Europe with a 3 Yr Old

Think long and hard about jet-lag before you take this trip - it'll be hard enough on you two moms, let alone your 3-year-olds. Don't set yourselves up for disappointment.

I have not been to Florence, but stayed in Paris for a month when my daughter was 18 months old. It depends what you're used to.

As a long time NYC resident, I was BLOWN AWAY by how convenient and amazing Paris was for kids. Room for strollers on public transportation, the whole city seemed designed to accommodate kids. Delicious baby food and kid food in all the stores. People loved kids and kids were everywhere at all the major museums we went to. There are lots of parks. The kids are a bit more mature than here, and I swear there weren't any high hairs in the whole city, so if your kids can swing tiny cafe tables (3 is a great age), it's sooooo great. I'm guessing Florence would be great too- I love Europe for kids. Congrats I'm jealous.

Oh, but what I meant by "depends what you're used to" if you're not used to "pedestrian and mass transit" cities, it may seem a little hectic at first to navigate on foot and subways in foreign language with little kids in tow, but as international cities go-it's great for kids and totally doable.

The only thing that is a shame, is that they may not remember much about it. I'm dying to go back now that my daughter is 5, but my younger 2 are 2 and 3, so we're waiting a few years until they can all really "get it". But you can't fail to have an amazing time and great photos, and hopefully you can go back!

I've done Paris and Rome with 4 kids (5 if you count my ex who hates to travel). My youngest child was 10 at the time. I've also been to Florence without children.

I think a week is a good amount of time to be gone. We rented apartments in both Paris and Rome. Both were centrally located. In Paris we were near Notre Dame and steps away from the metro. In Rome, we were near the Pantheon and from there, walked or took taxis which were reasonably priced and less stressful than the public transportation. I wouldn't take public transit in Italy, too crowded, too many pickpockets.

The great thing about having an apartment is being able to cook your own food. We bought groceries a few blocks from our apt, ate breakfast in, had a big lunch out as a break from sightseeing, brought plenty of snacks which sometimes allowed us to last long enough to make it "home" for supper and a little tv before the kids bedtime.

Paris was the first destination on our tour of Europe. It was about an hour from the airport. Before leaving, I arranged a shuttle to pick us up at the airport and drive us directly to the apartment. It was about $100 and well worth it after the long plane ride. When we landed, the driver was waiting for us with a sign, no dragging suitcases onto a train or trying to make transfers with kids in tow.

My choice of destinations would be Paris. All I remember about Florence is being lost alot and not being able to figure out the buses. However, I speak a little French and absolutely no Italian so that could have made the difference. I had a book, that was full of things to do with kids in Paris. But really, I would be happy just to BE in Paris with my 3yo, who cares whether you make it to all the tourist spots? Just get out and walk, enjoy the sights and sounds, wander through the parks, take a few turns on the carousel, stop for ice cream and pastries, sit outside and have a coffee and soda for the girls, ride the bateaux mouches, find cute clothes to take home and be 2 years ahead of the styles in the states. My recommendation on areas to stay are either the 1st Arrondissement (Louvre) or the 7th (Eiffel tower). If you are interested, send me a pm and I can look up the apt rental company we used. They were based in the states, spoke English, were reasonably priced although the apt was not fancy it was nice and clean, and we paid ahead in dollars.

Honestly, I would choose Florence any day of the week. Italians absolutely LOVE children and we didn't have that great of an experience in Paris. It's beautiful, but also loud and impatient. We were yelled at in a grocery store because we didn't tag a bag of produce properly. My best memory is a picnic beneath the Eiffel Tower at sundown. We bought a bottle of wine and had some bread and cheese and there were several families around. It was one of the few peaceful, relaxing moments we had there.

Florence is a city too but the italians always have a way of making life still seem relaxed. And when you're talking about 3 yr olds and the reactions they'll have to all the changes in routine, relaxing could be a huge factor in how much you'll enjoy it. I can't recommend specific kid things to do but we didn't do that many kid things anyway. The adventure was in the exploring. I would actually recommend renting a car and exploring the countryside too (they drive on the right like us). Kids are used to cars - it will have some familiarity as opposed to public transportation. They're great for naps and a lot of flexibility, especially outside the city - and any mom knows flexibility is her friend. And public transportation can be a bit iffy due to strikes. I wouldn't plan on doing a ton of churches or museums. Maybe one a day. Fountains and squares are good. Picnics were our staple and my daughter loves running around in scenic places during picnics. A trip to the coast is doable. Anything that explores the nature side of a country translates well to little kids. You'll need to adjust your expectations. Consider that your kids will probably remember very little of this trip. So you can use this time to really get to know the country and people and be motivated to go back. I don't remember touristy stuff nearly as well as the old man who shared his chocolate with us on the train. Or the student who made himself late to class to show us the right train. Or the countless people who were so loving to my daughter. We like Rick Steve's approach to traveling - Europe through the back door - it's very low key, not touristy. I bet his website would have great recommendations for kid's stuff. Ricksteves.com. Hope this helps.

I've been to both 2x, although never with a kiddo.

