Travelling in Tuscany with a baby
 

We are planning on renting a villa (and a car) in Tuscany. We will be travelling with a 17 months old baby. How easy/difficult is it to see the sights with a small baby? Should I take the stroller? Any other tips to make the moving around with the baby comfortable would be greatly appreciated!

My Wife and I spent a month in Florence with our 18 month old daughter (and my wife's sister). We brought a car-seat and had a jog stroller shipped to the rental company that rented us our apartment. We only used the car seat whn we rented a car for a day at a time here and there (Parco di Pinochio) for day trips. We were glad to have the jog stoller as our daugther tended to tire if we walked too much and it was great to carry groceries, bags, etc. Efverything else we brought was a waste...we found diapers and supplies easily. We were nervous and packed WAY too much for our daughter. We ended up buying a couple of coloring books and toys locally. Italians treated us incredibly wherever we went. Our daughter actually got us preferential treatment everywhere we went and she had the time of her life. Enjoy.

Great information. Thank you!

kdd, yes you will find everything you need for your baby after arriving. Meaning diapers etc.

And IMHO having a darling baby with you will make your visit in Italy twice as much fun. Italians love children, especially babies!!! Have fun. ((*))

Definitely bring a stroller, unless you really like holding a baby all day. A lot of restaurants won't have high chairs so you'll need a place to feed the baby and also to leave your hands free. And even though you have a car, you'll be doing a lot of walking. We used a MacLaren umbrella stroller and found that it handled the roads and sidewalks well--I wouldn't recommend a jogging stroller because of the space it takes up and also the fact that it's hard to manuever in a crowd or a museum. Set your expectations realistically--your child may nap in the stroller and allow you to see a museum or church, but if he or she is awake she might get bored and you will have to leave. We took our two girls to Italy (including Tuscany) this past fall. They were almost four and one and a half, and we had a great time. You can read our trip report at http://www.markandmonica.com/Travel/italy.htm