GO TO THE BEACH: If you're in Tuscany, head for Forte dei Marmi; look at the marble-capped Carrara mountains as you swim. There is also an under-12 drive-yourself motorcar racetrack and amusement park in the town square.

If you're near the Amalfi coast, take a boat ride from Positano and swim in hidden grottos (Gennaro and Salvatore Boat Excursions; www.syrene.it/gennaroesalvatore).

RIDE A BIKE: Ride on the medieval walls of Lucca (rental near north gate to the city, Piazza Maria Del Borgo). Or rent bikes in the Borghese Gardens in Rome (just south of the Borghese Museo).

AMUSEMENT PARKS: Parks include Parco di Pinnochio, Collodi (near Lucca); Guardaland, north of Verona, abutting Lake Guarda; or the quirky Citta della Dominica on the outskirts of Perugia (complete with a Western Frontier town).

CLIMB, CLIMB, CLIMB: Giotto's Campanile in Florence and the Brunelleschi's Dome; the towers in San Gimignano; St. Peter's Dome and the Spanish Steps in Rome; the Guigini Tower (with the trees on it) in Lucca; and the Torre de Mangia and the Cathedral construction (abandoned because of the Plague) in Siena.

SEE INVENTIONS: Hire a docent to walk the children through the Leonardo Museum in -- where else? -- Vinci (www.leonet.it/comuni/vincimus).

VISIT A FARM: Take a tour of an olive oil-producing farm in Chianti, such as Farmhouse Pornanino (www.chiantinet.it/pornanino).

TAKE A COOKING LESSON: Two suggestions areIl Gonfalone restaurant in Rome (www.bramante-travel.com/cookingcourse.htm) or Enoteca de Giraldi in Florence (www.vinaio.com).

ENJOY OUTDOOR CULTURE: Many small Italian towns have outdoor music concerts in the summer. Once we even saw Paul Simon on a warm June evening in Lucca. Towns also show outdoor movies in the piazzas. There are often outdoor fairs with rides, games of chance and homemade food. Check the local calendars. If the European or World Cup is on during your stay, the games are inevitably broadcast on large screens in every small town.

GO SLOW: As author Erica Jong suggests, let them (and yourself) enjoy doing ordinary things in extraordinary places. Just watching my son and daughter successfully order gelato, with their smiles and finger pointing, brings as much joy to my soul as it does to theirs.

WHEN IN ROME: Take in "Time Elevator," an entertaining movie near Piazza Venezia that covers the history of the Eternal City, complete with moving seats (www.time-elevator.it).

Enjoy the entertainers in Piazza Navona every night. Let the whole family get henna tattoos.

Take a trip to Bocca della Verita, made famous in the movie "Roman Holiday." A stone face will bite your hand if you tell a lie with your hand in its mouth (Santa Maria in Cosmedin).

Walk down 2,000 years of history in three levels below the Church of San Clemente and see a Roman villa. Another option is to take a horse-and-buggy ride though the Roman streets. (Start near the Colosseum). Of course, Michelangelo's Vatican ceiling will cause jaws to drop whatever the viewer's age.

IN SIENA: If you are there in July at any time near the running of the Palio, the medieval bareback horse race in the campo that is run twice a year, see the trial runs a week before the real race (the real one is too crowded). It is like seeing the Montagues and the Capulets go at it.

IN VENICE: At 6 years old, my son enjoyed chasing the pigeons in Piazza San Marco. That was free, but my cappuccino at the outdoor bar cost $12. Gondola rides and a speedboat to the Murano glass-making factories were fun.