Where to stay in Europe for a couple of months with a baby
 

My husband and I have an eight month baby and we what to rent an apartment someplace in Europe for a couple of months: Feb through March. Does anyone have recommendations for an economical location with mild weather that will also be somewhat central for small excursions to surrounding areas? We live in Seattle and will be happy with mid 50's to 60's.. Safety is a priority.

If you could tell us what you plan to do in Europe while you are there it would help us give you recommendations. Are your interests in art? If so, you would want to be in a city that has a lot, like Rome. If ancient civilizations are your thing, perhaps Greece. If you would want to just kick back and watch the waves, perhaps the Algarve in Portugal.

You are heading to europe in winter - so most places will be too cold - probably no warmer and possibly colder that Seattle.

Southern Spain will probably have temps in the 50s as long as you stay out of the mountains - and Spain is fairly inexpensive. You will need to pick lodgings carefully to be central enough to use trains - or will hav to add in the expense of renting a car for your time there.

You may also look at Sicily to see the temps at your time of year - I'm not sure they will be waarm enough for you.

We are looking to have an international experience with small western conveniences such as washer and dryer. The goal of the trip is to shop in small grocery stores, stroll the streets and dine with locals at an affordable rate. Cultural centers are a plus but not a necessity. We are thinking of traveling for a total of 6 weeks possibly splitting our trip between two or three countries. Does anyone have an opinion on Slovania?

I have been to Portugal and feeling a bit apprehensive about traveling with a small child as it seemed a bit dengerous

We stayed in this apartment in Venice in winter and enjoyed it.
You'd need to see if the average weather temperatures suited you. There is a washing machine, but no dryer. Dryers are not as common in Italy as in the USA (or Australia, for that matter).

Venice is very safe - we had no concerns walking the streets at mid-night.

http://realvenicevacationflats.com/

You think Portugal is dangerous?? But think Slovenia would be OK . . . AND warm in the winter. Remarkable.

Your first post talks about 2 months in one place, but now it seems to be 6 weeks divided between two or three countries. Whether you want to stay a couple of weeks in 3 separate apartments, or 2 months in one, almost no part of Europe will be warm in Feb.

I think that you are going to find with the Euro or Pound that this trip is going to be rather expensive when you speak about eating out with the locals?
I agree with Janisj that it seems strange that you think that Portugal is dangerous? Certain places like Barcelona or Rome one have some security issues(in regards to pickpocketing) during the summer but I travel every week to Europe for work and usually feel very safe.

If you want warm then think about the south of Spain or Italy.Do you speak any languages? Do you want rural versus urban? Have you traveled alot with your little one in the states?

Well, we didn't find Portugal in the least dangerous with four little kids in tow. Of course, that was a lot of years ago.

If you are looking for warm in the winter, Europe may not be for you. We went skiing in Lebanon one winter. You should realize that the south of Italy is about the latitude of New York city. The ocean keeps the temperatures in Seattle more moderate, usually.

We just got back from spending 4 weeks in Nerja, Spain. It was October/November and the weather was great-think Los Angeles. Nerja is an easy place to go with a child and you can basically walk everywhere. Also, we found Spain to be very reasonable in terms of prices, especially off season. We drove from France but many people fly to Malaga and take a bus or rent a car. Once you are there it is better to just make do without a car though. We stayed at this apartment and would highly recommend it. We were in unit 2.3 It has two terraces overlooking the ocean and is fully outfitted-it even has a high chair:

http://www.vrbo.com/80345

The only caveat is that since many English people winter over or retire there, you may not get as much immersion into Spain as you would like. But in terms of just a great place to base, explore, relax and stay in warm weather, we loved it.