Europe

Neha

Neha

Banned
Hi

Which city will be better to visit with a 2 and half year old kid? I mean activities which can include the child also.

Month of May.

Days 3-4 maximum

Thanks/Neha
 
We just moved from London and while expensive, it's a very child-friendly city. There are large open grassy spaces, pram friendly and lots of things for children to see/do.
 
Where do YOU want to go? After living in Europe for quite a few years and travelling a lot with our son, we have found good and bad points about each place (just like here). The best thing to do is decide where you want to go and see and make plans then.
For example, Paris is great because the sidewalks are quite wide but it is difficult to use the metro as there aren't many lifts. But then again, it's Paris so you kind of get over that as you are taking in the gorgeous city.
Rome is difficult to get around but is very child friendly as Italian people LOVE kids and will help you a lot. But again, you get over that as you are walking around the amazing sights. Etc.
If you want any more info about other cities, I'm happy to help.
One thing we feel strongly about though is that kids are tough and adaptable and as long as you are having a good time and don't stress too much, they will have a good time.
Europe is a great place to explore with kids. Enjoy!!
 
Thanks NYCMel and apples

We are going for a cruise Northern Europe. We thought of going to Rome after it but flying so much that is why were thinking of something close by to Copenhagen where are cruises ends.

apples will be grateful for your suggestions
 
Amsterdam and other parts of Netherlands are really nice in May, it's a flat country, very easy to do some tours with a bicycle (they have great bicycles to carry kids). Walking is easy as there is not much cars in the city.
You can go to Madurodam which is a big parc, kids love it. There is also a zoo in Amsterdam, some museums with some fun parts for kids.
There are a also lots of parcs and green areas in Amsterdam, very nice to walk in. Nice also to have a tour on the boats.

Only bad point is that Netherlands is still a smoking country (apart from what they are well know for) and people smoke in bars and restaurants. There are a few non-smoking places, and lots of places where you can sit on the terrass.
 
Actually, The Netherlands is now a non-smoking country as of this year.
I agree, Amsterdam is fantastic (I'm biased as I lived there) and a lot of fun. Its easy to get around and riding a bike with a child is so much fun.
Copenhagen is also really nice but you might find it hard to fill in more than 1 or 2 days. However, hiring a car and driving around the countryside is nice.
I understand about the flying but if you do get a chance, Rome is really worth it. So beautiful and full of things to see and do. You can do bus tours if you get tired of walking but we found just walking around was amazing. You get to see some really cool things off the beaten track. The only negative (which we dealt with and got over) was that in Italy the hotel rooms are very small which makes it difficult with all the equipment you need to take with a child.
As I mentioned before, for the wow factor I would definitely recommend Paris. It's easy to walk around and you will be seeing one of the most amazing cities in the world!
 
i think we will brave the flight time and go to rome as i have not been there myself. have done paris, amsterdam, london, madrid so something different. Now have to find cheap airfares

thanks for all your help
 
I am Dutch, and although I have no plans to ever return to my home country for various (other) reasons, I think Amsterdam is really easy to get around with. One of my other favorites is Barcelona, not too difficult. Italy definitely less with small children. Scandinavia is a good option too, though very expensive and it may be quite chilly. Germany has a lot of nice places (Munich, etc.) and so does Switzerland, well organized, etc. My parents live in Belgium, Antwerp is nice and easy with kids and so is Brussels. Brussels is a 2 hour train ride from Amsterdam, Antwerp a little over an hour. Trains go very frequently.

My vote would be Amsterdam and Antwerp / Brussels. Don't count on great weather ... you never know ...
 
cruise will take us to all the scandinavian countries + russia so we thought something else.

My husband wanted to go to London but I have not been Rome so wanted to go there but because of the longer flight out of copenhagen we were thinking about Amsterdam.
Will take all suggestions and decide

Thanks ladies for all your help
 
OH - you must be doing the same cruise that I went on this year - we went with Princess and went to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersberg, Tallinn, Gdansk and Oslo - we LOOOVVEEDD it!! Although it was still pretty cold at that time of year!! My brother lives in Copenhagen, so we just spent all the rest of our time there - so I'm useless for suggestions as to where to go ;) That was my first time in Europe.
 
Neha, i am italian so i can only say you made a great decision!
For flight check out easyjet as somebody already mention as well as ryanair for cheap deal.

Rome is rather big, you definitely won't need to hire a car tho. As far the hotel are I would definitely suggest you to stay aroud the historical centre (i.e. piazza di Spagna, Via Veneto...). If you don?t mind telling me you budget I can try to recommend some hotels as well....

I have just come back to Milan (where I am from) to deliver the baby and...it is bloody freezing :o))

Feel free to let me know if you need any further help
 
nicolejoy yes the same cruise starting on 16th . it will be cold but i am sure fun. U can probably tell us if the tours offered by the cruiseline are worth it or not.

Tigerlily budget under 200 euros

thanks all
 
Neha said:
nicolejoy yes the same cruise starting on 16th . it will be cold but i am sure fun. U can probably tell us if the tours offered by the cruiseline are worth it or not.
Click to expand...

We only did one tour - in St Petersberg, we did the 2 day grand tour because of the whole visa thing... although a lot of people seemed to be going into Russia independently and it worked for them *shrugs* I did really enjoy it though, and our tour guide was really awesome!! I generally prefer exploring somewhere by myself though...

My FAVOURITE ports were Stockholm and Tallinn - both beautiful cities!! And of course, St Petersberg!! We did it pretty much the same time of year as you - we were in St Petersberg for my birthday on the 25th :)

My least favourite port was Gdansk - I would have been happy to just stay on the boat that day ;) The whole city seemed kind of depressing!!
 
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Where abouts did you go in Gdansk, Nicolejoy? I went there in 2005 and found it a beautiful city. I can't believe that it has changed so much in just 3 years?

How long does the whole cruise take? Where do you start? I was always wondering how it is to do a cruise......
 
We went around the old town area, walked all over the "main highlight" things in the tourist maps. Maybe it was just my experience/personal taste, and maybe on another day or in a different mood, I might have enjoyed it more!! We caught the bus from the cruise ship and had a "tour guide" pointing out things on the way there and back - and she was reeeaalllyyy bad!! And it was just a bad day :)

The cruise I did was this one: http://www.princess.com/pb/itineraryDetails.do?voyageCode=E914N&trade=E

10 days, starting and finishing in Copenhagen. It was AWESOME - the food was great, service was excellent! Made me want to go on a cruise every year!! I'm already looking forward to my next one!!

And if anyone wants to go on any Princess cruises, I highly recommend Frances Yik at [email protected] as a contact - she did our booking and was excellent!!
 
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