Most Toddler Friendly Places To Travel In Europe

A 3-4 yr old is not going to appreciate or remember Europe.( or anywhere)

To have a reasonable expectation for him 'appreciate and remember', he would need to be at least 8.

Our 3 yr old enjoyed Disney, but does not remember that trip.

I agree with Joe.

Agree. We took our kids to europe when they were a 11 and 13. I feel much earlier than that would have been too early. Even at that age they still dont remember everything. Plenty of places to go closer to home that will make great travel when they are younger. Anything different than their normal will be worthwhile. We live in a small town, so any city was a new experience. We live in the mountains so beaches were a new experience. Especially if money is anything of an issue i would wait. Do more affordable trips without 8 hour flights and jet lag until they ate older.

As far as where, when they are older it will help you to decide because of their interests. One son was enamored of roman history. The other was very interested in ww 2. Those became jumping off points to plan our trips. When they are older you will know more about things that interest them and what things are issues. For example if we move around too much our younger son gets out of sorts, so planning places with longer stays is helpful. You will figure out these things with your child and get a feeling how to plan and what places will be best.

We took our girls when they were teens for their first trip to Europe in 2002. Before that is was trips within driving distance - Savannah, Dollywood, Washington DC, Mystic, CT, Boston and Salem, Colonial Williamsburg, etc (didn’t realize how many places we took them). Anyway, point being those trips were affordable and close. Do they remember every trip - no. Do they remember their first European trip - yes. Also, they were too old by that point to whine and complain about getting up early or the food. It made a more enjoyable trip for us all.

My son’s earliest memories of travel were when we moved to Australia when he was in 3rd grade, so about eight. However, I think that was largely because he was permanently there (four 3 years anyway) and he had real life experiences— going to school, making friends, seeing kangaroos in his front yard, going to the beach, and his brother taking off on his own bush walking adventure ( nightmare for mom and dad, though). He doesn’t remember museums, churches or other typical touristy stuff. It wasn’t until he was in junior high that he was able to really appreciate what Europe has to offer. I’d echo others’ recommendations. Stick closer to home, take your son to places he will enjoy in the moment, and let him begin to slowly acquire his travel skills and his own interests. That will guide you to the “best places” to visit. You’ll all get more out of it.

There are probably very few places in Europe that don't have families with toddlers living there, so you Will probably find toddler friendly things to see and do almost anywhere. Just don't expect him to remember it or to appreciate the things you would like to see and do, anymore than he would at home. If you want to travel to Europe while he is still a toddler then choose to go where you want and then research how toddler friendly those places are.

I agree with the other posters. I was taken to visit family in London and Holland at 6yrs, at 9 and at 11 (we lived in South Africa) and I remember very little of the trips when I was 6 and 9. I do remember more of the trip when I was 11 and also that I was much more able to appreciate it and contribute to it. So, if you can, wait until your child is older, I think you’ll all get much more enjoyment out of your long-anticipated trip

Keith, I really appreciated your answers as they gave me something to consider. We had been talking about doing a road trip to Yellowstone or something when he was at the age of becoming enamored with sight seeing, so maybe we will stick to trips around the region and within driving distance, even if it is a long distance. I personally didn't leave the country until I was 21, but I do remember lots of vacations around California with my family as a young child. It's hard to know how much a kid will remember, but if we're going to spend lots of money on traveling Europe, I definitely want it to be something that he never forgets. Planning a trip around his interests in the future will be very fun for us to do as a family, and seeing him react to those places will be priceless. Thanks for your honest opinion and advice, as it gave me a different perspective to consider.

Aged 2+, you will be paying a full airfare, but he will be too young to remember anything. Plus trying to keep a 3-4 year old quiet on a long flight so you don’t annoy those sat around you is a difficult task.

It reminds me of my last flight. We had sat in a long plane queue at Gatwick before we eventually made the runway. As we sat at the end of the runway, waiting, a young voice said “are we there yet?” This question was repeated many times during the 3.5 hour flight.

