I'd like to take a single stroller to Rome and Florence; I did use a fantastic one that took me all over Paris (only walked, never used the Metro). Actually -- it was a double stroller, but a single will do now since my older child is 6 now.

I'm concerned that the streets/pedestrian walkways are more cobbled and difficult to navigate -- is this correct?

And if you have brought a stroller successfully to Rome or Florence or both, can you please relay your thoughts and indicate which brand/model you used so I can compare with ours for size and ability to get around these two cities? Thanks so much!

Hi there,
We always travel with our Peg Perego Pliko. It has the stand up bar on the back, so our older child can hop on when he gets tired (which inevitably happens!) I wouldn't go anywhere in Europe without a stroller, since we love to walk everywhere and the kids can't always make it as far as we do. This summer we will bring the stroller for our trip to Slovenia/Croatia, with our 3 and 5 year olds. Florence and Rome have some cobbly/busy streets, but I'd much rather the kids in the stroller than walking/running on their own. Especially since you can see everything in Florence on foot, and most of the best parts of Rome too. Plus, you have somewhere to hold all your extra stuff in the storage below! Good luck and have a great time!

Both Florence and Rome are far more cobbled than Paris. I have rocked the wheels off a couple of suitcases in Italy! But the Perego strollers are a good bet: the Peg Perego Venezia is seen all over Italy (its made there).

Thanks so much for your thoughts! I am going to explore the PP models based on your suggestions... a new stroller would be a good investment, since we have another on the way!! We'll just tell this one we broke the stroller in while traveling through Italy!

I have a Maclaren Triumph that worked great in both Rome and Paris. It also folds up very compactly. Seemed like everyone in Paris had the same stroller. I don't think the cobblestones are a big deal. Don't let that deter you.

how old is the Baby? or, rather, how big? with the cobblestones, have you considered some sort of a baby backpack? That wouldn't help with the older child, tho...

The problem I could see is on the very narrow streets where there is barely room to stand between a car and the buildings. The street we stayed on (via del Pellegrino) we sometimes had to step into a doorway to let a vehicle pass.

Hi, Momliz. Thanks for asking -- our younger is 4. While he can walk a distance, I'm concerned about the days when we are out longer than a couple of hours. I'm a hair under 6 mos. pregnant and can't carry him for the long haul anymore. Thank you, Sally, Icoo and Wliwl for your thoughts. I'll have to check out the Maclarens as well... only 10 days to go!!

I know this is months down the line, but I wanted to add to this thread in case anyone has the same questions down the road -- we did end up with a Maclaren Volo, which was perfect for the trip.

We cruised everywhere with it through city and country, cobblestone, gravel, concrete, narrow streets and wider avenues, up and down hills, stairs, and escalators, and on the underground train in Rome. It was merely 7 pounds in weight, and being 7 months pregnant during our trip, I could manage well with carrying it and holding on to two kiddos when DH had to work and couldn't be with us.

Just thought I'd pass on our final decision to purchase a MacLaren. Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions, and thanks Sally for pointing me in the ML stroller direction.