Sally30

My husband and I are planning a 10-12 night trip for early October with our two children who will be 6 months and 4.5yrs at the time. I would like to go to Venice but my husband is less enthused so I thought we could split the trip between Venice and another city. I also realize Venice is not ideal for a stroller so the second destination would hedge our bets to a certain extent. We have both been to Venice before but not recently. For our second destination, we would like somewhere we can reach by train (in or near Italy) and, once there, that will not require a car. We may be willing to fly to the second place if the flights are reasonable and it seems "worth" it to us. Two sets of flights with little kids is not that much fun.

We are looking for a city with a breadth of things to do - museums, shops, history, restaurants. When traveling as a family we like to do a mixture of sightseeing and just relaxing (sitting in parks, playgrounds, cafes). As you can imagine, big fancy restaurants and a great nightlife are not important to us on this trip. We are willing to do a few day trips as well but do not want somewhere that is so small that we must travel every day as that is not realistic for us. We plan to rent a centrally located apartment in both locations.

Our older daughter is a great traveler - this will be her fourth time to Europe. But this is our first time traveling with two kids so we do not want to be too ambitious. We like to take it slow and stay in good locations in cities where we can walk to everything and come back to our apartment as needed.

We are having a bit of trouble deciding as the obvious choices are not working. We recently visited Rome, Bologna and Verona/Vicenza/Padua so would like to try something new. We do not care for Florence. We are thinking about Torino (not sure how much there is to do there for 5 days and what weather is like in October) and Istanbul (for a nice themed trip with Venice but flights look expensive). Any suggestions for us? Venice is not set in stone either. I'd like to go back but it does not have to be on this trip. Thanks!

janisj

Only time for a quick comment right now -- If it was me I might pick two different places and leave Venice for when your kids are just a bit older. Venice w/ an infant and a 4yo won't be easy -

charnees

Lucca is flat, the town inside the walls has mostly pedestrian streets, there is a park running all around the top of the walls where you can walk, bike, and let kids play on swings. You can just hang out in town after seeing the low-key sights (admittedly not a lot). You can take a train to Pisa. You could rent a car and drive to some country towns in the Chianti region. You could drive north into the mountains for a day, which is a beautiful drive.

ellenem

I thin Torino is a good choice for you, with plenty to do to fill 5 days—great food, museums, shopping, parks, incline rail to Superga, fabulous chocolate shops and cafes, and so forth. The city as an excellent tourism card that covers many museums and attractions both in Torino and in Piemonte. it is a lovely city to stroll, with its porticos over the sidewalks as you found in Bologna. Torino's official tourism site is very good:

http://www.turismotorino.org/index.aspx

Sally30

Thanks for the responses.

Ellenem, I'll check out the Torino link. Are there specific day trips that you think we might enjoy?

JanisJ - what specifically should we be concerned about in Venice? My concern was that we can't easily use the stroller so would need to keep the baby in the baby carrier which gets heavy after a few days of use. So I was thinking we would only stay for a few days in Venice. Our older daughter is fine walking and isn't the type to run off and or get too close to the water. I thought she'd think all the boats were pretty cool as well.

I should have added that our other idea is to do the whole trip in one place, alas not Venice, but stay in Perugia and then day trip nearby (Orvieto, Siena, Todi). On one hand, it could be a lot of day tripping. On the other, the day trips are not places that you need a full day there so a more relaxed pace would be fine.

isabel01

Florence. Great for walking and just taking in the sights.

janisj

Walking in Venice w/ all the bridges and water getting on and off boats isn't all that easy for adults w/ <i>any</i> sort of mobility issues. W/ a 4yo and an infant I just think it won't be as much fun as you imagine.

A nice rental villa for a week in the countryside and day trips by car, or an apartment someplace like Florence w/ a few day trips by train -- would be easier IMO.

Amy_FullerGorman

The only drawback with Siena having small children are the steep streets. Venice for me is a must see-we are planning a return trip there next summer. When we stayed in Tuscany we rented a small villa from which we used as a home base to travel to Pisa, Siena, Rhada, San Gimiano (sp?). Here's the linkhttp://www.cottagestocastles.com/Italy/Tuscany/San+Sano/casa-simone.aspx It has 2 bedrooms and a washer/dryer! And a poll which was unheated at the time-10 years ago.
have a wonderful time!

uflecku

If you're iffy on Venice, for whatever reason, and have seen much of the other sights in that area then I think Perugia would make an excellent base. I spent 4 or 5 nights there a few years back. Love the city, big enough to stay interesting but nothing at all like one of the big cities (or even Siena). It has hills, but I wouldn't call it a hill town. It also makes a great base for exploring Umbria (Todi, Spoletto, Spelo, Bevagna, Montefalco, Gubbio, Assisi, Deruta, Orvieto). You could also venture into the eastern edge of Tuscany (Cortona, Montepulciano, perhaps Arezzo).