Eight or nine is a good age to start travelling, when they can maintain a full day exploring without needing rests every few hours and they can carry some of their own luggage.

Toddler friendly? Most towns and villages will have parks for children. Busy public transport systems such as the Paris Metro or London Underground aren’t child friendly, particularly at peak times when people are squashed on like sardines. Uses buses not the underground.

Take a road trip where you can determine the pace and when you stop. Stay in apartments/cottages not hotels so that you can cook for yourselves if on a budget.

We've travelled throughout Europe and beyond with our kids since they were toddlers. They don't remember everything about those earlier trips although they do have certain memories of them all.

Will he appreciate the trip? That depends on what you mean by appreciating. If you're asking whether he's going to enjoy himself then he will if doing enjoyable things. Being dragged around museums and historical sights is unlikely to be enjoyable for him and in that respect he's not going to appreciate the relevance or history of where he is.

The best kid friendly places in Europe? There isn't the space or time to write such a list. Europe is a large continent with a great variety of countries all full of families with young children, there are kid friendly places everywhere.

Took my daughter to the Königssee, Germany complete with boat ride and easy hiking while serving in the Army around 1988-1989. She was about 4 at the time. During a latter return visit there when she was 23, she told me she remembered, but thought it was a dream. I think your children will enjoy the trip, but won't remember too much as an adult. "Good Schnitzle" is one of her favorite foods to this day and she is always ready for another return visit to Germany. I have seen some folks try to navigate a stroller where one should never go. I think Germany is fairly kid friendly nowadays.

We took our daughter at age 7 to Scotland. Scotland is great for kids. There are castles, the ship Britannia, trails, parks, national museum, St. Gile’s church, a zoo, and botanical garden. Many restaurants are casual and suitable for children. On the west coast of Scotland - there are a number of wildlife boat trips. Inverness - take the kids out on the lake with some cheap and light weight binoculars to look for Nessie. Trains are fun for kids as well. Possible highlands games or bag pipers or a soccer match to see.
Just be realistic and balance an adult-oriented activity with a child-friendly activity. Example: spend 2 hours in an art museum. Then, have lunch in a family friendly restaurant. Afternoon - go to the zoo.
Carry a day pack with snacks and drinks. Make going to the grocery store an adventure by comparing to a store at home. Look at a statue and try to guess what the statue would say.

The same considerations as if traveling anyplace. A 3-4 year old won’t appreciate the trip or remember it. Plan for yourself and what you want to see. There are places like Legoland, Denmark, Disney in Paris and Madurodam, Netherlands that a child would like, but you don’t need to go all the way to Europe to see similar sights. We waited until our children were 11 and 14 to take them to Spain. They enjoyed most places we visited except the Prado, but probably didn’t appreciate what they were seeing. The at the time 11 year old only vaguely remembers the trip. The older one remembers more.

I come from the other side on this. We first took my daughter on an 'international' trip at a little under 3 years old. It was to the Caribbean so we weren't doing tons of running around, but did do island exploring. Eleuthera. I never wondered whether she would remember the trip or not. I think in her soul she remembers traveling with her family who was happy and cohesive and seeing new sights. Kids that age just want to be with their families and they are also very inquisitive as well. And is that not the time to get them in training? We did have a difficult time getting off the island on that trip, had to sleep in a Florida airport, and then hitch a flight again back to Boston. She did fine. We were a bit tired...

We took her on vacation outside the country again when she was 4. Again, she was happy and with her family. I've never asked her if she remembers these vacations as I'm sure she remembers the spirit of them deep inside.

I did leave her home when she was one year old so the rest of us could ski in Utah for a week. We felt there was something missing all week and we never left her home again. Oh, and she ended up living in France and England for 7 years after graduating from college...did that early travel have an influence or not? We'll never know.

When we traveled we made sure she had distractions in her little backpack. And each day, we had something she specifically liked to do planned for later in the day.

So I would not leave your child home. Children live everywhere, around the world. You just have to be flexible and consider her/his/their interests as well.

