ucsun

Hi all. We are starting our trip in London for 3 days and ending our trip in Paris for 3 days. We have been to both cities. First time with our girl. So we have about 9-10 days to split in 2 cities. Trying to keep travel on air minimal. But some thoughts were

Nice and genoa - train might be tough in between
Budapest/Prague/krakow - baby safe environment? Too many cities?
Athens plus an island - again the long flight from London and to Paris

We have been to a few places already and want to go some place new. So out are Barcelona Florence Venice Rome Amsterdam Brussels Madrid.

ucsun

Sorry our trip is starting May 1.

Tulips

I would stick to France, and drive. Rent a car when you arrive in France. It's easy with a baby, she can sleep in the car, and you can easily take all her stuff, stroller, toys, diapers. Looks like you have not visited France except for Paris.

Not sure what you mean by baby safe environment.

sparkchaser

OP, I don't know if you realize this or not but there are babies in every city in the world and last I checked, I don't recall reading about any city that had roving gangs of baby snatching hooligans.

Now, I have heard about Gypsy women throwing their baby at you and when you catch it, a swarm of children rob you blind but in those cases, it is the Gypsy's baby that is being tossed, not the mark's.

On the other hand, I have not heard about any European cities going out of their way to make it a baby dreamland. Maybe it's because they don't spend money.

As far as your itinerary goes, you're packing in too many cities.

I will second the suggestion of renting a car. Cars are more baby friendly than trains. Plus you can stop when you need to and where you want. Have you thought about renting a car after Paris and driving around the French and Belgian countryside?

Ackislander

You are a lot braver than I would be.

If you have flown with Baby, you will know they don't like it, especially when their ears stop up and they don't know how to clear them except by screaming. So I would minimize internal flying in Europe. actually, I would eliminate it.

Are you buying a seat for her on the transatlantic flight or planning to hold her all night? It has been a long time since I flew in May on a plane with extra seats.

She doesn't have antibodies for a lot of bugs she will encounter, respiratory and intestinal. Alcohol rubs will help with the latter, but how do you deal with people breathing in her face on the Metro?

I don't like driving in Europe, but I would in your case take Eurostar from London to Paris and then do my touring by car, perhaps after a high speed train to somewhere like Provence.

sparkchaser

^^^^
Many good points.


I don't think there are any cities that are only ten months old, let alone baby friendly.

Lois2

boy have to agree with above posts but to each their own. I always feel sorry for this babies being lugged around.

sparkchaser

I feel bad when I see a jet lagged/tired baby screaming its head off and the parents are doing everything they can to calm it down to no avail. Poor lil' guy.

mama_mia

I would head to the south of France and rent an apartment in one or two smaller towns - maybe Uzes? More relaxing with a baby.

mamcalice

I don't think the problem is finding baby friendly cities. The trip in and of itself is not baby friendly. How about you split your 2 weeks or so between London and Paris and rent apartments. That way, the baby can recover from jet lag, take naps, eat in a reasonable place at reasonable times, etc.

BKP

My son is 8 and has to have pages added to his passport he's traveled so much. We have never had a problem with him screaming on a plane. During ascent or descent you offer a pacifier, a bottle or a sippy cup. The sucking will pop their ears and they'll be fine. Bring toys, snacks, nappies, and an extra change of clothes.

Germs on the metro?? Don't let strangers lick your baby, at home or abroad and you'll be fine. Your baby is in no greater danger in Europe than they are at your local grocery store.

Now, for your trip. I'm a bit confused. Do you have 3 days in London, 9 unplanned days, and then 3 more in Paris? I think I would extend the time in London and Paris to maybe 5 days each. With your extra time you could tour around France by car. Or you could fly to Lisbon. I only mention Lisbon because although it wasn't on your list, we found the people to be very welcoming of our little one. The beginning of May is the start of summer there so although you might not get lying on the beach weather, you might still get warmer sunny days.

We did a city break to Prague without our son and were glad we did. It could have been the drizzly October weather but it didn't strike me as a very child friendly city.

eluckhardt

At 10 months, the baby can be wherever - "baby friendly" or not. It's up to you two and your energy level. That being said, I would take it slow and don't think any of your three options are reasonable (save option #1 if you only go to Nice). If you really must go somewhere "new" - then perhaps take an immediate connecting flight somewhere once you arrive in London. Then from there, either drive or a (short) train ride into Paris.

eluckhardt

ETA : I see you have not been to Germany. There are some decent connections from various cities in Germany into Paris via the train. You can even go non stop (6 hours) from Munich to Paris.

NYCFoodSnob

I admire mothers who are willing to endure the rigors of travel while carrying a 10-month-old. Doing so is much more difficult these days. And some people have no choice, they have to do it.

