Europe travel recommendation

[SpringCrane]

I've got a bit of wanderlust at the moment! My husband just got notice of the dates for his annual conference in Italy for next May, and I want to start thinking about where we'll travel to after. So, I'm looking for favorite family-friendly European city suggestions. Our boys will be 1 and almost 4. I'd love to visit somewhere new, and places we've been in Europe include London, Dublin, Paris, Milan/Lake Como, Madrid/Granada, and Iceland. We like to choose one spot to rent an apartment and visit the local area with day trips rather than cover a lot of distance. Somewhere we could manage on just public transportation would be great, as two car seats get cumbersome!

Obviously this is planning way in advance, but my passport is feeling very neglected this year and planning trips is my favorite thing! We've got a few domestic trips coming up but they don't have the same thrill ;-)

Eta: we live in California

 

[Left wonderin]

When my LO was 11 weeks we travelled ( drove ) accross France and Italy for a sporting event . I absolutly fell in love with Mount Blanc in the Swiss Alps .. So family friendly , its a ski resort but in the summer its so beautiful . Also if your in Italy and get the oppertunity please go visit Venice its spectacular .

Barcelona in Spain is lovely with lots to do for families . Or if your thinking of coming back to Ireland I would suggest West Cork or Galway

 

[Left wonderin]

If your looking for a " holiday " resort . I can highly reccomend Albefuria in Portugal , its very beautiful with an amazing beach , a marina , an old town cobble streets ect and all accessible by public transport and very family friendly .

 

[captainj1]

Barcelona or Amsterdam. If it will be summer, Barcelona - best of both worlds with beach and city

 

[Itsychik]

Italy is my favourite country to visit. I love the weather, the people, the general atmosphere, and they're very tolerant of children.

However...even though there are SO many beautiful cities to see, one of our biggest mistakes was trying to visit Venice when my DS1 was 2 and I was pregnant with #2. Venice requires a LOT of walking and there are a LOT of bridges and stairs...which we were not prepared for, and had a cumbersome stroller with us which we carried up/down alllllllllllllllllllllll those stairs. Our visits to the other cities were much more successful (Florence, Pisa, Lucca, and several others in/around Tuscany, Verona, Rome). Italy is gorgeous!

I live in the Netherlands, and to be honest, if you were going to rent an apartment and stay for a long time (depending on what time of year you came) I think you might run out of things to do in/around Amsterdam (unless you wanted to venture to Belgium as well, as Brussels--for example--is only 2 hours away)

I also think Prague and Vienna are beautiful cities (they're about 3.5/4 hours apart from each other), and I've heard Budapest is lovely (which is about 2.5 hours from Vienna) in case you were open to some day trips or short overnight trips...

Good luck planning!

 

[SpringCrane]

Thank you everyone!

 

[bounceyboo]

Don't go to Dublin over priced and not worth the time of day go to west cork, Kerry, Galway, those kind of areas.

 

[Eleonora]

I live in Italy and have a 3 month old and a 4 year old and keeping everyone happy is a bit of a challenge but I would still recommend Italy for its abundance of appealing destinations (and family-friendly food). You could concentrate on Tuscany or the Ligurian coast or the Naples/Amalfi region or whatever you like. When we go out sightseeing we have about a 6 hour window of opportunity before my 4 year old collapses from exhaustion. One thing that helps is he has a "Micro" scooter that means he can zip along as we push the baby in a stroller. The scooter can also be taken apart and stashed under the stroller if we go inside. There are lots of short-term rentals on airbnb these days. Worth a look - - you can get a whole house for 50-100 euros per night.

 

[Perplexed]

I went to Geneva, Budapest, Vienna and Munich with my kids. In Vienna we stayed at an apartment but hotels everywhere else. Being in an apartment was great but the hotels were okay, too.

My advice is...if both kids need strollers, use an easy double. Try not to bring 2. Also, if you plan to rent an apartment check what floor it's going to be on and check if the elevator would actually fit the stroller(s). Sorry if this is obvious but it wasn't obvious for me LOL and I really struggled!

 

[JessicaBrody]

Did you see this Jané Trider Extreme Stroller , I found out that this stroller has some awesome features , perfect for travel.

 

[Spudtastic]

I have travelled a fair bit in Europe but this was before kids! I would recommend basing yourself in Italy since your husband is going there for his work. There are so many different towns to visit.

Don't be ambitious either. Most European cities are far apart. For example driving Barcelona to Nice takes about 10 hours.

There are also amazing campsites in Italy. You can get little cabins (air conditioned - with a little kitchenette and living area) for not much and many have swimming pools. It can be hot in May.

You could also rent a villa and base yourself in Tuscany (near Florence) or head further South towards Rome. Or head north towards the Swiss border...Lake Como area. You can easily go to Switzerland too.

I love Venice but I would think it would be hard on kids as there are many many steps and a lot of water too. It's so easy to lose each other there too. Lots of narrow walk ways and right by canals.

 

[daneuse27]

I live in Canada and just got back from exploring Ireland for 2 weeks with my daughter. We had an absolutely amazing time. It was beautiful and very child friendly. Dublin was nice - went spent 3 nights there, but I wouldn't want to only spend time in major cities on a trip. I like to venture off the beaten path, into the countryside. It provided a lot of opportunities for LO to play outside with other kids, enjoy the nature, landscapes, etc.