The first time we took our kids to Europe they were ages 4 and 7. They are in their late 20's now and do remember parts. The older one remembers most everything and the younger one remembers certain pieces. We routinely took them to Europe after that and they do remember the trips, although of course not everything but then again neither do I;)

I would absolutely take the kids and not think twice. Our first trip was Portugal, and there were no drawbacks to that, FWIW.

I do remember that first trip with the kids, and I was traveling by myself as we were meeting my husband there. I was afraid the younger one may get restless on the long flight. He was seated next to a man in his 20's. Our son curled up and slept the entire flight. When we got off, the man told me he was very nervous to be seated next to a young child, but that he was very pleasantly surprised and that it changed his opinion. Trust me, I am not the parent that thinks our kids can do no wrong, but they knew what was expected and did great. I will say though that they have been flying since they were 3 weeks old (each of them), cross country, so the flight was not anything new to them, just a bit longer.

We have taken them to Portugal, Scotland, London, France, and Italy while growing up. They developed the same love of travel that we have, and both of them did study abroad terms in college and have traveled extensively on their own ever since. I absolutely believe that the early experiences were a key factor in this.

My grandkids, 2.5 and 5, have too short an attention span to take them to even a baseball game, and the youngest is still in diapers. Their interests are Spongebob, running around screaming, dinosaur videos, Cheetos, and toys. This is what Disneyland/world is for. I'd judge your kids readiness on how much conversation you can have about the adult things you would be showing them. And, not knowing where you live, that airplane trip over is nothing to take lightly. I spent a whole summer in England at 7, and mostly remember the comic books, ice cream, weird TV shows, Morecambe beach, and none of the "sights" we were forced to visit.

All great ideas and information posted here. To me taking children to Europe is a completely personal choice and decision because no one knows your children better than you. Personally I think it would be a very difficult thing to do and quite expensive. As parents, you will never see Europe the same as if you traveled by yourselves. The history, the culture, the amount of strangers, I think would be overwhelming to a young child, not to mention the amount of movement it takes to get from point A to point B. If you have no other choice, but to take your son, you can tailor your trip accordingly. However, my advice would be to keep the money aside and some day return with him on your next visit.

We took our son, daughter-in-law, 3-year-old grandson, and 6-month-old granddaughter to Puglia in Italy for 2 weeks. The 3-year-old actually had his 4th birthday while we were there. He is now just turned 7 and he does remember things about Italy. But we did not take him or his sister there for their memories --- we took them for ours.

It was such a pleasure to share with him so many of the things we love about Italy, like gelato every day, car-free piazze where kids can play, great food (he ate everything in those days, including Italian cured meats), interesting old buildings, roof-top terraces, cars and other vehicles you don't see in America, and a multitude of things that are unlike from what he knew at home --- he was enthralled by all the different ways the toilets flushed, for instance. He learned some Italian words and phrases, and he lapped up all the admiration and attention that he and his sister got from people. And he still asks us how to say something-or-other in Italian, how do they do something-or-other in Italy, and when can he go back.

Our granddaughter ate her first solid food while we were there, a slice of fresh peach, and "starving wolf" does does begin to describe her reaction to that. I guess she could have experienced that at home, but it made us happy when that very first taste was eating something in Italy.

We have memories and photos of all of it, and I wish we could take them some place every year.

There is lots of information on these forums and elsewhere online about taking young children on such trips, but I'll just say that we stayed in two apartments in Puglia for a week each, so everybody had their own room. We went to no churches, museums, or art galleries except for the train museum in Lecce. It was late March/early April, but we went to some beaches (mostly so he could throw stones into the water), explored around in the old centers of several towns which were often pedestrian-only, walked in the countryside, shopped for Easter stuff, hung out in the piazza after dark, and just enjoyed being together.

If your child is like our two sons were at 3 or 4, and not like our grandson, you probably could go to more adult places like art galleries, just not for hours on end. How your child naps/sleeps or needs daytime naps to function is also a thing to consider --- our kids were just naturally easy and flexible about sleep (we take no credit for this) and were not bothered by jet-lag, whereas grandson, let's just say, needed extra planning and patience on our part. Also, of course, it helped with the trip to have four adults wrangling the two kids (and all their equipment!) instead of just two.

