The end of summer has always brought us a bit of sadness and that is why, with the arrival ofautumn, we always look for some nice boredom-busting activities we can do with our girls.
There are so many of them!
The important thing is not to get caught up in laziness if the weather is not kind.
In the beginning, in fact, if the day is gloomy, it costs us a bit of trouble to drag ourselves out of the house , but once we are back in, we are all the happier for having enjoyed a few hours outdoors.
Below, therefore, you can find a variety of autumn activities – some of which you can also do indoors – to organise with your family.
Let’s get started!
Autumn activities and outings: what to do with the kids in autumn
1. Admiring the foliage
Foliage is that phenomenon whereby, with the arrival of the first cold weather, the leaves of trees turn from green to yellow, red and brown and then fall off.
What better idea, then, to organise a walk in nature, admiring the colours of the forest and perhaps even picking chestnuts.
On our last walk, my daughters had fun pawing through the dried leaves and collecting the fallen leaves of a beautiful yellow colour, which we then placed in a book once home, in order to dry them and keep them as a souvenir.
▶ You might be interested in Where to admire foliage in Liguria.
2. Autumn activities for children: visiting a pumpkin field
The Pumpkin Patch – literally, pumpkin field – is based on the American tradition where families, in anticipation of Halloween, go to these huge fields to pick up a pumpkin and take it home to be picked.
In Italy , too, Pumpkin Patches can increasingly be found in the autumn period, offering activities and workshops for children, shows, and themed decorations.
There are also games and inflatables for children of all ages, pony rides, and pumpkin lunches.
We visited the Pumpkin Village at Puravida Farm and recounted our experience in this article.
3. Visiting a wildlife park
There are many wildlife parks scattered around Italy and my daughters really enjoy spending a day observing animals up close, perhaps even species that would be very difficult to spot in the wild.
By the way, most of them on Halloween organise several themed weeks where you can find workshops for the little ones, children’s make-up, monster shows, and lots of fun.
▶ You might be interested in celebrating Halloween in an amusement park.
4. Autumn activities with kids: Visit a medieval village
Strolling along the cobbled streets of a medieval village is always a good idea, but doing so in warm autumn colours takes on an almost magical aspect.
Visiting a village allows you to spend a slightly different day discovering its history, its castle – always present – and, why not, its culinary tradition too.
We really like the villages in the Trebbia Valley such as, for example, Brugnello and the villages in the Piacenza area such as Bobbio, Vigoleno, Grazzano Visconti, to name but a few.
In the Genoa hinterland, Senarega and Pentema are worth a visit, famous for the nativity scene that enlivens the village streets in winter.
5. Take a panoramic tour on an alternative vehicle
We have never yet had the opportunity to organise a scenic tour on, for example, the Bernina Red Train or the Foliage Train but, living in Genoa, we have at our disposal fun alternative means of transport to the car that are truly scenic.
In fact, most of Genoa’s neighbourhoods are located on high ground, and the fastest means of transport commonly used by us Genovese who climb the green hills are lifts, rack railways and funicular railways.
For example, the funicular from the city centre to the Forts of Genoa or the funicular from Rapallo to the Montallegro district is very beautiful.
A panoramic funicular can also be taken to Bergamo Alta and Mondovì .
Any alternative route to the car is sure to delight your children.
6. Autumn activities for children: going to a village festival
If you are a fan of typical autumn products such as pumpkin, chestnuts, mushrooms, truffles, etc., and you are not afraid of having to queue for food, then going to a village festival might be for you.
In addition to good food, these days generally feature themed displays , shows, workshops, games and inflatables for children.
In short, everything you need to spend a fun autumn day with the family.
7. Visit an educational farm
It’s not exactly a typical autumn activity to visit an educational farm, but most of them are also agritourism farms so, in our opinion, it’s a great idea to spend a Sunday with your children, perhaps on a gloomy day.
The children can be in close contact with the animals and, if the facility organises it, they can also take part in some workshops. Perfect then to spend a few hours.
We tried several farms and most of them offer a set menu that includes a visit to the animals and access to the playground (if there is one).
Workshops, on the other hand, are priced separately.
8. What to do in autumn with children: the grape harvest
More and more often, wineries are offering grape harvest activities with children.
Picking bunches of grapes and then pressing them is certainly a fun activity for children. If only for the fact that we get as dirty as we can!
Despite our good intentions, grape harvesting is an autumn activity that we haven’t managed to do yet but plan to try soon.
Autumn activities when it rains
Below are a few suggestions to do with the kids in the autumn, should it unfortunately rain.
9. What to do with children in autumn if it rains: visit a museum
Visiting a museum if the child is small is not really an idea that would excite him so much.
Therefore, the trump card is to find an interactive, family-friendly museum that can involve the child as much as possible.
The one that has excited us the most so far is definitely the MuSe in Trento. The maximum time inside is three hours but you could easily spend the whole day without getting bored.
In Genoa, we recommend La Città dei Bambini e dei Ragazzi, the first experience museum dedicated to the 5 senses, and the Galata Museo del Mare where children can climb aboard replicas of boats. Very entertaining!
In Turin, a visit to the Egyptian Museum is a must, and in Milan to Muba, the children’s museum.
10. Going to the Bookshop or Library
Obviously we are talking about a bookshop or library that has a space suitable for children, so as not to disturb other readers.
Enquire at the bookshops in your town or city because the larger ones will certainly have a room with soft mats or low tables, suitable for children, and small books that they can leaf through without fear of crumpling.
Some bookshops also organise animated readings, i.e. an actor reads a children’s story aloud, trying to be as engaging as possible.
This could also be agood idea to spend a couple of hours on an autumn day.
▶ You might be interested in What to do in Genoa when it rains and What to do in Trentino when it rains.
11. Autumn activities with children when it rains: cooking
When the rain really doesn’t allow us to go out, we give in to our daughter’s request and start cooking. What? Like good Genoese, gnocchi with pesto, of course!
You will have to take into account that, if the child is small, it will take longer to clean up than it does to cook, needless to say.
But do you want to put the satisfaction of your little ones, of putting food prepared by them on the table?
For those who have less pretentious children than ours, it is enough to prepare even just a cake or some simple biscuits to cut out, perhaps with fun shapes.
12. DIY Christmas presents
Another activity to do in the autumn with children could be to create little presents with your own hands to give to friends and relatives at Christmas .
Drawings framed perhaps with leaves you have collected in the woods, decorations for the home, candies or sweets to put in simple bags, are just some of the ideas that can be realised with children on an autumn day.
