First trip to Europe for a 5 year old

Gary, with no disrepect to any fellow posters,any answers you get are pure speculation, there is no way to gauge one country being more child friendly than another. In your own post, you voted Italy, his aunt chose England and Ireland, it comes down to peoples personal view of a place, I may choose Spain but someone else may think Spain is not child friendly. Would we consider Florida or California more child friendly because Disneyworld and Disneyland are in those states then say Indiana or Iowa? About the only thing I can think of is with a child of this age they may realize there is a difference of where they are compared to home because they are hearing a different language or being given food that is different than they are used to.

I agree with every thing Barry said.. With these added views. Kids that age do not really care where you go,, they want to go to a park, they would like to hang out at a beach or lake if hot,, and they all seem to like hotels with swimming pools... so really , you could take them to almost any country, but perhaps not at any time. For instance, Rome in the summer can be roastingly hot, and most hotels do not have pools, so personally I don't think dragging a 5 yr old around ruins in July or August is a good idea at all, but in later Sept -Oct , Rome would be great.
Ireland and England, well, two totally different places, lots to do and see for kids in London,, but will a 5 yr old apprieciate the driving trips in Ireland as much,, or pub visits, or more importantly , and as far as I am concerned the RAIN,, ( and this could be any month) . I don't know of any country that isn't "kid friendly " to a well behaved kid,, and I don't think we need to assume only Italians like kids, I don't beleive that for a minute,, and thinking kids will only eat spagetti and pizza is parental imprinting,, kids will eat what ever they are used to , or given at that age( mostly ,, I realize there are exceptions) I think you and your wife should simply go where YOU want to go with the understanding you will be spending more time buyiing ice cream and going to parks then you normally would.

As far as activities go, I think Paris is very kid-friendly. There's the Luxembourg Gardens with an amazing playground where your 5 yr old can play with other French kids and kids from other countries, donkey rides, carousel, marionette shows... there's the Jardin d'Acclimatation (in the Bois de Boulogne), a wonderful old-fashioned amusement park for young children... there are boat rides on the Seine, street entertainers in front of Notre Dame and on the pedestrian bridge behind ND... open top hop-on hop-off busses, metro rides, the Eiffel Tower... Euro Disney... I moved to Paris with my family when I was four and loved everything about Paris... and all of Europe.

Hi, Gary! I have five boys ~ now ages 7 to 17 ~ all of whom are experienced travelers. In my experience, there is no one country (or state, as someone else noted) that is more or less friendly to children. It's really more a matter of balancing your more demanding outings with plenty of relaxed fare. Find a destination that the adults agree upon ~ that's the first and more important order of business.

Geesh, ,I agree with everything Susan and Colleen say too,, its all very agreeable,, lol Susan does have a great point, Paris has tons of pocket parks, as well as the bigger well known ones,, plus kids love the Eiffel Tower and the cruising on the Siene.

Leggo land in Denmark. Very high on our sons' list - never made it.

Legoland is a must-do with my boys (from ages 2 to 15!) Tivoli in Copenhagen, the Little Mermaid, (parts of) the Resistance Museum. Actually, all of Denmark is pretty kid-friendly. We did London with a 2 1/2 and 7 1/2 yo and just decided it would be the Kids' Tour that trip, with the double-decker bus tour, the Horse Guards, everything at the Tower of London (ravens as big as my toddler!), (parts of) the British Museum, a Duck Boat tour, a Thames River cruise up to Hampton Court and Kew Gardens... and every kind of ice cream, soda and sweet we didn't have at home! We had a blast, all of us, and I only keened a bit as we walked past a sign for what looked like a wonderful Turner exhibit! I did a lot of prep with many weeks of picture books and stories about what we would see. My 2 1/2yo's highlight,(and probably mine!) was seeing Big Ben at night through wisps of clouds, and hearing him gasp, "I think I just saw Peter Pan!" We long ago decided that a good family vacation was one where the kids were happy and we were moderately content. If the kids are unhappy, ain't nobody happy, right? Personally I would be reluctant to try a new place with a 5 yo, given my personal propensity for bumping into Murphy's Law, and my inability to get a child to see the humor in stressful situations... but ymmv. Cheers, whatever you choose.

