Stay in rural Tuscany and take the train into Florence from a place like Arezzo for your half day trip.

We want to stay in Florence vs Tuscany since we arrive in Florence by train. We are interested in renting a car if possible and making day trips since we have a 7 year old with us. Is there just any way we can rent a car from the city and return it to the rental location on a daily basis? Which location in the city should be rent from to avoid all the traffic and violation pitfalls that people have mentioned. Thanks

The only really safe place to pick up and drop off is the airport, but one day rentals will cost you a fortune. Why not take the train to Lucca, the high speed coach to Siena and then join a tour to Chianti? If you have a 7 year old with you, then you might want to consider dropping the Uffizi, it is so big and so crowded and largely full of religious art. There are plenty of less taxing and probably more interesting things to do with a child in Florence than the Uffizi

Thank you Peggy. What would you recommend we can do in Florence with a child?

Three cool things that kids get a kick out of in Florence:

• The carousel in Piazza Della Repubblica

• The Museo Stibbert, with its great collection of medieval armor

• Palazzo Vecchio has great programs just for families: http://www.palazzovecchio-familymuseum.it/

You have just half a day, so your opportunities are limited. I do recommend the activities that the Palazzo Vecchio organise for children, as Eugene has mentioned above, the Secret Passageways tour always seems to go down well with kids. This does need to be pre-booked.

My kids always enjoyed climbing the dome of the Cathedral. The queues to this can get quite long, so it is a good idea to do this early in the day. They also always want to go and see David at the Accademia.

There is the small Museo di Leonardo da Vinci, near the Duomo, which has replicas of over 50 of Leonardo's wooden machines. Most can be played with to see how they worked. My kids love shopping on San Lorenzo market and the Palazzo Davenzati is another favourite - a restoration of a Florentine merchant's house, a colourful maze of brightly decorated rooms.

If your child is into science there is the Museo Galileo - full of historical scientific instruments. If your child is into clothes, there is the Costume Gallery in the Pitti Palace.

I should also mention the great programs they run at the Palazzo Strozzi to get kids involved with the art exhibitions they run there and the Natural History Museum, La Specola.

I hope there is something in there that will appeal.