My husband, baby and I are vacationing in Italy in September. We will be in Rome for 5 days followed by a week in Forte dei Marmi and then a week in Pienza. Any tips on the best things to see/do with a baby in tow? I visited Rome and Florence when I was 16 but my husbands never been! We are open minded as to what to see/do as we are not fussy travelers! We are renting a car when we leave Rome so day trip ideas are also welcome. Thank you!
Posted by
Bend, Oregon
2580 posts
We travelled to Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome when our son was 8 months old. We saw all the typical sights with no problem. We used a front carrier and a umbrella stroller. Just be flexible and take advantage of nap times to see museums.
Posted by
Prior Lake, MN, USA
400 posts
It is SO much easier when they are little!
From the time they walk until ours were 8 (?) they were much more difficult - we'd get into the Tower of London and they'd say "we're hungry" and they didn't have food for sale there :-(
Museums for toddlers are way too boring.
So, have fun on your trip and enjoy it when they're young!
Posted by
Saint Paul, Minnesota
1609 posts
When we traveled to Italy for 2 weeks with our 6-month-old granddaughter, "she" packed way, way too much equipment that wasn't needed, but we were really glad she had a carseat that snapped into a stroller, leaving its base strapped into the car. She slept in the carseat on the airplanes and also in restaurants.
Posted by
Oakhurst, CA, USA
101 posts
My husband and I stayed in Rome, Florence and Montepulciano when our son was 6 months old. We did use a Ergo for front carrying when in hill towns and his regular Baby Jogger stroller (with car seat attachment) in Rome and Florence. We also had a car and did quite a few day trips. We really did carry on as normal.
One of my favorite memories is doing a day trip to Montalcino and going to the Enoteca in the historic Fortezza. We had a lovely light lunch and did some amazing wine tasting. The staff was so lovely and kept bringing our son different breads and breadsticks to eat and anything else they could find to occupy him. Keep in mind that Italian's do love babies so never think you aren't welcome somewhere with a baby in tow. Even more upscale dining establishments don't mind babies.
I will say we did make it a point to be in for the night around 7pm, we stayed in apartments so we could cook dinner ourselves. This allowed some sort of normalcy. We just made sure to enjoy lunches out. I will also say, we didn't do any guided tours, we preferred to go at our own pace and have more flexibility that way. Traveling to Italy was much easier when he was this age than when we went when he was 2 (and much more mobile). We are going again in 2 months when he will be 4, I'm hoping it's a bit easier than age 2! :)
Posted by
San Francisco, CA (USA)
560 posts
Forte dei Marmi, reminds me of Santa Barbara, nice restaurants, couture boutiques, expensive cars.... Getaway for the affluent, getting more & more overrun by wealthy Russians and their obnoxious wives/mistress'. The do have the Sunday Ladies Market, many top fashion brands and variety of boutique brands, selling off their off-season and odd-balls. There's some good deals there, my g/f at the time picked up some really nice leather gloves and a hand-bag.