There are different perspectives being offered here. What activities do you wish to engage in? Would eating 1-2 meals in a McDonald’s in a different country be a disappointment for you? Does your child need 2 naps a day or will one late afternoon nap do. My daughter was fun to travel with and hearing her comments made me laugh. If you have the opportunity and privilege to travel - Go! I recommend starting with English speaking countries with good security with such a young child. The United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, etc.. Plan on staying in fewer places for longer periods of time rather than trying to pack in many places. Consider renting an apartment or staying at a casual “family friendly” lodging.
Make sure your child gets naps and take one yourself. You travel for yourself and for family “together” time. Even if kids don’t remember their trips, positive experiences shared by a family will have a positive impact on your child. Just enjoy and be realistic. Get what you can out of life for yourself and your kids.

We took our daughter to Paris, Florence and Rome when she was 15 months and to London when she was 4. Of course she doesn't remember either trip, but she does enjoy the photos of herself and our memories of how she behaved in those places. I confess that when she was 15 mo, we had a leash around her waist. As a previous poster said, it was very helpful that there were 4 of us. We stayed across the street from the Vatican Museums, so one person could stay with her during her nap and the others could go across the street(it wasn't as crowded back in 1997). It helped that by the time she was 4, she had flown enough that when she got on the plane for the flight to London, she said "I'm going to color, then I'm going to eat my dinner, then I'm going to sleep"-and she didn't wake up until we were about to land! The first photo she ever took was of a Beefeater at the Tower and the British Museum is also enjoyable in small doses-mummies, lion and cat statues. London has a great Natural History museum with dinosaurs and the London zoo (which we didn't go to until she was in college-in Dec !) has species that our zoos here don't have-I guess a throwback to their former empire. Our flat was a 10 block walk from the metro, but fortunately there was a grocery next to the Tube stop, so we could bribe her with Skittles!

I wouldn't feel comfortable taking a toddler to Yellowstone-there are too many places where the child could fall into hot springs.

My family moved to Paris when I was 4 yrs old and we travelled extensively. I remember all of it. It’s not just remembering the places we went (which I do), it’s the being together as a family on a great adventure together that I also remember. I think most anywhere is child friendly. There are parks and playgrounds throughout Europe. To me, Paris is very child friendly: the Luxembourg Gardens with an amazing playground, the Jardin d’Acclimatation (an old school wonderful amusement park geared to young children), boat rides on the river, the mêtro rides, the Eiffel Tower, and parks all over the city. I say go and have fun together, so what if your child doesn’t remember every place you went, it will still be very fun.

With one child born in Paris, the other in California, my kids had plenty of stroller time in Paris and a lot of summers at the grandparents in the countryside, and even some university study in France. Their papa taught them to distinguish Romanesque and Gothic arches by age three. Today, one has some nostalgia, though he travels very little. The other thinks two weeks overseas is too long and wants to get home to Brooklyn. They remember little from before 8-9 years old but they do have warm feelings and cook the French foods from their childhoods now.

Rick Steves said it best. When asked where would be a good place to take kids he said to grandma and grampa's house on your way to the airport.

He really said that Frank? LoL. Lots of his travel shows back in the day show him traveling with his baby and toddler.

So Susan, maybe he's speaking from experience.

We waited until our kids were 7-9 to travel to Europe but I wish we’d started sooner. Would they have remembered it? Probably not, but I would have. I would think any country would have tons of kid-friendly options - you just might want to pick where in each country you go. Perhaps less time in big cities and more time in villages/countryside or beach areas. Find kid-friendly museums rather art museums. Know that you won’t see as many sights as you would when they’re older and if that’s something you’re comfortable with - go for it. Finding great parks and exploring and relaxing in them could be wonderful and a unique experience that most travelers wouldn’t experience.