Every city has baby lovers and baby haters. It's not the city that would concern me, it's the plane travel that would cause the most anxiety. Everyone who travels knows what it's like to be seated near a crying baby on a plane. As a passenger, you're trapped. There's no escape. I've seen baby lovers almost lose their mind. (I love my earplugs.)

No one knows how any baby will react to cabin pressure on a plane, until you do it. My advice: be prepared as best you can, and if all hell breaks loose, befriend a flight attendant who is a mother, and don't make eye contact with anyone else.

Good luck.

ucsun

yes some cities are more baby friendly. large cities have a little more ease...less cobbles, maybe a baby changing station in the restroom, more lifts in the metros...i feel a few comments here are quite unnecessary. I don't believe I asked for anyone's opinion on whether we should go. I am a very good parent thank you! please help with what is relevant.

I will take a look at germany as well. we've asked our pediatrician for what best we can do for her ears. it will be a trial by fire though. she is really good at being out and about for extended days. we've been taking her more local places for the day to see how she does. she actually loves it. she gets tired of car seats, so cars are probably out.

This will be more difficult for us for sure. She enjoys the stimulation and will keep to her routine as best we can.

yes the trip is April 29 (late flight to arrive late in london to help w time shifts) to May 18. We can do whatever really. we will be going slow. Maybe even a few more days in london and go do a day trip to Bath.

Nice/Greece does seem more challenging.

I think ideally we will take at most 1 flight out of london...and find a city or 2 we could end up linking back to paris via trains...great advice.

BigRuss

<i>If you have flown with Baby, you will know they don't like it, especially when their ears stop up and they don't know how to clear them except by screaming. So I would minimize internal flying in Europe. actually, I would eliminate it.</i>

Come off it. This is easy to deal with.

<i>we've asked our pediatrician for what best we can do for her ears.</i>

This isn't pediatrician-necessary, but it's always smart to ask the doc.

If the baby is still feeding from the direct maternal source, feed her during takeoff and landing (descent). If not, feed her during takeoff and landing from a bottle. We've flown so many times with the kids and the ONLY time we had a screaming hobbit was when he was old enough to refuse to drink something on takeoff and did so. He drank on descent, that's for sure. Now, we give the hobbits something chewy to eat or something to drink on takeoff and landing. Get the mouth moving (helps pop the ears) and better yet, sucking. Pacifiers could work too but we didn't have passy-dependent kids.

You could also give baby a pediatric Tavist-D type medication if the doc says it's ok. Divers use that to deal with air pressure effects on their ears.

Yes, it is that simple.

If you have the option (I'm guessing you already have flights), leave the US as close to bedtime as possible - we took a 9:30 pm flight across the pond and junior slept 7 hours.

ucsun

Thanks BigRuss. Our flight out of LAX is 10pm so i'm hoping that's how it will work out. I like the hobbits image...lol

StCirq

I took innumerable flights to/from Europe with babies, and no one ever screamed. The worst I remember was a flight from DC to Rome where my 2-year-old spent pretty much all of 7 hours walking quietly up and down the aisle of the plane...then fell sound asleep during landing. Most of the time the kids slept all night on the plane and never experienced the jet lag their exhausted parents did.

I would consider using the time between London and Paris to visit somewhere in Italy - maybe rent a villa in Tuscany and do a relaxed driving trip. Italians adore babies. We had several experiences in restaurants/cafés in Italy where the owners took our daughter into the kitchen and gave her warm milk with cookies and other treats so we could enjoy our meal. You can stop in any Italian café and get a bottle filled with warm milk (they'll put sugar in, too, but you can nix that), if she's bottle-feeding.

I think Nice/Greece are great, but not destinations I'd choose with a baby.

eluckhardt

Good point - and IMO, Paris is awful in regards to lifts. London was not so great, either, but I think better than Paris. With a 10 month old, I would seriously consider ditching the stroller and use a Ergo or something. Esp. for a city like Paris. That being said, we used our umbrella stroller last year in Paris (2 trips there last year) and managed just fine. Since there are two of you and just one stroller/kid, you should have no problem going up/down the stairs if necessary. Even with luggage. You just may have to take 2 trips.

Diaper changing stations...that's hit or miss and usually I prefer to use my stroller (+ one for lugging the stroller around) vs. a public changing station.

Also, pack light. Enough diapers & wipes for just a few days (including flight over/transit time) and buy more upon arrival. And it will definitely be easiest if the baby is still nursing.

Have fun!

Tulips

London is good - taxis easily take a large stroller without having to fold. Play areas in parks, and good changing areas in department stores and most restaurants.
Since most museums are free, you can just wander around and leave again if baby has had enough.
I used to take my babies to the Natural History museum when the weather was too bad to go outside.