Florence is small. Great walking city, you can walk it in a day. Lots of stuff to do, but with a 3yr old, there's a lot of art and old churches. I would think that the leather markets would be a nightmare if he's prone to picking things up and walking off (upset street vendors!). For churches, not sure how fun that would be for him, especially when you're trying to respect quiet and solemn in a church.

Paris is HUGE. Depending on where you go, could be very crowded. The Marais and Montemarte (sp?) would be fun - lots of families there. Awesome metro system to get around. Lots of kid friendly areas and things to do outside that could entertain him.

So I guess you my vote for Paris!
We've stayed near the Arch De Triomphe (which is at the end of Champps elysees), which is nicely central, but as long as you stay close to a metro station, it doesn't matter. You can get anywhere quickly with it.

I have been to Florence before and if you are taking a 3 y.o. make sure you take lots of snacks and a stroller. The subway system is confusing too! I would def take a good strong carseat if you plan on taking any taxi or bus trips. Otherwise it is awesome. You would be able to see so much more w/o kids though. The Duomo you can climb to the top from the inside and then go walk around the top outside. The steps turn into a little ladder and there isn't much room to move around so be ware. It is so worth the view of the city though.

Memories: If you can do a bike tour that is awesome. Also they do bus tours that go to Pisa where you can see the leaning tower. (but actually everything there is leaning). Make sure to watch for the pick pocketers they were really bad when I was over there in 2002. So worth it though. We watched someone get pick pocketed while we were sitting on our bus. The woman was pretending to hold a baby, but the baby was fake and was on a sling around her neck leaving her with a free arm you didn't know she had. O how exciting.

The Pitti Palace is a must too! The garden there is so awesome. They have several little pools with statutes in the middle. My fav is of a little fat man on a turtle. Hehehe. O BTW you can see all the men's parts on all the statutes unless they have been broken off.

I have been to Paris twice and although I have never been to Florence, my brother spend a semester living there. I would not reccomend this trip with such young children. I can speak of Paris more specifically. I also have a 3 year old who is mature and well behaved. But I would NOT take him to Europe. What do you think your 3 year olds would actually enjoy doing there? The parks are pretty but not really all that different than the parks here. There are no "children friendly" museums. There are no "family" restaurants except one, Hippopotamous. The T.V. shows will be in a different language and unless your kids are happy to stay in a stroller and and sit quietly in a restaurant for long periods of time I do not reccomend it. I rarely saw young children in Paris except for at the parks and on their way to and from school. Florence will be a similar experience. I would wait until they are at least 8 or just go with the other mom.

I would go to Paris, given the choice my 2 boys would go back to Paris in a heartbeat! We have done lots of European travel with our 2 boys, we lived in London from the time they were 3-6.5 yrs for the older one and 5 months -3.5 yrs for the younger one. We did Paris twice, the subway system is great there. September should be a good time too, not too hot outside and their kids will be back in school.

When we went to Louve they pulled us out of line and let us go ahead of everyone because of the stroller. When we were inside and waiting to see the Mona Lisa the guard opened the barrier and let me and my 2 kids stand up front to see better. They were very accomodating like someone else said when it comes to kids.

A great cafe to eat at, even for kids, is Paul, it was one of our favorites in London and they are in Paris as well. Premade sandwiches, they have a ham and cheese baguette with a little butter on it, but no mayo and veg. And the BEST pastries ever :)

If you are looking for hotels instead of an apartment then check Novotel, they are nice, not too over priced. I would compare them to Hilton here I think, plus some of them have a sitter service if the two of you decide to go out alone for dinner one night. We used them and although the sitter spoke very little English it worked out ok (and she was with our boys all afternoon, not at night when they were asleep, as we went to the French Open that day).

I think I have a book upstairs still on what to do with kids while in Paris, I will look for it and see if there are any good tips and send you a message. Oh, one great place to go is the Rodin museum, we didn't pay to go inside the museum but the gardens are free to walk through, it was beautiful and gave our boys a chance to run around outside for a bit. Plus they have a cafe in the gardens as well for a snack. The same with going out to Versailles, we walked through the building but then the gardens were great for the boys (although that one was a pain as the line was ridiculously long to get tickets to get inside, but it was May and half term break for all of England and a hoiliday in France so the kids were out of school there too).

I'm jealous, I want to go back so badly!!!

One week and two countries, that too much even without children. The flight alone will be about 10 hrs from Texas, you will be a lot at the airports, planes and taxis. It sounds fabulous for you and your girlfriend, but possibly Disney world in Orlando fl might be more fun. Paris and Florence are both beautiful, you will need a small stroller and mail favorite snacks in advance to your hotel. The food might be a challenge, unless the little ones eat everything you eat. In addition, the money conversation is very low so multiply everything by 2 or 3 you would spend in USA. The time difference is a huge factor, it takes about a week to get use to it. I'm planning
Barcelona, Spain and Warsaw, Poland next year but for a month.

I've been to both. We went to Paris pre-kids and Florence with our 5-month-old. We have also been to Spain when our son was 3, and Germany with a 4.5 year old and a 14-month-old.

I am going to be very honest, Europe is tough with preschoolers. It will probably help that you are with friends, but the stuff that I as an adult wanted to do was not at all what my kid wanted to do. I'm a huge museum buff, and museums are hard for little kids.

