Donna

This is my first trip to Europe and though my husband is an experienced business traveler to Europe, we're wondering if a trip to Italy is appropriate for a 5 year old boy. Do hotels and restaurants accommodate children? Any sightseeing for little ones? Thank you.

JB

Donna,<BR><BR>I can't give you specifics, but my sister was 5 when we went to Paris for 6 weeks. I was 10 (and female also). We both loved it - including museums, restaurants and sightseeing. It was a wonderful gift my parents gave us that we still talk about.<BR><BR>I've heard about a sight called travelwithyourkids.com that you might want to check out. Not sure if it has info on European travel, but I would think it would.<BR><BR>Hope this helps.<BR><BR>JB

Donna

Thanks, JB, it helps alot!

xxx

Boys tend to be more physical then girls. How is his attention span? Behavior? If I had taken my son at that age, we would have spent the entire flight over walking up and down the isles as he wasn't interested in sitting and looking at a book for more than 5 minutes. He turned out to be a runner. So, all depends on the child. How has he done on recent weekend and car trips? How does he do at meal time?

StCirq

Donna: My now 12-year-old boy's all-time favorite travel memories are of the trip we took to Italy when he was 5 years old. He's been to Europe many times, but that trip is still so fresh in his mind he can still remember particular meals he ate. Developed a lifelong love of calamari and penne al'arrabbiata while he was at it. <BR>We found on several trips that the Italians would go out of their way to accommodate children. At one restaurant in Rome, the waiters took my daughter out of my arms back to the kitchen where they gave her warm sweet milk with biscotti dipped in it while we enjoyed our meal. Numerous times people stopped us on the streets to pat a child's head or peer into the stroller and murmur. Just be sure to plan your trip around the child's schedule, take it easy, and don't expect to make it to everything you may think you want to see. An afternoon kicking a soccer ball around a fountain with Italian kids is sometimes better than another museum.

Shannon

It has been my experience that Italians, in general, love having children as their guests in hotels and restaurants. At your son's age, he will probably enjoy Pisa, vapretto rides in Venice, St. Mark's Square (what kid doesn't love birds?), and all the wonderful fountains in Rome.

msa

We have taken our children to Europe several times...including to Italy when our son was 5. Wonderful trip! Traveling with children can be so much fun...and they DO remember their experiences. Our son first tried calamari (grilled) in Portugal when he was 4....loves it now! <BR><BR>In Rome we stayed at the Hotel Miami...and the staff there was great with the kids...taught them some Italian and were great at making them feel at ease.<BR><BR>In Florence the Casci Hotel was super...the owners/staff are incredibly nice...especially to the kids. <BR><BR>In Venice the hotel we stayed at was the Hotel Canada...wouldn't stay there again...location was great, but the staff was very cold and the room/bathroom less than adequate. <BR><BR>All the restaurants we went to were wonderful with kids...we stayed away from typical touristy places for the most part...go off and find neighborhoods and let the kids meet other Italian children.<BR><BR>Enjoy!

deb

My boys are 9 and 12 now, but I vividly remember our 'talk' before we left on our first trip to Italy with them four years ago. We didn't want them to expect 'Disneyland' and to realize that most things would be different than what they knew. We talked about trying new foods (my boys were picky eaters), learning about new cultures, etc., etc. It was a fabulous trip and they were better behaved than some adults we were traveling with. Every year since, we have had that 'talk' (they now know it by heart) before we leave for our summer vacation. <BR>To make things a little easier, we try to stay in a house/villa with a pool at least for a week. I think it helps for them to be settled and the pool is a nice treat after a busy day of sightseeing. Treat him with gelato after long walks. And most of all, don't let yourself get stressed out, he will pick up on it. <BR>Our boys loved Pisa, Vinci (Leonardo museum) and Venice. <BR>

Marj

Italy is very child friendly. A 5 year will probably not rememeber all that much down the road, but in any case, he'll enjoy spending the time together. Wherever you go, try to have some 'down' time for him just to relax or run around in a park or playground.

gg

Having taken children abroad from 2 yrs to 20, I have a different view on this. Don't wait until it is "appropriate" for children to travel. We travelled when they were small, but minimized cultural trips thinking it would be more interesting to them when they studied European history. But lo, when they studied European history in highschool, first it was boring, then their interest were in hanging around with friends talking about same thing over and over. European trips, boring... I know there are teenagers with intellectual curiosity to benefit from the trip, but my recommendation is why risk not able to trips in the future when they are old enough to not want to go but too young to be left alone and need to make an arrangement? If he turn out to be travel nut in his teen? Enjoy your good fortune.