I can't speak to the train system, however I suspect a car would be highly preferable and I know you indicated trains only. Not sure of your budget but you could consider taxi's/guides for the area. We stayed at the Brufani Palace right at the top of the town. Very nice, but on the expensive side.

ira

Hi S,

10 -12 days is too long for Venice with children.

>the obvious choices are not working. We recently visited Rome, Bologna and Verona/Vicenza/Padua so would like to try something new. We do not care for Florence.<

Does it have to be Italy?

ira

PS

Sicily?

Sally30

Thanks for all the input! A few follow up responses:

1. Trip does not have to be in Italy at all. We have also considered France and Spain. Have been to Paris recently so were hoping for something new to us. Madrid and Seville is an option.

2. Italy trip might be one spot in Italy for 10-12 nights or Venice for 5 nights plus another destination.

3. We do not want to move accommodations more than once and need to stay in apartments. There are lots of great trips that seem to require moving around quite a bit (Sicily, Dordogne, Provence) which we will wait on for when the kids are older and we don't have to worry about things like taking lots of gear and sleeping issues.

4. We are also reluctant to rent a car. Mostly because of the expense - we need an automatic and a car big enough to fit two carseats. But also because we are not super comfortable driving in a foreign country in unfamiliar territory (I hate driving personally) and taking two carseats is not appealing.

5. We do not want to base ourselves out in the country. With the kids we have found that it is easiest to be in the city because we can just walk out the door to be in the middle of the action. Having to drive to go out to every dinner (our kids are pretty good in restaurants so we do get to eat out) is a hassle and we expect sometimes that one of us will need to stay in the apartment with a napping child while the other can go out. As I said, we live in the city in the US so our kids are used to walking everywhere and public transportation.

I hope this doesn't sound like I am rejecting the suggestions above because I really do appreciate all the input. I guess we have just put a lot of thought into what works and does not work. Previously we have enjoyed trips with our older daughter to Rome, Paris and Bologna and the staying in the city in an apartment, not changing accommodations model seems to work well. Traveling for the first time overseas with two kids, I don't want to be too ambitious and try something more complicated. Thanks again.

uflecku

THink about a combo of Amsterdam and Brugges (Belgium). Both great towns. Both great with kids. Easy train options. Good/accessible airports.

Sassafrass

Barcellona (great walking & beautiful parks) & some place in Southern Spain - perhaps Sevilla or even Madrid.

YvonneT

If you do go to Venice (and lots of young couples live there, have children and cope!), perhaps think of one of those carriers that hold the baby either on the back, or front of you. I saw babies being carried that way, either sound asleep or enjoying the scenery.

franco

First of all, if you go to Venice, definitely leave the stroller at home.

If you want the second city to be in Italy, even if you don't want to rent a car, there are certainly more options than just Perugia and Torino. (Both Perugia and Torino are absolutely great choices that I love, don't get me wrong, but it would be definitely wrong to think that you're limited to these options. And for basing yourself in Perugia, I think a car is indispensable, by the way, to explore the region - Perugia proper is too small for a whole week.) I'd suggest, other than Torino: Parma. Ravenna. Milano. Or Genova.

Cowboy1968

I would say that also Barcelona has a lot to offer.

> the sea/boardwalk, harbor cruises, cable car across harbor, all in walking distance from the old town, e.g. the Born district
> can stay in the old town, e.g. Born - with everything in walking distance, small grocery stores anywhere included, with its maze of small alleys and streets that are fun to explore
> lots of inexpensive eateries which won't cost you more than a trip to your local McD
> buses are kneeling/accessible - so are some metro lines with lifts, though not all
> the old town is mostly pedestrian zone
> all sidewalks outside the old town have sloping edges, so strollers can cross streets without barriers
> big parks like Ciutadella with the zoo inside
> an old-fashioned amusement park on top of Mt. Tibidabo
> museums geared for kids like the Caixa Science Forum

HappyTrvlr

We combined Venice and Amsterdam and it was a wonderful trip, our canal focused trip. Amsterdam has parks and canal boat rrides for your daughter and a day trip to Zanse Shans(sp?) might appeal to her.

Sally30

After much deliberation we decided to make things easy for ourselves (relatively speaking!) and head to Paris for the whole trip. We are staying in an apartment for ten nights and don't have to worry about moving ourselves mid-way through the trip. We have also been to Paris many times before and are content to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere even if we don't get to all the museums we would without kids. Thanks for all the suggestions above. I am already thinking about them for future trips when the kids are a little older.

Mennette_Larkin

I understand your concerns abut using a stroller in Venice, but when we went there with our 18 month old we saw lots of Italians using strollers. They just managed the bridges and vaporettos. We had a leash for our child so she didn't run away from us in museums and a backpack. But after seeing the Italians we wish we'd had a lightweight stroller. I think Venice would be much, much easier to navigate with small children since there are no cars! And no motorcycles! Parisian driving can be nerve-wracking. We loved our trip to Venice with our young daughter and she loved it, too.