When your holiday in Milano Marittima flows between the pool, the sea and Animation 7/7, boredom isn’t on the agenda — especially at the Club Family Hotel Village Milano Marittima! But we’d love to suggest a special experience your kids will take home as a keepsake: an adventure to the Cervia Salt Pans and the MUSA – Salt Museum. This is where Cervia was born, where the “sweet salt” smells of history and nature mirrors in the water. A story to live with noses up hunting for pink flamingos, and hands ready to touch, smell and ask questions.
- Cervia Salt Pans: where Cervia’s story begins (and how to get there with kids)
You can enter the Salt Pans only on guided tours from the Visitor Centre — the perfect “gateway” for families: easy parking, nature guides and simple routes. To reach the salt pans from the hotel it takes 10–15 minutes by car, 20–25 minutes by bike or 45–60 minutes on foot (timings are, of course, “family-friendly”). The Cervia Salt Pan is the northernmost in Italy — in fact the only one on the mainland, as the others are on islands and in the south — and it’s famous worldwide for its sweet salt, once called “white gold” for its value. It’s also a Wetland of International Importance and a Nature Reserve: a place to observe with respect that always sparks children’s curiosity. During the visit, the guides also tell the ancient origins of Cervia (the Roman Ficocle) and why the name “Cervia” refers to heaps of salt (“acervus”), a story that fascinates visitors of all ages. As a bird repopulation area, the salt pan enchants all year, but in summer it reaches the peak of production and harvest — and everything turns pink, thanks to the flamingo flocks!
ℹ️ Useful info
Address: Visitor Centre – Salina di Cervia, Via Bova 61, Cervia (RA)
Opening hours: from 01/06 to 14/09 every day 10:00–13:00 and 14:00–19:00
Indicative prices: from € 8.00 full ticket, depending on the experience; children under one metre enter free
Official site: https://www.amaparco.it/parchi/salina-di-cervia/escursioni/
- All the ways to visit the Salt Pans: boat, bike, little train, canoe… and even barefoot
Choose the experience that fits your family: electric boat (calm water, no waves), bikes (provided by the Visitor Centre), little train, canoe or guided walks. Family favourites?
🛥️Sunset by boat: departures about one hour before sunset, duration ~1h30; there’s a tiny bridge to duck under — kids love it. In spring it’s all about birdwatching (binoculars available), in summer/autumn you’ll focus on salt production.
🌅First light at the Salt Pans (sunrise): silence, pastel colours and nature waking up.
🌠Salt Pans under the stars: at night, with an astrophysicist and telescope observations.
👣Barefoot on salt (weather permitting): a unique feeling and stories about “sweet salt”.
🚲By bike: easy routes and a stop at the “mountains of salt”; bike rental is often included.
🚃By little train: super handy with foldable strollers; you’ll cross the basins up to the plant.
🛶By canoe: start from the Canale del Pino in the pinewood and glide into the salt pans — calm pace, lots of nature.
💡 Tip: on every tour, play the “spotting game”: avocets, black-winged stilts, herons and, of course, flamingos.
- MUSA – Salt Museum: tools, stories and hands-on workshops kids will love
After fresh air and the sparkle of the Salt Pans, stop at MUSA, Cervia’s Salt Museum. Set on the canal in the old salt warehouses beside the San Michele Tower, it’s the best way to discover Cervia, its history and its identity as a salt town. A large scale-model to understand the area and canals; multimedia stations to explore the science of salt; and a final room telling the life of the salt workers — even better if you join a tour with an extraordinary guide (a real salinaro!). In summer the museum opens in the evening too, turning a stroll along the canal into a little time-travel. If you want an even deeper dive, visit historic Salina Camillone (the last artisanal salt pan, Slow Food Presidium) and try the amazing “Salt worker for a day” experience: stand alongside the workers and watch the manual harvest. MUSA is about 10 min by car, 18 by bike and 45 on foot from the Club Family Hotel.
ℹ️ Useful info
Address: Via Nazario Sauro, 24 – “Torre” Salt Warehouse, Cervia (RA)
Opening hours: from 1 June to 15 September every evening 20:30–24:00
Prices: Full € 2.00 | Reduced (13–18 years) € 1.00 | Free for everyone on the first Sunday of the month and for children under 12
Official site: https://musa.comunecervia.it/
