My husband & I have never traveled outside of the US and want to take a trip to Europe. We are open to ideas since we have a 7 month old. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated..We are thinking maybe Italy, Australia, Ireland, London, a cruise?? We are truly open to any suggestions, just wanting it to be something fun for the three of us and not to stressful with having a small child.

THANKS

Australia is not in Europe. Did you mean Austria?

We've traveled to Europe with a baby before. While it's better to stick to one "home base" and apartments can be better than hotels, you don't have to limit yourself to any specific location because you have a baby. A better question is, where do you WANT to go?

Just don't try to go to too many cities in a short time, or try to pack too much into a day. Slow travel is the way to go.

My personal choice would be a Paris apartment for at least a week.

We've traveled with our son since he was an infant -- so here's my 2 cents.

Children that young are portable. You can probably make any location work, but some will be easier than others.

Cruise -- I don't think they allow nonpotty trained children in the pools and your child may be too young to participate in the kids clubs. You and your spouse may have to take turns enjoying the amenities while the other one watches the baby.

Australia -- if you really meant that and not Austria -- is too far of a plane ride, especially if this is your first long haul with a baby.

London and Ireland -- any time of the year rain is a possibility. Now, I know children somehow survive those climates all the time, but it really can put a damper on a vacation!

Italy and or Paris -- Perfect! From time spent in Rome with our toddler, we think Italians LOVE kids and they will go nuts over yours. In Paris we once had a waitress take our son (11 months at the time) out of his stroller to throw him up in the air. We even had a nice little grandma type share her pain au chocolate with him while he was crying!

I also second christycruz's rec of an apartment!

There are some really great threads on this subject -- lots of answered questions and lots of great trip reports from those that have done it.

Have fun! We love traveling with our son -- it forces us to slow down and enjoy aspects of a city we never would have otherwise.

Thank you both. YES we do want to visit Italy and Paris so maybe we start there. If you have stayed in apartments or have suggestions please let me know. I'm looking into airfare now. Again, suggestions on where to stay, areas to tour would be great. I am soo new at all of this.

In Rome we used sleepinitaly.com. I couldn't find our actual apt on their site. It does get recommended on this site often.

In Paris we stayed at http://parisapartmenttours.com/site/...38&mode=search
It's in the 6th arrondisement and think it's a great location.

Don't be overwhelmed. You just need to narrow down your options.
How long can you stay? If you only have a week or so I think it's best to stay in one location. If you have more time, maybe a combination of a big city with day trips or even a side trip to the country.

What do you want to see? Art museums, historic sites, ruins, castles, palaces, romantic boulevards, shopping etc.

When can you go? With a small child we liked spending more time outside but that is difficult when it's wet and cold outside.

What type of traveler are you? If you like a museum march it may be tough with an infant unless you time it perfectly with naps. If you like long lingering meals you'll also have to work on your timing. If you're flexible it will help!

We've found that answering questions like those help us determine where to stay, what to see etc

Have fun!

Personally, I would pick Paris. Greatest medical system in the world to relieve any anxieties, and always romantic views outside your apartment windows, should you need to take a break and just enjoy hanging out at home. Sweet cafes. Sweet treats. A great transportation system if you get caught in the rain. Lots of wonderful stores that sell pre-made gourmet food at all hours. Plenty of parks to enjoy, and boat rides on the Seine. Lots of museums if your child is a marathon napper.

I use guestappartments in Paris for rentals.

My husband and I have travelled to Europe with our children when they were babies and then moved to London with them when they were 1 and 3. We have travelled with them extensively. I will give you my 2 cents about Paris and elsewhere:

Paris - When my first child was 4 mos we went to Bruges, Paris, and Luxembourg with her in about 10 days. We had been to Paris before and quite honestly did not enjoy being there with our baby. It could be because she was so small, and we were new parents, but it was tough having her in a big city. We had her in a stroller and it was tough to ride the metro with it. The heavy crowds on the sidewalks made us nervous with the baby. We ended up going to Versailles to avoid it, which was nice, but we probably should have avoided Paris on a first trip with a baby.

Bruges and Lux were both better. But we had already done all the biggies in Europe and were happy to go to less travelled places.

If you have to do a big city, I would choose London or Rome with a baby before Paris because it seems like there are more parks / piazzas / etc. to let the baby be. Rome appears smaller and more walkable to me after 4-5 visits to each city (never ride the metro in Rome but ride the tube a lot in London) but I don't know that for a fact. London has a lot of free museums to pop into and lots of parks with green space to put the child down. This may be a stupid thing to say, but I have pushed strollers around London and Paris and I have had trouble in Paris but generally not in London. (Not that there aren't babies in both cities.) Also, people help you get the stroller up and down the stairs in London and I don't recall that ever happening in Paris.

When the same child was 13 mos we went to Ireland and travelled by car. Stayed in hotels and moved every 2 or 3 days. It worked better for us, she was great, the Irish people were great. We went to a lot of small towns and castles and it was perfect.

When the now 2 children were 2 and 8 mos we went to Germany and stayed in Bacharach on the Rhine and Cochem on the Mosel. Did river boat rides, stopped in the towns, castles, picnics, etc. This was also a good liesurly trip with a baby. Lower key than a big city.

Switzerland, with the fantastic public transport system, would be great - if you are into mountains and nature.

Anywhere you go, make sure you buy your baby a seat on the plane, and make sure you bring a good stroller (like a mountain buggy or something like that). IMO a cheap lightweight stroller is hard to push and a lot of trouble.

As an Italian resident, I have to disagree that Rome is better for gardens or stroller-friendly sidewalks or transportation in general than Paris. I've never pushed a stroller around Paris so the above voice of authority is important.

London is a great suggestion, as are car-oriented vacations, or Switzerland.

A 7 month old has no idea where it is. As long as it has food, time to nap, some room to play (get an apartment rather than a hotel rooms) and it;s parents - and it's not hot as hell - it will be perfectly happy. I would hesitate to do Italy in the middle of the summer due to the heat,.

I agree with zeppole that Rome was not more child-friendly/garden/stroller friendly than Paris.

However, we had a light-weight stroller, and it wasn't always easy negotiating stairs and escalators down to the metro. If you do bring a "mountain buggy" make sure it folds up well and is easy to carry.

Some Paris sidewalks were better than others. As long as there's two of you and one baby, it should be manageable and not too stressful. London is easier (English speaking, many tube stations have lifts, people are outrageously helpful), but definitely not my first preference.