And the jetlag really was very tough. My son had a hard time sleeping at night, and we had to wake him up every morning. Our days started later than we anticipated, and he didn't have the stamina to do a lot of what we wanted to do.

That being said, I am glad that we went. I loved Florence, but our son was a baby at the time and very portable. The food was amazing, and it was pretty easy getting around with a stroller, etc. I feel like you can spend a week in Florence and feel like you really "did Florence." I can't remember where we stayed, but I can look it up.

I think that Paris probably has a lot more to offer for kids, but it is a huge city. It can be hard to get around with two little ones. My recollection is that at least pockets of Paris were less friendly to Americans than Florence overall was. I would expect that Paris will be more expensive as well.

I would recommend that you make a list of things that you want to do in each city and see how well it syncs up with your children's interests and energy levels. Rick Steves' books are great for travel ideas.

We just did the UK and Ireland with our nearly-3 yr old and she traveled better than the rest of the family. Do check flight times. We landed at 3AM our time and it was rough on the bigger people who did not sleep well on the flight. DD did fine on the flights, except for messing with the seatbelt (see my other post on airlines and car seats). Most airlines have food (you can see about kiddie meals) and TV/games in the seat backs. DD watched a lot of her favorite shows on both flights. Bring a very light stroller that you can quickly fold for the subway or taxi. Consider a gate check bag (Buy Buy Baby had one for $11 recently).

I don't know where to stay in those cities, but I discovered that many cities have apartments to rent - we rented in Dublin and Edinburgh and that was good for us as a family. Our little one did well sleeping on duvets on the floor most of the time.

The place we stayed doesn't seem to have apartments in France, but I'd look around. Ours was 149 pounds per night for a family of 5 in a 2 bedroom/2 bath, *well* accommodated apartment. Compare to 92 euro a night for each of our 2 rooms in Cork.

Also find out how your airline will handle strollers and car seats and if you don't plan to rent a car, you may just leave the car seats at home. Our little one did great with being out and about. We chose restaurants that had high chairs, and made it a point to stop by playgrounds, kiddie centers and parks some of the time so she could just play. The stroller helped her keep up with us on our long walks.

We took food from Wales to Ireland to Scotland to home. As long as it was prepackaged (like Cheerios) we were not stopped or hassled. You will not be able to bring drinks on the plane but you should be able to fill sippy or travel mugs once you pass security or get on board. Virgin was very good about giving us water for DD immediately so she could drink when we took off.

Have fun!

I took my daughter to London and Paris when she was two. It was a fabulous trip. If you don't want to do all the tourist things, it can be magical. I have never been to Florence, so I can't give you any comparisons, but here is what I remember from the Paris part of our trip:

The playground at the Jardin des Tuileries was just great. In-ground trampolines, a carousel, other kids to play with, pony rides, things to climb on--it was just great. We went every day, and the man at the carousel began giving my daughter free rides and candy after the second day because we were "regulars."

We saw Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides (and I have a great photo of my daughter peering into the end of a cannon). We ate in sidewalk cafes (and I took little bottles of bubbles with a wand--it kept her entertained nicely) and at l'Entrecote (sort of like a French Steak 'n Ale chain, good food). We had a cold drink at the Ritz after a hot afternoon of shopping (and they were unbelievably kind to her--they gave her a lovely coloring book/child's menu and some fancy colored pencils in a little set, and we were just buying me a coke and her a cranberry juice!). We had tea at Laduree. We went to the Louvre. We ate falafel for lunch at l'As du Falafel.

One thing I remember most is how the Parisians would rush to help me with the stroller. In the subway, or at steps anywhere, people would come over and grab one end so I could guide the stroller down the stairs. A well-behaved child is welcome anywhere, but no matter where I've been, I've never seen people who are as happy to help a total stranger with a small child as Parisians are.

So, by all means, have a wonderful time on your trip!! Can you gawk leisurely at the glorious windows in the Sainte Chappelle or take your time in the Louvre? No, but you can watch your child make new friends in a playground. Keep your expectations low, and make the trip as child-friendly as you know how (plenty of time to play, lots of snack breaks, nap time), and you will have a great trip. I still smile when I remember how my daughter was completely unimpressed by the grandeur of Westminster Cathedral in London, but she adored seeing the little dogs carved in effigy on their masters' tombs. You have a wonderful chance to see Europe through a child's eyes.

As for where to stay, it depends on how much you want to spend and how much noise you can tolerate. If you want to be in the center of it all, the Hotel Regina is right on the Rue du Rivoli, across from the Louvre, and the metro stops are right there. Very convenient. But you do get traffic noise, and if there's a big soccer victory, the cheering will go on all night long (I've experienced it). The Holiday Inn near the Jardins du Luxembourg is comfortable and clean and also near a metro stop. It's a bit quieter. If you want more expensive, the George V is incredibly luxurious, and the Prince de Galles next door looks pretty nice, too. There's a metro stop right there. But if there's a transportation strike and the metro isn't running, you aren't really walking distance from any of the main tourist attractions. (I've experienced that, too.)