Italy with a 1 year old
 

We will be traveling to Rome, Florence, Venice, the Lake District and Milan in April with our one year old. If anyone has any ideas on restaurants that would be appropriate we would love some suggestions. We love great food and wine but want to avoid too quiet places where she could disturb others (we are happy to take her outside if she does act up!) Any other tips for sites and hotels would be most appreciated.

I don't have any specific recommendations, but a few general tips that helped us.

We ate early, before her bedtime and before the resturants were full of people. The one time we waited (8 pm) we were treated to a tantrum in a packed trattoria.

If your eating schedule revolves around your toddler you should be fine. We also tried to eat outside, ideally next to a piazza. That way a parent could walk around with child (while the other parent enjoys a quiet moment :) ). And at that age, they are entertained by almost anything

We also brought small toys to entertain her; her favorite entertainment were the thin breadsticks on the table.

Overall, we had a great time and were welcomed where ever we ate. The only time we got "how dare you eat here" looks were from other tourists. And that was rare.In one resturant, an Italian man in a smart suit played peek-a-boo with her from across the room.


I wrote a trip report about our time -- I don't have the link, but it starts with "Call me crazy..."

Good luck!
~Mebe

hi vchris,

how long is your trip?

if you are going to be 3 or more days in one place, an apartment might be nice - more room and possibilities to cook/bring in.

have you travelled with the little one before? - all those places look awfully ambitious! and in each place you need to sort out the cot, restaurants, AND have you thought of Venice with a stroller!

just a thought.

regards, ann

all good tips above, but in general, trust the fact that Italy is perhaps the most child tolerant country you could find, and apart from the very fanciest sit-down places (usually wildly expensive, or in hotels, children are welcome everywhere, at all hours, in Italian restaurants.

Weather permitting, it is always nice to eat facing a piazza or other pedestrianized area where your child can run around a bit without being underfoot of the wait staff. When you finally settle on your hotels, you should repost where you'll be staying and people will be able to recommend some nice piazzas with restaurants.

It is sometimes not a bad idea to actually feed your child at least something before going to the restaurant. Italian restaurants do not believe in speedy service -- although they will be happy to bring fruits or breads or anything for a cranky child. Also, it's always possible your child won't like the food! So having some favorite foods with you when you go to a restaurant is a good idea. Italians will not mind in the slightest.

Your biggest problem is likely to be people cooing at your darling endlessly, dancing her around the room, having other children coming over to play, and having no end of food treats being constantly given to your child.

As for hotels, just double check that they have good heat or air con and screens on windows to keep out mosquitoes.

PS: If you choose hotels over apartments, I would make sure you get a minibar in the room. If that type of hotel is outside your budget, staying in a b&b might work better for you, where the owner is likely to be more than happy to keep some extra yoghurt or milk in the kitchen fridge for you.

thanks to everyone- great tips! We are only doing about 3 days in each place so we will be at hotels. We we were thinking for Venice we would pack her in a backpack type carrier as we read that it was not a stroller friendly environment. We are also thinking about skipping Milan and adding a day at Lake Como to relax from our trip before heading home. Love the eating earlier tip - I plan on stashing some Cheerios to avoid any waits. I'll be checking out "Call Me Crazy" right now!

You'll have a great time! I agree with the other posters that Italians love kids and they don't seem to care if they are misbehaving. We took our daughter to Rome when she was 10 months (a year and a half ago) and had a great time. There aren't too many facilities though - never saw a changing table anywhere in 10 days and steps everywhere. But as long as you expect that and can improvise, it shouldn't be a big deal.

As for eating, we would generally eat a big long lunch and our daughter was fine looking around the restaurant, eating bread, etc. We were all tired at dinner so usually just grabbed something quick and walked around. We brought a stroller and our daughter would fall asleep in it so many nights she slept while we walked around at night, stopped for drinks or gelato, etc. At least that way if she didn't sleep or woke up and needed to go back, we wouldn't have just ordered a big meal. She is older now but we still find that the big lunch works better for us than the big dinner.

I would definitely bring a stroller as well as the backpack even if you don't use it in Venice. Even a one year old can get very heavy!

I wrote a trip report about Rome called "Rome and a Baby" (or something like that). You can click on my name to pull it up.

Hi vchirs, if you can't find mebe's trip report via the seach box (it doesn't work very well to put it midly) just click on mebe's name which is right about her post to you and scroll down (you may have to go beyond the first 50 threads no doubt) until you find her wonderful trip report. You will enjoy reading it I am sure.

I've never hauled a baby around Venice, but I've seen a number of Venetian parents with babies, and they use strollers. Venice actually probably has more long flat smooth walkways than many other Italian cities, which makes it -- I would think -- easier on strollers than a lot of cobblestoned, broken pavement Italian cities --

but what Venezia has got is lots of small bridges.

If you are ok with the two of you lifting a stroller up 10-15 steps, and then down again on the other side, you might join the Venetian parents in preferring a stroller to a backpack for your 1-year old. Only you know her weight and her strength.

Venice has more fancy snooty restaurants per square foot than the other Italian towns you are visiting. As long as you stay away from places with peachy pink tablecloths and cut crystal, you'll be fine.

Skipping Milan is not a bad idea -- although it has the very best sidewalks in Italy, in my opinion! (Although a lot of noisy traffic. Rather like NYC). If you are just looking to chill on your way to the airport, Lago Maggiore (Stresa, Baveno) might afford you easier access to the airport. It's not as beautiful as Bellagio, but the towns have pretty lakeside promenades, and getting to the airport is a snap.

I found the link through my other report:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34802236

Thanks loveitaly :)

Personally, I think staying at fewer locations, and renting an apartment would be ideal. Because -- toddlers will s-l-o-w you down. And having a kitchen makes eating-in (even for breakfast or lunch)a great alternative and a nice break from resturants.

But -- if you do stay in hotels, having a fridge to store food (milk, yogurt)would be a bonus.

mebe and sally30 - thank you so much! Both of your trip reports were so helpful and now I am more convinced that I am not completely nuts for booking this trip! I also found a helpful packing list from "lawmom" through one of Sally30's post. We will be taking a "Sit and Stroll" that we used on another trip for the plane and as a car seat (we are renting a car when we leave Rome). We find that it works in the hotel room to feed her in when we don't have a high chair. We are also bringing a MacLaren for around the city and some sort of carrier for those areas where a stroller doesn't work (she's a big girl but I figure my husband can put her on his back for a hour or so when needed). I was going to bring our clip-on-the -table chair but it sounds like high chairs are not a problem. Thanks again -what a helpful site this is once you get into it!

bookmarking!

dtph, you can bookmark this thread on your own browser without reviving it so we all have to see it.