Cascine Park in Florence with Children
After two days of marble floors and altarpieces, your children need trees, grass, and room to sprint. Le Cascine is the answer. Florence’s largest park extends 3.5 km along the northern bank of the Arno river, beginning just west of the city centre and ending where the Arno meets the Mugnone. It takes about fifteen minutes to reach from Santa Maria Novella by tram, and it offers something the historic centre structurally cannot: space.
The park was once a Medici agricultural estate - a working farm that supplied the ducal household with dairy produce, game, and garden vegetables. It passed into public ownership in the early 19th century and has been the city’s primary outdoor gathering place ever since. On a Saturday morning in April, it fills with cyclists, families pushing prams, teenagers on roller skates, elderly men playing pétanque, and every dog in Florence.
What the Park Offers Families with Young Children
The section of the park most useful for families with young children is the area around the central Piazzale delle Cascine, roughly in the middle of the park’s length. This is where you will find the park’s traditional carousel - wooden horses, lacquered carriages, hand-painted decorations - operating on weekends and public holidays from around 10:00 to 19:00. Tickets are 1.50 euros a ride. Children between two and eight find it immediately and powerfully attractive.
A few minutes’ walk further along the main avenue, a small amusement area with older-style rides operates seasonally from spring through September. The rides here are the kind you find at Italian village fairs - a bit battered, a bit loud, entirely beloved by children between five and twelve. Not sophisticated, genuinely fun.
The open grassy areas on either side of the main plane-tree avenue are the park’s defining feature for families. The trees, which are enormous, create patches of deep shade through the warmer months. Families spread blankets on the grass from mid-morning on weekends; arriving before 11:00 gives you the best choice of shaded position. Ball games, frisbee, and spontaneous football are all perfectly normal here.
The Pista di Atletica - a proper athletics track - is near the eastern end of the park and is open to the public during non-training hours. Children who enjoy running find it satisfying to run laps on a real track surface. This is available without booking and without charge.
Playgrounds and Cycling
The main equipped playground at Le Cascine sits near the western end of the park, approximately 1.8 km from the main eastern entrance. It has climbing frames in several sizes, swings for different age groups, slides, and a sand play area. The surface around the main structures is sand with some rubberised sections. Shade in the central playground area is limited at midday in summer, so morning and late-afternoon visits are more comfortable.
A second, quieter playground area is located near the Piscine Le Cascine complex, roughly halfway along the park. It is better shaded, less busy during the week, and appropriate for children between three and eight who want a calmer environment than the main playground.
For families who cycle, Le Cascine is one of the best destinations in Florence. Bike hire is available from several points near the park’s main entrance off Viale degli Olmi. In 2026, prices start at around 3 euros per hour for a standard adult bicycle and 2 euros per hour for a child’s bike. Some hire points offer bicycle trailers for toddlers and tag-along attachments that clip to an adult bike. The paths within the park are flat, paved, and wide enough for families to cycle side by side. Cycling from the eastern entrance to the western end and back is about 7 km in total - achievable for children from about age five upwards with a rest in the middle.
The Swimming Pool: A Practical Option in Summer
The Piscine Le Cascine is an outdoor swimming pool complex within the park, open from approximately June through mid-September. It has a large main pool, a smaller secondary pool, and a shallow wading area for toddlers that sits at approximately 40 centimetres depth.
In 2026, entry costs are approximately 7 euros per adult for a session. Children under six enter free. Children between six and twelve pay around 4 euros. The complex opens at 10:00 and closes at 19:00 on weekdays, with slightly extended hours on weekend afternoons.
For families spending a full day in the park in summer, the pool session is the natural centrepiece of the afternoon. Plan to be at the playground or on the grass in the morning when it is cooler, eat lunch at the park bar or from food you bring, and spend the hottest hours between 13:00 and 17:00 in or near the pool. This schedule means children are moving when the temperature is manageable and in the water when it is not.
Food, the Tuesday Market, and the Rest
Food and drink in the park is available from a bar-restaurant in the central section, open daily through spring and summer. The prices are completely normal: espresso at around 1.20 euros, a tramezzino (crustless Italian sandwich) at 3.50 to 5 euros. A kiosk near the carousel sells ice cream and cold drinks. Picnicking is entirely normal in Le Cascine - the Florentines do it constantly, and there are benches, concrete tables, and stretches of open grass throughout.
The Tuesday market at Le Cascine is one of those things that non-Italians rarely know about but local residents plan their week around. From approximately 08:00 to 14:00 on Tuesdays, around 600 stalls spread along the main avenue selling clothing, shoes, household goods, fresh produce, cheese, and cured meats. It is one of the largest outdoor markets in Tuscany and a thoroughly local event. Families with children who enjoy markets will find it interesting; those with buggies should be aware that the pedestrian density between 09:30 and 12:30 is significant enough to make navigation effortful.
Getting to Le Cascine Without a Car
The park is unusually well connected for a large green space on the edge of a historic city centre.
By tram: line T1 from Santa Maria Novella station arrives at the “Cascine” stop near the park’s eastern entrance in approximately twelve to fifteen minutes. A single ticket costs 1.70 euros and is valid for ninety minutes. Buy it at the ticket machine at the tram stop before boarding. Children under six travel free. The tram runs from around 05:30 to midnight.
By bus: line 17C runs along the northern edge of the park on Via delle Cascine. From Piazza della Repubblica, the journey takes about twenty minutes.
On foot: from Piazza Santa Maria Novella, the eastern entrance to Le Cascine is approximately 1.2 km - a fifteen-minute walk at a comfortable pace along the Lungarno Amerigo Vespucci riverside path. The route is completely flat and pleasant. Children who can walk twenty minutes without complaint manage it without any difficulty.
By bike: the cycle path that runs along the Arno from the city centre to Le Cascine takes about ten minutes. Bike hire stations are available near Santa Maria Novella station.
Families staying at Charlotte on Via Guido Monaco are about five minutes’ walk from Santa Maria Novella, which puts Le Cascine very close. Whether you take the tram, cycle, or walk the riverside path, you are in the park in under twenty minutes - which is exactly the kind of proximity that makes the difference between a park visit happening and not happening.
