Guides to the area
Perugia · about half an hour
It is the first amusement park in Italy, opened in 1963, and it was founded by Mario Spagnoli, the son of Luisa of the Baci chocolates. There are no roller coasters: there are deer roaming free in the woods, a farm, a large reptile house and fairy-tale worlds built in wood. It is made for small children and for those at primary school. It is open from the end of March to early November; children under three go in free.
Perugia, San Marco · about half an hour
Under the chimney of an old brick kiln there are about two thousand toys, from the eighteenth century to today, arranged by theme: the school of the past, work, town and country, the circus, the theatre and pre-cinema. Many are set out in little scenes on tables, and a member of staff makes them work in front of the children. The museum also runs workshops and guided tours, and it is open every day by reservation.
Perugia · 35 minutes
The museum, the factory seen from above and the tasting: the visit works well with children too. Booking is online.
45 minutes
Water runs between the houses, under the little bridges, beside the doors: for a child it is a village made for playing. Be careful, though: the cobbles are slippery when wet, there are steps and narrow bridges, and a pushchair will not do. A baby carrier is better.
Gubbio · 15 minutes
In the former monastery of San Benedetto there is «Extinction»: life-size dinosaur models, fossils, workshops for children, and a nine-metre sauropod in the garden. It explains why the dinosaurs died out, and the answer is close by: in the Bottaccione Gorge, just outside Gubbio, is the layer of rock in which two scientists, Luis and Walter Alvarez, found the trace of the asteroid that wiped them out. Children under three go in free.
Scuderia degli Angeli, Gualdo Tadino · 20 minutes
It starts with a visit to the stables, and from there you set off for an hour on horseback, suitable for adults and for children aged six and over accompanied by a parent. Booking is arranged through us.
Things to do at the Casale
Gualdo Tadino and Monte Cucco · 15 minutes
Around Gualdo there are the Rocchetta springs and the meadows of Santo Marzio, Capodacqua and Vaccara, good for a picnic. Above Sigillo, in Val di Ranco, the Monte Cucco beech wood has short trails among the trees, and where the wood begins you can eat crescia.
Sigillo · 15 minutes
A real cave, with guides: an uphill path to the entrance, then an iron ladder down the shaft and into the great halls. Inside it is 6 degrees all year round. Children can go in from the age of eight, with an adult.
Museo della Carta, Fabriano
The master papermakers make paper by hand in front of visitors, as in the Middle Ages, and after the visit children can make their own sheet in the workshop. It goes well with the Frasassi day: Fabriano is on the way back.
Genga · 30 minutes
Seventy-five minutes on foot inside the mountain, among stalactites and enormous halls, with a guide. The route has steps and a kilometre and a half of walking: it can be tiring for the youngest, and a pushchair only gets as far as the first hall. Inside it is 14 degrees: bring a sweatshirt even in summer.
And in the evening, dinner at the Casale, at 7:30 pm.
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