A child, in the car, asking where we're going. And us saying: to look at the clouds. It nearly always works. Because Ferrara, seen from the height of a seven-year-old, is a city made to measure: flat, slow, with red walls that look like a castle you'd draw and plenty of sky above. Down here, after all, there's us too.
If you're wondering what to do in Ferrara with kids without turning the day into a forced march from museum to museum, we'll tell you how we'd live it. One thing at a time, with the right breaks. No rush: it's our trade, after all.
Start on a bike, on the walls
Ferrara is the city of bicycles, and not just as a figure of speech. Around 90% of people in Ferrara own at least one, and a quarter of all home-school-work journeys are made by pedal, on more than 200 km of cycle paths. Translated for anyone arriving with children: here the bike is the rule, not the exception. The cars expect it.
The loveliest way to begin is to go up onto the walls: a ring of around 9 kilometres that wraps the historic centre, walkable and cyclable among bastions, towers and gates. No need to do the whole thing. One stretch is more than enough. You pedal above the city, in the shade of the trees, and the children race ahead without a thought for traffic. Grass, wheels, a bit out of breath and the odd soft tumble: that's the first real stop.
From Corso Ercole I d'Este you reach the Porta degli Angeli, a good spot to get on or off. And if one of the little ones looks up and stops to watch the sky changing, well, we understand that perfectly.
The Castle, with its moat and towers
Then there's the big one, the Castello Estense. The symbol of the city: four towers, red terracotta brick, white balustrades, drawbridges. And all around, the thing children love most: a moat full of water. A real castle, with water around it, right in the middle of Ferrara. Hard to explain, easy to look at.
You walk around it, count the towers, look for the ravelins. The Torre dei Leoni can be climbed, for those with the legs and the will. We won't give you opening hours or ticket prices here; they change often, and the last thing we want is to send you to a closed door: a quick check on the official website before you set off and you're sorted.
Even just from the outside, though, the Castle makes an impression. It's one of those places that stay with children longer than any number of stories.
Parco Bassani, for running properly
After the walls and the towers, you need space. Lots of it. You'll find it at the Parco Urbano Giorgio Bassani, the big green area to the north, between the walls and the Po, named after the Ferrara-born writer. It's enormous, we're talking around 1,200 hectares, what they call the Addizione Verde, the Green Addition. Here the children can finally run without anyone saying “careful”.
It's the place for picnics, for a football, for a blanket on the grass. The one you arrive at full of city and leave full of air. Bring something to eat and let them loose: a park like this, in the end, is the best museum for anyone who's only a few years old. And above, once again, the clouds. It's almost a habit, around here, to start watching them.
The Delta and the flamingos, if you have a whole day
If you feel like going further afield, the big prize is the Po Delta. Here the great river meets the Adriatic, and the tourist boards describe it as a destination made for families: boat trips, canoeing, horse riding, birdwatching, nature reserves to explore.
The thing that leaves everyone open-mouthed, big and small, is the Valli di Comacchio: you go out by boat to look for the flamingos, really pink, standing in the shallow water. For children it's a kind of magic. In summer there are also guided outings to get closer to the birdlife and visit the fishermen's huts, the casoni, along the canals.
And if it rains, or you need some shade, in Comacchio there's the Museo Delta Antico, designed with younger visitors in mind too: finds from the Etruscan city of Spina, the cargo of a ship wrecked more than two thousand years ago, immersive videos, installations you can smell and displays you can touch. Not the usual look-but-don't-touch museum.
A day, on a child's scale
Putting it all in order, a sensible day might look like this:
- The walls by bike, one stretch of the ring, with an easy start from the Porta degli Angeli. Above the city, in the shade, no traffic.
- Castello Estense, a walk around the moat, counting the towers, a climb up the Torre dei Leoni for the older ones (opening hours on the official website).
- Parco Bassani, free running, a football and a picnic on the grass. Time to catch your breath.
- The Delta and the Valli di Comacchio, the long outing, by boat, flamingo-hunting. Save it for when you have a whole day to yourselves.
Four stops, but no obligation. Even just the first three, taken slowly, already make a lovely day. The secret, with children, is to take away, not to add.
Frequently asked questions
What is there to do in Ferrara with kids?
The classic round, stress-free: a stretch of the walls by bike, the Castello Estense with its moat and towers, and a good run around Parco Bassani. With an extra day, the trip to the Po Delta and the flamingos of the Valli di Comacchio by boat. A few things, done calmly.
Can you get around Ferrara by bike with children?
Yes, and it's the best way. Ferrara is Italy's city of bicycles: cycle paths everywhere and the ring of the walls, around 9 km, all of it rideable away from cars. One stretch at a time, at the pace of their legs.
And at the end of the day
When the children are tired in the right way, the good way, with red cheeks and fewer words than usual, it's time to come back to the table. We're here, a small fish trattoria, with the smell of cooking from the kitchen and no hurry. It's not a place for children or a place for grown-ups: it's a place for families, which is something else.
If you're passing, the table is ready. And if outside it has started to nuvolare, our word for when the clouds roll in, point it out to them: in Ferrara, watching the clouds is already half the fun.