A farm visit in Tuscany is a great way to break up the sightseeing. While the pace in Tuscany is much slower, kids can still tire of running around quaint villages checking out ancient churches. Kids need free space to run, which is exactly why we made plans to head out into the countryside during our time in Tuscany.
Just outside of the idyllic Tuscan town of Pienza, lies an unassuming farm perfect for an afternoon of fun. Toddlers can only stand so many historic churches before they start to get antsy. A visit to a local farm seemed to be a great way to break up the sightseeing during our 12 day trip through Italy.
Podere Il Casale is one of the last remaining farms in the area that does a little bit of everything. While other farms have consolidated and narrowed their scope, the farmers at Podere Il Casale try to stick to the traditional sense of farming. They are 100% organic and do much of the work by hand. The farm is home to pigs, goats, and a beautiful peacock or two. You can do a guided tour of the farm or walk around on your own. There are options for cheese tastings as well. If you are up for a night under the stars, you can even camp on their grounds.
There is a gourmet restaurant on site with a 40 seat dining room. Outside, a terrace with several more tables overlooks the Val d’Orcia. The food is all organic and seasonal. The meat comes directly from the farm or from farmers nearby, and the pasta is homemade. While the menu looks incredible with excellent reviews, another option is to pre-order a picnic basket. With arrangements made to visit mid-afternoon, we weren’t sure how the kids would be, so we opted for the self guided farm tour and picnic. We hated to be “those people” at the restaurant, having never been there. Looking back they would’ve been completely fine as it was a casaul, laidback atmosphere. Nevertheless, we thoroughly enjoyed our picnic.
We arrived around 2pm and checked in at the office. After a quick explanation of the grounds we set out to see some of the animals before our picnic lunch. We were all pretty hungry so we quickly returned to retrieve our picnic basket, which was full of delicious goodies. There were sandwiches, fresh baked bread, cheese from the farm, sweet treats, water, and a bottle of wine, along with plates and utensils. They even provided us with a blanket to sit on. We were then free to find a perfect spot anywhere on the farm. We chose a shaded area a few hundred feet from the restaurant. As we ate our lunch overlooking the Val d’Orcia, a peacock loitered nearby, mesmerizing the kids with his beautiful feathers.
The whole afternoon was amazing, but let’s not kid ourselves. A picnic with children is not exactly relaxing. I shot a quick time-lapse video that shows just how “relaxing” it was. Ha!
After our leisurely lunch, we spent an hour or more checking in on all the animals around the farm. The kids could’ve stayed for hours checking out the goats.
Podere Il Casale is a great place to spend an afternoon while visiting Tuscany. The kids absolutely loved it, and we were happy to indulge in a little downtime. This is very much a working farm, not a picture perfect petting zoo. So I’d make sure the kids are wearing appropriate attire if you plan to attend.
Planning a trip to Italy with your kids? Check out this itinerary for Rome while you’re here. Follow along on social for more inspiration and ideas!
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