrele, the Bosco di Sant’Antonio, the Warrior museum, Roman Iuvanum and its museum, Aqualand del Vasto, Lake Bomba.
Where to Stay: a Family Base I Love
Panfilo Farmhouse
Website Sleeps up to twelve across suites and rooms, some on the ground floor. Province of Teramo.
If you would like somewhere peaceful to come home to at the end of these long days out, I happily point families to Panfilo Farmhouse, near Cellino Attanasio in Teramo, a place I have stayed and loved. Annamaria and Lino are retired farmers turned hosts, and their welcome is the real Abruzzese thing. There is an infinity pool and a hot tub to lie back and count stars from, gardens for children to roam, and, best of all for little ones, a petting corner where Lino gives tractor rides down to feed the goats and hens. Annamaria’s breakfast feasts are a legend all on their own, and she will give a cooking lesson if you ask nicely. It sits handy for the fairytale murals at Scorrano just up the road, for underground Atri, and for the Blue Flag beaches at Pineto and Roseto, half an hour away.
In the spirit of full honesty: Panfilo Farmhouse is a long-time friend and supporter of Life in Abruzzo. I first stayed as a paying guest and loved it, which is exactly why I am happy to send you there.
Questions Families Often Ask
Is Abruzzo good for a family holiday with children? Yes. Abruzzo is one of Italy’s greenest and least crowded regions, with three national parks, a calm Adriatic coast and no need for theme parks. There is something for every age, from toddlers to teens, from canoeing the clear Tirino and feeding deer to climbing castles and riding cable cars, and much of it is free or gentle on the purse.
What can you do in Abruzzo with a toddler? Plenty that is low-key and close to the ground: paddle and hire a pedalo on the mountain lakes, feed the fallow deer at Scanno, meet the animals at Fattoria Valle Magica, ride the Gran Sasso cable car, potter on a free beach, or try a tree-top adventure park that starts from age two.
What is there to do in Abruzzo with teenagers? Older children love the zipline at Pacentro, sea kayaking along the Trabocchi coast, e-biking the Valley of a Hundred Waterfalls, the caves and Roman ruins, and the summer festivals and beach concerts such as the Shock Wave Festival at Francavilla al Mare.
What can you do in Abruzzo with kids when it rains? Abruzzo is short on wet-weather attractions, so the museums are your best bet: the mammoth at MuNDA in L’Aquila, the fossils and dinosaurs at San Valentino, the People’s Museum in Pescara, and the free-to-play gaming museum at Avezzano. The caves and underground tours (the Stiffe Caves, the Grotta del Cavallone, and underground Atri) also keep you dry.
Are there beaches in Abruzzo suitable for young children? Yes. The northern coast, the “seven sisters,” flies the Blue Flag for clean, shallow, safe water, and the paid lidos have little playgrounds and cafes. There are also accessible beaches with boardwalks and beach wheelchairs at Alba Adriatica, Tortoreto and Montesilvano, and several dog-friendly beaches.
What is free to do with children in Abruzzo? A great deal: the free beaches and nature reserves, Rocca Calascio, the open Roman towns of Alba Fucens, Amiternum, Peltuinum and Iuvanum, the painted mural villages of Azzinano, Scorrano and Aielli, the shooting stars on the night of San Lorenzo, and most of the summer festivals.
When is the best time to visit Abruzzo with children? This guide covers the warm months, roughly June to September, when the lakes, coast, cable cars and festivals are all in full swing. A good rhythm is to explore the mountains in the cool of the morning, then enjoy the coast and the piazzas in the evening. For autumn, see my companion Abruzzo with Kids: Autumn Half Term guide.
How do you get around Abruzzo with a family? A car is easiest, since the best places are spread across the mountains and the coast. The Adriatic coastal train links the beach towns and carries bikes for free, and the historic Transiberiana train through the parks is a grand day out in its own right.
A note on the photographs: you will see very few children’s faces in this guide, and that is deliberate. Most of the images are my own, and out of respect for children’s privacy and safety I choose photos that do not identify any child. It is the same care I would want for my own.
Author: Sam Dunham
Sam is a freelance SEO content creator and IGCSE Geography and English teacher in Rome. She also runs the Life In Abruzzo Cultural Association, sharing stories and insights about this captivating region. Alongside raising a teenager, Sam hosts guests at her family’s traditional home, the Little House of the Firefly in Abruzzo, offering a warm welcome and insider tips on local culture, food, and hidden gems.
