Many families prefer renting apartments in European cities as they offer more value and living space than traditional hotel rooms.

My issue with apartments is that standalone units can be a quality risk unless you are diligent about checking references (see my post on finding the best family-friendly vacation rental for more tips and links to resources). Moreover, the management of an apartment may be nonexistent which leaves you without someone to help with planning and logistics in a foreign environment.

I stayed at one of our longtime Ciao Bambino Approved properties last summer, Internazionale Domus, and was reminded why this apart-hotel is such an exceptional option for families visiting Rome.

Located on – literally – one of the most coveted and picturesque squares in Rome, the Piazza di Spagna, Internazionale Domus guests need only to walk out their door to be immersed in their adventure. Many of Rome’s major attractions are walking distance from here, not to mention that wandering the streets in this neighborhood is a joyous activity in and of itself.

If you are mulling over a 2012 trip to Italy and are looking for was to engage your kids in the experience, I highly recommend the Art al Sole day camp for international children (the program is in English).

Developed for ages 6-12 (Apprentices) and ages 13-17 (Masters), Art al Sole introduces children to a variety of art principles and practices within an array of glorious historical settings in the Italian countryside.

As the mother of three, I want to give my children the best possible foundation for a successful life. I want them to be exposed to different cultures and traditions, share new discoveries that will open their eyes to the world around them and encourage them to expand their horizons and understanding as they learn new ways to do new things.

One of the best ways we’ve found to do this is through family travel. Always inspiring, travel can be life changing. It is transformational, eye opening, exciting, wondrous and engaging …

This is a guest post from Carole Yu, one of our Italy giveaway winners. Carole offered to share a bit about her trip, as her story touched us all.

Thanks for sharing tidbits from your travels with us Carole. Reading your story makes me want to get back to Tuscany!

If you’ve been to the Italian Riviera between June and August, this scene looks familiar. For some families, this rocky stretch of coastline in Liguria is the ultimate summer holiday destination.

In fact, questions about visiting Italian beaches with kids in the summertime comes up more often than almost any other topic on Ciao Bambino. Given this, I thought it would be fun to showcase some recent family vacation photos, as well as need to know tips for visiting this area.

Although I love visiting Florence in summertime when the weather is warm, a strategy is required to avoid an all-family meltdown given that the city is compact and during prime tourist season, it’s almost impossible to escape the crowds. The majority of the city hotels do not have swimming pools or open spaces for kids to run around. A bad combination.

Enter Villa La Massa …

Villa La Massa has been in our kid-friendly luxury portfolio for a few years now. It’s located …

A phenomenal kid-friendly walking tour guide can be the difference between successfully engaging children in the sights of a city or … not.

We’ve recommended Paolo Lenzi to our clients and readers for years and it was fun to receive an email from Holly Schmidt asking to submit a review of his services.

Here is what she said:

Self-catering apartments and villas are ideal accommodations when traveling with kids in the countryside of Italy. The only downside is that if there is no onsite restaurant available, the meal hassle-factor grows exponentially.

Here’s why:

1. Villages are rarely walkable from rural apartments and villas in Tuscany. Even if the accommodations are within walking distance, these are not roads that are kid-friendly, particularly at night. Think no sidewalks, no lights, blind corners …

Spas are the one place in a hotel where you can count on adult-focused relaxation. When we (parents) finally have the time for pampering, we want the experience to be amazing.

Our Italophile readers will be happy to know that we feature a few excellent spa-focused hotels on Ciao Bambino. Kid-friendly in this case doesn’t mean kids are allowed IN the spa (no thank you) …