You have probably heard the story of Pinocchio; the little wooden puppet who wanted to become a real boy and whose nose grew every time he told a lie. You may have seen the Disney animated movie about the story of Pinocchio and his father, Geppetto. It’s a long-loved story that many are familiar with, but did you know that in a small town in Italy, there is an amusement park dedicated to this story?
An excellent choice for a day trip from Florence with kids, this small town park is only one hour by train!
Location of Pinocchio Park
Pinocchio Park is located in the very small town of Collodi, Italy in the province of Tuscany. The story’s author, Carlo Lorenzini, lived in Collodi as a child and this inspired him to use the pen name, Carlo Collodi.
Collodi is about 1-hour northwest of Florence by car or train and about 45 minutes to 1-hour northeast of Pisa by car or train.
Getting to the Park
You can get to the park by bus, car, or train. We went by train, so I can personally speak about that experience. Be sure to check the park’s Where We Are page for info on driving or taking the bus. Note that if you go by car, there is free parking.
By Train:
If you haven’t already, download the Trenitalia app and make an account. This is such an easy way to purchase train tickets in Italy.
Take the train to a small town called Pescia. From there, you will need to take an 8–10-minute taxi ride to the park, which cost us around €15 ($16 USD) one way. We were able to find a taxi right outside of the Pescia train station and the driver knew exactly where the park was. I’m assuming he makes that drive fairly frequently.
Side Note:
When passing through Pescia on our way to Montecatini for the day, we saw the same taxi driver hanging out at the Pescia train station. I’m assuming the train station is his main area to wait for customers.
Tickets for the Park
Cost
At the time of this writing, June 2023, one adult online ticket costs €26 ($28 USD) and €19 ($21 USD) for a child ages 3 and over. Up to 36 months old are free. There is no difference in price if you purchase tickets online or at the park.
They do offer a Family Special discount which is €63 ($68 USD) for two adults and one child. It’s another €19 ($21 USD) to add another family member ages 3 and older. They also offer tickets for €23/each ($25 USD) for groups of over 20 people. Be sure to check out the website for current pricing information.
Where to purchase tickets
You can purchase your tickets at the park or online ahead of time to avoid the lines. When we visited at the beginning of June 2023, there was absolutely no line, though that doesn’t mean that’s always the case.
What is included with your ticket
With your ticket, you can access not only Pinocchio Park but also the Garzoni Garden. This is separate from Pinocchio Park and includes the Butterfly House and the balcony of the Villa.
Good to know
If you purchase your tickets and find that you can’t go on the day you initially bought them for, the site says to call (+39)3913560436 or write to parcodipinocchio@pinocchio.it to change your reservation date.
If you visit either the park or the gardens and don’t have time to visit the other, you can return on a different day to visit the portion you did not get to see. The website says you can visit within 2 months of your visit, but the wonderful lady at the ticket counter told me you have 1 year. Definitely ask to make sure!
Things to do at Pinocchio Park
We spent around 5 hours at the park and still didn’t get to see or do everything. A major reason for that is that Leah absolutely loved the Adventure Trails and went 4 or 5 times in a row.
Things to do at Pinocchio Park:
1. Interactive Museum
Inside there are projections on the walls that you activate by touching the outline of the hand on the wall. Some were games, some were question and answer, and one was you become a puppet on the wall, and it followed your movements.
2. Adventure Trails (low ropes course)
This area is for children ages 5 – 14 years old and between 3 – 5 feet tall (1 – 1.5 meters).
There are two separate trails, and they are both only for kids. Parents can watch from the surrounding area but are not allowed to go on the ropes course with the kids.
You must first sign a waiver (available at the course) and then the kids are provided with a helmet and harness. They are given a quick demonstration of how to move the metal piece that attaches to the ropes, and they are ready to go!
The kids can do one or both sections of the Adventure Trails and can go as many times as they like and there is no cost associated with it! This was our daughter’s favorite thing and where she spent most of her time.
3. Wooded pathways
There are quite a few paths through a nicely wooded area, and you can see a lot of statues of the storybook characters as you walk around.
4. Old-time carousel
If your kids are used to the modern-day carousels that usually include horses that move up and down, they may be a bit disappointed with this carousel as nothing moves on its own. Everything simply goes around in the circle with the carousel.
This and the small boat ride are definitely geared more toward younger kids.
5. Small boat ride
This ride is just like a carousel, but the kids sit in wooden boats. This may best be enjoyed by the younger kids.
6. Decorate a Pinocchio hat
In the same building as the gift shop (#51 on the park map), and in the area next to the gift shop, there is a spot with tables and chairs where The Blue Fairy will draw a picture and your child’s name for them to paint or color. Once your child has colored their hat, the fairy will help them turn it into a Pinocchio hat and will even decorate it with ribbon.
7. Listen to the izi.Travel guided tour
Download the izi.Travel app and scan the QR codes throughout the park to listen the guided tour.
8. Live puppet show
There were two different show times for the puppet show, which was of course, in Italian. While we didn’t understand a lot of it, it was still fun to watch and funny to see all the kids in the audience respond.
9. Large chessboard
You can find this just outside the interactive museum.
10. Mosaic Plaza
Some activities are held here throughout the day and it’s a neat area with beautiful mosaics all around.
11. Playground and zipline
Not far from the Mosaic Plaza is a small playground that includes a zipline.
12. Snack bar
In case you forget to bring snacks, there is food available. If you want more than sandwiches and chips, there is a restaurant up near the entrance.
13. Life-sized board game
Have someone spin the wheel to see how many spaces you move and see who can get to the end first!
14. Small maze
It’s a pretty easy maze, but can still be fun, especially for the kids!
15. The Whale
Of course, you need to walk to the far end of the park to see the whale with Geppetto inside. You can climb around its open mouth and teeth and even take one of two staircases up to the top of its head.
Map of Pinocchio Park
Nearby Attractions
16. Garzoni Villa and Garden
Your Pinocchio Park tickets will also gain you access to the Garzoni Villa and Garden. We did not personally get to visit the gardens because we spent so much time at the low ropes course. However, the pictures look beautiful, and I would have enjoyed getting the chance to explore it!
17. Butterfly House (Casa delle Farfalle)
As its name suggests, this area is for hundreds of butterflies and moths to live, feed, and reproduce. You can walk through the area and see butterflies and caterpillars in various stages of life.
18. The Town of Collodi
You can also walk around the small village of Collodi, which you obviously don’t need a ticket for. The village has been around since the late 12th century.
Good to know
English is just about everywhere
While I always try to communicate in the local language and recommend you do the same, if possible, you can rest easy knowing that a lot of things in the park were in both Italian and English. Inside the Interactive Museum, the directions to play the games flashed on the screen/wall in both languages.
The map and activity guide they gave us for the park included English and the few staff members that we talked with spoke very good English. Much better than my Italian!
If you need help getting the taxi back to the Pescia Train Station, ask the ticket office for some help. The taxi driver mentioned to us that we could ask the people at the ticket office to call him when we were ready to leave and that’s what we did. Unfortunately, Uber is not available in most areas of Italy.
Ropes courses close if it rains
The Adventure Trails (low ropes courses) close if there is rain. Surprisingly, the courses were kept open even while there was thunder, but as soon as it started raining, they shut it down. The entire park did not close because of the rain or thunder, so you do not have to leave the park if wet weather moves in.
I hope this provides you with some helpful information as you plan your trip! Happy travels!
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