Another vote for Paris......there is also Disney not too far away.

These replies underscore why adult preferences have to be given consideration. You'd have to pay me ~ okay, even that wouldn't do it ~ to get me to a "theme park". If I wouldn't do it here, in the States, I certainly wouldn't do it while on a European vacation. Just not my cuppa, so I wouldn't design a trip with that on the agenda. On the other hand, some adults love that sort of thing, or are willing to go for the children's sake. So much depends on personal preference ~ of the adults, the children, the family as a whole.

Paris is a great suggestion. I took his father to Disneyland Paris years ago. Parks are plentiful, Eiffel Tower, boat rides on the Siene - we never got to see those gargoyles on our last visit - mmmm. Maybe a week in London and a week in Paris would be a good choice. Thanks for all the great advice!

Gary I think your Paris/London split is a great one, the Eurostar is only 2.5 hrs city center to city center ,, nicer for child then flying( all the hassle of having to get to and from airports and checking in an hour or two in advance etc) .. And I cannot imagine a 5 yr old not loving a visit to the Natural History Museum in London, its a kids dream,, and fun for adults too!

When I think of "child-friendly" and Europe, the #1 thing that comes to my mind is restaurants. And having traveled around Europe with kids, I do think some places are more "child friendly" than others. While Spain is very accepting of children accompanying parents, getting served dinner before 9pm really limits your choices. (And when you do find a place - you will find it full of families with young kids.) Whether you can get free/cheap tap water, and whether you can actually find kids' meals (meaning smaller portions and lower costs - not necessarily chicken nuggets and fries) also weigh in IMO. The next thing to think about is child-friendly activities. Are they readily available (theme park, playgrounds, hands-on science museums) or will you have to get more creative. If a place is known for being romantic, having great art museums and spectacular views, this doesn't necessarily mean it isn't child-friendly, but it may not be a great choice. Bruges comes to mind. I loved it when it was just me and my husband. But after visiting with my kids, I would never recommend it for a family with young kids. I think Paris is a great choice, as well as some other parts of France. Italy is definitely a great choice IMO. (gelato, gelato and more gelato LOL!) The only thing that makes me hesitant to agree with the England thought of your GS's Auntie is the cost (for a triple vs a double room, for an extra meal, etc.) Good luck with making a decision!

Dina makes a good point about restaurants. In Switzerland, for example, families don't eat out nearly as often as they do here in the United States. They don't have the plethora of "kid friendly" restaurants, complete with high chairs, child menus, etc, that dot the American landscape. In our case, we're typically eating with family and friends at home, but pure tourists might very well find the restaurant scene in CH confining in terms of children.

My vote for best country to take a child to for the first Europe trip is split between England and Italy. While I definitely believe that the ADULTS should pick the place they want to go and the child will have a great time (because there are wonderful things to do in all countries for all ages), Italy and England are often my first suggestions for families because: 1) Food - food really is an important issue when you are taking kids on vacation, any vacation. Italy is familiar food - pasta can be had plain, butter and cheese, simple red sauce. Pizza, bread, cheese, plain salads - these are foods that most kids would enjoy having 3 times a day. My son ate pasta bianco and proscuitto and melon almost every day of our 2 week trip. He eventually tried the sage/butter sauce and loved that too. Gelato every day, twice a day is a marvelous motivator for walking. Italy wins over England for food. 2) Cultural touchstones - England is the land of Classic children's books, and knights and castles. We've been to the beach where Alice (of Wonderland fame) vacationed with her family, Tintagel where Arthur was "born", and seen several Harry Potter sites. Watch the Disney version of Peter Pan and see them fly past Big Ben and be sure to point that out to your grandson. We went to Warwick castle when there was a storyteller telling about the battle of Agincourt. My kids loved ruined castles more than the restored ones - they would climb all over. It was like going to a playground with lots of history! Though there is lots of great history in Italy too (of course), my kids had more information about England when they were younger. We found special English Heritage chocolate bars sold at many of our sites - again, a great treat at the end of a tour. Wherever you go will be great. I can't wait till our grandchildren are old enough for us to do this all over again!