Two Weeks in Europe (March) With a Wee One

The locals in any city have small humans too. If you google 'children's parks in (pick a European city)' there are tons of results for places like Madrid or Barcelona or Rome and from there work out a plan that gives some time for the small humans to range free as well as adults to have their cafe and museum time.

And I would stick to more southern locales that time of year in the name of hopefully better weather

I think it's awesome that you still want to travel with your little one. My daughter, who is now 6, almost 7, took her first trip to Manchester, England and Munich at the age of 9 months. She has traveled back to Europe once a year since and almost always in March. She loves it, does great and the trips when she was little were not much different than going away for a weekend here at home. I think its actually been excellent experiences for her, learning about different foods, cultures, people and languages. She even started learning to speak German last year as part of her school program. It was amazing listening to her order pretzels, donughts and talking to people when we were in Berlin earlier this month.

Munich is a favorite city of ours, one we try to return to every chance we get. Public transportation in and around the city is great, wonderful market area with fresh food, excellent Zoo that my daughter loves, lots of museums, some great day trips (her other favorite is the Zugspite), people are wonderful, excellent restaurants and its easy to get to. The weather in March has been a mix when we've been there. We live in Atlanta so its been everything from the way Atlanta is that time of year, mid to upper 50's/60's to snowy and cold, we were there in 2013 during the polar vortex so it was cold. We just learn to adapt.

For March Italy is an obvious choice. A week in both Florence and Rome. Simple.

I second Italy! Italians seem to love children and it is a very family friendly place. Rome and Florence would be perfect! Tuscany is laid back if you didn't want to be in a big city. Or I bet you could do southern Italy (Capri, Amalfi Coast, Naples etc?) We took our (much older) children and loved every second. It is a fairly easy place to navigate. We took trains all over. Love Italy!

Thanks, all! Very helpful responses. I have seen Italy recommended in other places as well so I will definitely look into some options there.

I'm all for traveling with a one-year old. They are still pretty easily contained in a stroller and usually can't walk that well so you don't have the issues with them trying to run off all the time. Now, traveling with a 2 to 4 year old, on the other hand, is a WHOLE DIFFERENT ANIMAL, which I'm sure you'll discover when your kid becomes a toddler. :) Best of luck! Oh and I would totally pick somewhere new for you to visit, as you never know when you'll be able to come back, esp. if you have child #2, so I say "go for it" regarding any new countri(es) you may want to visit. As far as relaxing, I found Amsterdam/Brugges to both be very "chill" and as a bonus, it's easy to take the train to Paris from these locations.

We travelled when our little one was 10 months and again when she was 22 months. We carried her in an Osprey Poco Plus backpack carrier. It gave her enough space to move around. It can stand by itself, so if she fell asleep when it was time to eat, we would just set it on the floor and she was at table height. We would feed her if she was awake. She loved it. We tied her bottle, pacifier, and a toy to it so if she threw it it would not hit the floor. The bottom had enough space for diaper bag and jacket. We travelled to Italy and she was a hit at small restaurants. Her first steps by herself was in the Vatican. at most restaurants, the owner would come out and play with her and feed her while we ate! We have visited Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria with her. We had no problem on those trips. We chose a central location in each city so we could go back and take a nap. Most days we were leaving the hotel at sun up. We visited the important sites in the morning. She grew impatient as the day went on. But overall it was a great experience.

We lived in London when our first turned one. We did three separate trips over a 5-month period to Switzerland, Italy, and southwest England (Bath, Cotswolds, etc.). Get a good running stroller with a see-through plastic cover - to keep the little one dry in case of rain. A running stroller works fine on cobblestone streets and trails and is generally welcome in museums and other sites. Also, a comfortable place for her to nap while you are still on the move. No need to stay in one place for two weeks. Although your pace will be a bit slower.

It was actually great - we went to bed early and woke early so we took advantage of full days of sunlight. Many accommodations can provide pack-n-play cribs - or even a regular wooden crib. We were able to visit Rome, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Portofino, Sorrento, Pompeii, Venice, Lucerne, Bern, Lauterbrunnen Valley - including Murren and the Trummelbachfalle, Zermatt, Lac Leman, Bath, Cotswolds, Stratford, Wells, Glastonbury, Avebury, Stonehenge, Windsor, Oxford, Blenheim Palace, etc. What we might have missed!

Another word of advice - don't take the night train from Napoli to Venice with a little one!

If you decide to stick to just one European city, I would strongly recommend London. Lots of good family-friendly indoor activities and great parks, plus several easy day trips.