LJ

Others have reassured you about the welcome you will receive and the fun you will have when you get there. As for the plane issue, there is a rule of thumb: your little one will be well-behaved on the plane for exactly twice as long as he is in the car. If your plane flight is 7 hours and you have not yet had 31/2 straight (and peaceful) hours on a car trip, start practising now!

another

Everyone is so enthusiastic about you taking your five year old. Well, here's a different way to look at it. Will you have as much fun and get to do the things you want to do? If you have a safe place to tuck your five year old and you won't worry about him while you're gone, I'd use that criteria alone for the decision. <BR><BR>Let's face it. A five year old will NOT remember much from the trip and I don't care what the other posters say. I mean, how much of any vacation do you remember from when you were five years old? <BR><BR>What do you want to see and do? If you enjoy museums and want to tour historic places, see scenery from a car, and visit lots of little stores, I'd suggest you consider leaving the child at home, if that is an option. He'd be happier and so would you. <BR><BR>We've taken both of our children to Europe, but waited until they were in upper elementary school and had a better context for what they were seeing, and a greater attention span. I think it is a wonderful experience for children, but for a five year old, it's just another experience.

Candide

Those who have life-changing and indelible memories of trips taken when they were five may have been well prepared for their trips by intelligent, sensitive and enthusiastic parents. Perhaps unlike you or your children, they may also have been blessed with superior intelligence, a precocious sense of adventure, and parents who stimulated and nurtured their curiosity. You may discount their parents' accounts of their experiences, but please realize that we will place far less value on your opinion.

candide

Sorry, above message was meant for "Another," not for any of the other people who posted!

Kiddles

Millions of children live in Italy. Of course you are welcome to bring your child to hotels and some restaurants. Of course there are parks, zoos, fountains, street performers and other sites to delight your son.

StCirq

Well, Another, I actually have acute memories of the trip I took the summer I was 5 years old. In fact, I suspect it somehow instigated the wanderlust and, in particular, the love of France that have been such a vital part of my adult life. <BR> We crossed Lake Champlain on a ferry in the night. There were two cats on the ferry, and I played with them and became very allergic (it was my first exposure to one of the many things that was an allergen for me as a child). I remember sneezing a lot, and shadowy figures of cats on the deck, and the cold air, and my father speaking in French to the deck hand. The captain asked my name when we boarded, and when I told him, he said "And we're, what? About 12 years old?" just to get a smile out of me. We were picked up by my parents' friends who lived in Canada and driven in their '52 Chevy to their cabin in the woods. I sat in the back seat of the car with my head upside down watched the pale white line in the middle of the road and the upside-down pine trees speeding by lit up by moonlight. I can still smell the pine trees. I was put to bed in a small room with a big red plaid blanket and a small fireplace with wood burning in it. I was more tired than I'd ever been in my life. My parents friends gave me some medicine for my allergies and I went to sleep with the shadow of the fire licking my face. In the morning, I awoke to a cold room and went to investigate the kitchen. The first thing I saw was a cat sitting on top of the refrigerator.<BR>It wasn't "just another experience."

Louisa

Donna should decide based upon what she desires for her first trip for Europe. A child changes the nature of one's trip.

marian

I'm assuming money is not an issue, right? Oftentimes cost is a factor in deciding whether or not one can afford to take along a small child.<BR><BR>You said this is your first trip, right? I say, if you can afford it, and you will enjoy gearing your trip to the interests and limitations of your five year old, then go for it. As xx suggested, only you know your son. <BR><BR>PS Sometimes the hardest part of traveling is leaving one's children with someone else. Again, this is only something you know.

deb

StCirq - nice story! I hope my kids will remember the nice little details of their travels.

another

Candide, Wow! Why did you get so upset with me? Sorry if I offended you. I did not mean to speak for others. I thought they were speaking quite clearly for themselves and were presenting thoughtful points of view.<BR><BR>My point was to give Donna another perspective, something else to consider. Of course Italy has a lot for children to do in it and she will have a fine trip if she takes her five year old. <BR><BR>We had many wonderful family vacations with our children when they were little. But Europe for four wasn't within our reach financially, and I don't think my kids missed anything by not going when they were five.<BR><BR>And, were it my first trip to Europe and I wanted to visit art museums, go on tours of historic places, drive the Amalfi coast, maybe even have a romantic moment with my husband, I'd leave my five year old back home with family, if I had the opportunity and felt comfortable leaving my child. <BR><BR>I might do differently, were I wealthy, and had time for multiple vacations...<BR><BR>Or if I were like Candide, who is, in her own words, a more intelligent, sensitive, enthusiastic, superior and nurturing parent than I could ever hope to be. And, if my children were like hers, and had been blessed with superior intelligence, a precocious sense of adventure, and parents who stimulated and nurtured their curiosity. <BR><BR>We're the original Family Moron, I'm afraid, and my kids, when they were five, were just as happy at the beach in Chicago, where we'd visit family, as they would have been at the beach in Italy. And, the Art Institute of Chicago wasn't even on our itinerary until they were older. Like I said, the Family Moron. Mea culpa!<BR><BR><BR>