Rick Steves said it best. When asked where would be a good place to take kids he said to grandma and grampa's house on your way to the airport.

I've never understood that sentiment. Why have kids if you don't want to spend time with them and take them on holiday with you? Do some people really view their kids as a burden and something that would prevent them from enjoying their trip? I have so many fantastic memories of holidays with my kids, does it matter if they don't remember all of the details?

Our granddaughter has visited us in Europe annually since she was 3 (now 6). We too had concerns about what she would remember... but she surprises us with her recollections on Facetime and also when at school. When she was 5, she was shown a photo of the Eiffel Tower and told her class, I've been there... and even recounted the hot chocolate at Angelina. Her passions on the first visit were trains, boats, and windmills and over the years, she has seen Kinderdijk, Zaanse Schans, Madurodam, Keukenhof, etc., and been on plenty of trains and trams.

I remember coming back from Paris a couple of years ago, we were arriving late after changing trains and then climbing onto a tram for the last 900 meters to our apartment, and she exclaimed, "Oh no, not another train!"

But because we live far away - and want to "stay in her life" as much as possible - we bought a NIXplay frame which we set up in her bedroom. Over the years, we uploaded all the pictures of her travels... and continually upload new pictures of us - to keep us in her thoughts.

I was surprised how well she did on the planes, adjusting to overseas travel, and her interest in travel. So, you never know...

But because we live far away - and want to "stay in her life" as much as possible - we bought a NIXplay frame which we set up in her bedroom. Over the years, we uploaded all the pictures of her travels... and continually upload new pictures of us - to keep us in her thoughts.

What an excellent idea! One of our grandchildren is both British and American, with grandparents in both countries plus Australia so I'm passing this on. Thanks RnR.

Well said JC.

RnR, Madurodam... a happy childhood memory of mine.

We did not take our kids to Europe, but we are thinking about traveling with our grandchildren someday. They are 3 1/2 years and 6 months old (both girls). They will be taking French starting in third grade, so we are thinking that Paris would be a good place to go.

I suppose it makes sense to wait until they have had some French in school so they will appreciate things a bit more.

I agree with JC. I’m always baffled by comments from other posters about leaving children with the grandparents. While my son may not remember trips, I will. For us, it’s fun to look back at pictures of his chubby cheeks while in Rome or think about the fun experiences we had (staff dancing with him in a restaurant while we ate). We fully intend to take him with us when travel opens back up, he will be 3. Does it cost more, sure but the cost is the same at 3 as it is 15, although I’d say it’s cheaper at 3, because teenagers are ravenous. Sure, there will be hiccups along the way but I didn’t go through the aches and pains of pregnancy & labor to experience life without him.

Amanda

The OP was about a toddler appreciating and remembering at age 3. The quote about leaving the child with the grandparents was from Rick Steves not other posters.

3 years old is really too young-get a babysitter or change the trip. Plan a major trip when the kiddos are tweens-they'll remember that and they're usually fun to travel with at that age.

We went to Paris, Venice, Florence & Rome with my son (and 4 other family members) when my oldest son was 9 months. As much as I absolutely LOVE traveling in Europe, we didn’t go back for 14 years. My boys were 15 and 12, and we spent 3 weeks in Germany, Austria, Slovenia & Italy.

We travelled extensively while my kids were growing up, just not to Europe. We went to Disney World, water parks, the beach, SeaWorld. It was all about what the kids enjoyed doing, and at a pace they enjoyed. It was awesome. And there were no 10+ hour plane rides to endure!

Europe is very kid-friendly, but lots of things most people associate with being a TOURIST in Europe are not: museums, cathedrals, long leisurely meals. Even castles get old (for kids) after the first two or three. You need to work around nap schedules, deal with food preferences, jet lag, etc.

At age 3-4, I would plan a trip to Disney plus a couple days at the beach. Rent an house with themed rooms and a pool (if you don’t have one). That will be heaven for a 4 year old.

Id wait until at least age 12 to go to Europe. Having learned a little history really helps.