10 Ideas for Having Fun With Kids in Senigallia

Spiaggia di Velluto (Velvet Beach) is a long coastline with incredibly fine, golden sand and helps make Senigallia one of the most popular spots in the Marche region for families with children. This shoreline has everything you need to keep kids entertained: the beach is wide, the water is always clean, the sea is shallow, and the services and amenities will allow you to spend a relaxing day with your family in a comfortable, safe environment.

There are bars and refreshment points, lidos with sunbeds and umbrellas, and associations that organise sports and lots of other activities. Kids will have a ball splashing along the water's edge or building sandcastles with buckets and spades.

Senigallia's parks, where everything is kid-friendly, are ideal if you like your kids playing right among nature, and you'll find lush parks in the town centre with equipment that's perfect for little ones.

The biggest is Parco della Pace, where you can shoot off down bike paths and stop for a snack in the picnic areas. Swings, slides and merry-go-rounds entertain young visitors to Giardini Morandi, while Giardini Lorrach has attractions for the more daring, with rope towers and pyramids to climb. Want to get some exercise while the kids are having fun? Giardini Caduti di Nassiriya is equipped with play areas and a fitness trail.

Bike trails along the promenade and inland make getting around on 2 wheels in Senigallia easy, as the cycle lanes allow you to move around the city and reach areas further inland. The seafront promenade is a flat, simple route, ideal for a cycle with your family.

If you'd like to set off on a more challenging route of around 13 km, you can follow PercorriMisa, which starts at the port and heads towards Ostra, a picturesque village in the hills. The path is surrounded by nature and follows the course of the River Misa, meaning you could see numerous species of water birds.

Educational workshops for children, organised by local museums and offered in the evening, can be a great way to end a day spent playing on the beach. These specially designed activities combine fun with education about different historical and cultural aspects.

Literary events with readings and entertainment take place in Piazza del Duca. The rooms and stuccowork of Palazzetto Baviera host events dedicated to art, while historical tours are held in the archaeological area and Museo La Fenice (La Fenice Museum). The Museo della Mezzadria (Sharecropping Museum) also offers activities related to the old world of agricultural culture, with a series of events and hands-on activities that will thrill young and old alike.

Theatre for kids and puppet shows are no surprise in a child-friendly destination like Senigallia, and they make for engaging and entertaining family fun. The Festival Ambarabà takes place in the summer months, with initiatives in various locations in Senigallia as the event seeks to take the magic of the stage beyond the traditional spaces.

The calendar includes Baracche e Burattini, a festival of animated performances starring puppets, marionettes and shadows in the great tradition of puppet theatre. The events are put on by actors and storytellers from the best Italian companies specialising in entertainment for little ones.

A walk in the harbour and by Penelope statue makes for a lovely evening stroll. The 2 docks along the River Misa that form Senigallia's harbour have cycle and pedestrian paths leading to the sea. The left-hand dock, the Banchina di Ponente, ends in a panoramic viewpoint, while the end of the right-hand dock, the Banchina di Levante, is home to a statue of Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, who faithfully waited for her husband to return.

The sculptor Gianni Guerra chose this figure to symbolise those who wait for a loved one to return from a journey at sea. The benches in the harbour also look like sculptures of undulating stones and are the perfect spot for a break at the end of the walk.

Falconara Zoo is a great place to spend a day discovering the animal kingdom. The zoo is in Falconara Marittima, around half an hour from Senigallia. Inspired by the modern animal park concept, the purpose of the zoo is to conserve endangered and protected species.

Here, you can see wolves, pumas, lions, tigers, meerkats, ostriches, zebras, giraffes, tortoises, black storks and crowned cranes. One special feature is the cheetah pyramid, a glass structure that allows you to enter the animals' environment and see them up close from a completely safe position. If your stomach starts rumbling and you've brought some snacks with you, there are picnic areas available in the park where you can take a break.

Challenge yourselves at the Labirinto di Hort (Corn Maze by Hort), an intricate network of paths created between the rows in a cornfield and located just outside the town centre, along the road leading inland. The layout changes every year and follows the creative inspiration of the moment.

In a fairy-tale atmosphere, you'll find fairies, warriors and other fantasy figures. Treasure hunts, games with riddles to solve and entertainment are all organised here, making each visit one of a kind. This attraction is open from July to September, when the corn makes it possible to create the settings and scenes for this original attraction. Pushchairs and wheelchairs suitable for dirt surfaces can also access the maze.

Explore the educational itineraries at the Sharecropping Museum to discover how rural people lived in centuries gone by, when farming was one of the main economic resources in Senigallia. Educational tours are organised to show kids different aspects of everyday life in the countryside, from the sharecropper's work to the cultivation of wheat, vines and olive trees.

At the end of the visit, you can take part in hands-on activities where you can grind grains or learn how to recognise aromatic plants. The location of the museum is also of interest, as it's found inside a wing of the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent.

Balì Museum, Saltara is around 40 km from Senigallia and offers kids the pleasant surprise of being told that they can't not touch anything. At this museum, science becomes simple and understandable through interaction and exploration. You'll be able to discover phenomena such as light, waves and electromagnetism from posts that guide visitors in logical reasoning and help them work out the laws of nature.

The museum also houses a planetarium and an astronomical observatory. During night-time events, you can see the moon, planets and constellations. During the day, thanks to the use of instruments with the right lenses and filters, you can make amazing observations of the sun.