Itinerary Feedback - One Month thru Europe

London deserves six nights minimum and Paris five nights. These two cities will be the most kid friendly places to visit so take advantage of what it has to offer.
Cut out Basel and spend five nights in the Lauterbrunnen Valley because you never know what the weather conditions will be. The more you move around the harder it is.
Buy Rick Steves London and Paris guidebooks for ideas on where to take your toddler: https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/london-guidebook and https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/paris-guidebook.

Consider a multi-city flight instead of a round-trip (this isn’t two one-way tickets). So, you could fly home from either Rome or Milan.

I would drop Verona unless you’re planning to attend an opera in the Roman Arena. Give those days to Florence right after Lauterbrunnen. Then after Rome, you now have some days to head to some of the smaller towns in that area to get a taste of their charming style.

When I read a month and then just two nights in London, I had a small gasp! London deserves much more time, or just skip London. One full day isn’t worth the extra transportation time & expense.

Thanks everyone! I should clarify, we are only flying through London because of a screaming airline rewards ticket deal. My husband and I have both explored the city before, so its not high on our list for this trip. We booked an adventure day to Stonehenge, Lacock, and Bath for our full day for something we hadn't done before!

Unless your son is extremely laid back I would think twice about so many room changes. We traveled years ago with our daughter at age 2. The minimum was 3 nights per stop. Now we have very active grandchildren ages 2 and 4. The 4 year old would definitely kill this itinerary. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. But, I'm not 30 any more.
Just seriously think about your toddler and how easy change is going to be. Luckily you have a helper.

Check out all playground's and ask around where you are staying about kid friendly places. They love kids---from our travels.

Looks like a fun trip. We always traveled with our kids. Just at a slower pace.

kaymill707,
I agree with Jean, Verona is not a five night city, plus with a 3-4year old, there will probably more to entertain him in both London and Paris. Even if you have been there before, there is always more to see and do, and day trips abound. Unless your meet-ups are Veronese, I would skip it altogether. Give that time to Rome, Paris or London. And the thought of lots of changes with a little one is exhausting. The train rides may be relatively short, but much depends on departure time. You may lose the whole day to checking out, getting to station, getting to new lodging and checking in. I don't know enough about Switzerland to give advice on child-friendly places and activities, but having spent more time than I planned on in Verona, I feel confident in saying that five nights (four days) are too many.

re Q1/2: With the Olympics in Paris next summer, prices for lodging are already quite high and preparations will be underway probably causing a lot of disruption. Your idea is wise to add time to London if nothing for jet lag recovery in particular, it's murder on adults can't imagine with a 4 year old. You could fly from London to Zurich and take a shorter train ride to Lauterbrunnen, skipping Basel (or skip Lauterbrunnen and go to Basel, same train ride length). Less moving around with the 4 year old seems like a good idea to me.

Re Q3: Unclear why 5 nights in Verona, it simply isn't a place I would think to stay for that long unless you have family there. I understand you are meeting people in Rome for a date certain, but maybe you could take the train to Genoa, spend some quality time on the coast (Cinque Terre day trips) then on to Rome and then Florence. Also, could the people flying in to Rome find their way to Florence on their own? Seems like a lot of backtracking for you when Florence is on the way.

Also, does the 20 year old nephew have any thoughts/feelings about the itinerary? You mentioned they will be helping with child care, but is going on the trip part of the reward for helping? Perhaps he would have some input on the itinerary and location selections that would be meaningful to him. I traveled with a 20 year old nephew to Europe last year (without a 4 year old), and he had plenty of ideas. Just a thought!

Verona is not a five night city

I spent 7 nights in Verona this past March and loved every second of it. It's a great city, not filled with tourists, and a great base for exploring Northern Italy. You are allowed to do day trips. It's not like they lock you in the city and don't let you leave. 😊

Thanks for the feedback! For Verona, we had anticipated a day trip to Venice and a day at Lake Garda with two full days to explore Verona and catch an opera or two (our dates fall during the Opera Festival). Perhaps we should cut a day there! I definitely hadn't thought about the Paris Olympics (it's always something, right?) Love the idea of some more time on the coast in Italy. You've all given me a lot to think about, keep it coming!

This sounds amazing but absolutely exhausting with a 3 year old! lol

We have finalized our itinerary, thanks for the helpful feedback from everyone in this forum!

Fly San Francisco > London

London (3 nights)

Paris (4 nights)

Lauterbrunnen (5 nights)

Verona (5 nights)

Rome (4 nights)

Florence (5 nights)

London (1 night)

Fly London > San Francisco

We're so excited! Now to figure out how to figure out how to widdle down the luggage situation...

From Verona you can also do day trips to Vicenza and Padau.