We are traveling to Paris with our 4 year old daughter for 18 days (April 19 to May 5) and we do not have definite plans/itinerary but we do want to go to Nice to visit relatives. We already have roundtrip airline tickets to/from Paris. Here is a tentative itinerary:
Days 1 to 5 - Paris
Day 5 rent a car and drive to Nice (perhaps stop along the way?)
Days 5 to 9 - Nice (or shorter?)
Days 10 to 17 - open
Day 18 - Paris
THis is our first family trip to Europe and we want to make the most of it. We thought of going to Florence from Nice but not sure our 4-year old will appreciate the long drive and the city. Another alternative is Genoa, Cinque Terre, Pisa. My husband and I would love to see Venice but it is soooo out of the way - perhaps another time. We are looking for recommendations for a family and budget friendly itinerary.
18 Days vacation Paris-Nice with 4 year old. Itinerary?
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We enjoyed our stay in Nice.
You can take nice day-trips from there. Antibes is a gorgeous little harbor with lots of charm. And spend a half-day at the Villa Rothschild and gardens. Your toddler would enjoy walking around in the huge gardens.
http://www.villa-ephrussi.com/en/home
I would rent an apt in paris and stay in an area with a nice park/playground so your kid can just be a kid sometimes.
You might want to consider taking the train to Nice (faster and kids might enjoy) and then rent a car while there to sightsee and drive back.
Thank you for the responses. We rented an apartment in Paris and are taking the train from Paris to Nice. We will visit Antibes and Villa Rothschild while in Nice. We still have a lot of time so we plan on adding Rome and Venice to the trip
Days 1-5 Paris
5 to 9 Nice
9 to 13 Rome
13 to 17 Venice
Day 18 Paris
Day 19 Fly out of Paris
Any suggestions on things to do in Rome and Venice with our 4 year old? We definitely want to see Venice. We are not sure about Rome - any suggestions?
Rome is great with kids! We were there almost 2 years ago with our almost 2 year old, and we're heading back in April with our almost 4 year old. There are playgrounds and piazzas and fountains, a zoo, and a science center (Explora) that we plan on seeing with some friends on this trip. We had a great time then, and we cannot wait for this trip!
Dear lifewithpants, thank you for your response. We will keep Rome in our itinerary and research the sights that you mentioned. We plan on bringing a Maclaren stroller for the trip and I'm seeing mixed reviews about strollers in Europe. Lots of stairs, cobblestoned streets, and hassle on public transportaion. However, we know there will be lots of walking and we will not go far and do more without a stroller.
To Stroller or not to stroller is always the debate between my husband and I. We have a 3 and 5 year old and finally made our first trip to the US (we are americans living in London) sans any strollers - gasp! For you, it is mixed as really, for a 4 year old, you are taking the stroller only to allow longer range roaming as you say. We've used strollers in all the cities you list except Nice (never been) and you'll probably find the following:
Paris - easy city for strollers. will be useful, especially to cover long walks which is such a fun part of being in Paris and to allow for a "nap spot" while you sit and enjoy cafe time. Just be prepared to carry it up/down metro stairs but we got used to it with our Maclaren.
Venice - leave the stroller in the hotel room. Too many stairs and easy to find places to sit and have a rest plus the 4 year old will love all the little bridges over canals.
Rome - not as easy as Paris but still fine to use stroller other than in Forum (gravel/hills).
Activities with 4 yr old - Venice - ours like to watch the orchestras in St. Marks plaza at night and of course, lots of gelato. Liked boat rides and including boat ride to Burano. Burano actually a nice little island for kids as easily managable and family friendly and very picturesque with colorful house lining canals.
Rome - Forum is fun for kids to run around even if they don't care about the ruins. Borghese gardens are great and Galleria Borghese one of my favorite museums and because the time slots are limited, not too much overwhelming for a kid. Lots of fun fountains and stops for gelato keep the attention spans going. Stoller ride can be bumpy due to cobblestones and crowds in some areas...
Paris - sounds like you may have been before but with kids (we are going again in early April) of course Luxembourg gardens are the big hit, especially with the playground (small fee) complete with zip lines, climbing frames, etc. We are trying out a day trip to Disneyland Paris for the first time on our next trip. Don't know if you have a boy or girl but if you happen to walk along Champs elysees at night and see the Swarovski store (on right side looking to Arc de Triomphe), our daughter was fascinated by the "diamond" sparkly stairs and we took a very cute picture or her sitting on them. kind of silly but these are the sort of things our kids remember! (e.g. Spain is her "favorite country ever" - why? because the house we rented had bunkbeds and dress up shoes)
What a great trip you will have!
Dear Nor_CalJo, thank you for the stips on the stroller - we will defintely take it with us and leave it at the hotel in Venice. Our 4 year old little pricess will love the sparkly stairs (while waring sparkly shoes) at the Swarowkski store. We are so excited!