Hu I Pini Family Park

Beloved by sightseers, historians, architecture geeks and general toga types, splendid Rome will likely be your first stop when staying in this fine and green part of Italy. The Coliseum (of course), Michelangelo at the Vatican Museum (also of course) and the Piazza di Spagna (you can see where this is going) are all must-sees. Once the kids become frazzled and are rather vocal about being so, retreat to one of Rome's many splendid parks for a breather: the capital has one of the biggest areas of green space in Europe, so you're sure to find somewhere to calm tetchy moods. Also to suit smalls in the area is the Parco dei Mostri or Park of Monsters, 45 minutes away at Bomarzo, where your beasties can clamber over ogres, dragons and other stony critters carved into the park's rocks.