Paris and Rome with a 1 year old baby

How long is this trip? With love in my heart, I hope that you have thought this through. Traveling with a nearly 2 year old could be like a cat herding expedition.

Well its not the artic north so not sure how cold you think april can get in Paris, lol, put a coat on her !
That said i do lean towards May. Was there this May , late May, and it was warm , but, i have aslo been in Paris late May and it was cool and rainy, so its luck of the draw. I would lean towards May as chances of dry days slightly better , and i live the long daylight hours.

A good umbrella stroller is fine, its not all cobblestone, they have normal sidewalks too, but in some areas the sidewalks are narrow so a bulky stroller would not be fun.
Rome is hot , i would go early May or April , maybe start in Rome then do Paris. Book open jaw flights , no backtracking.

As for your airline question you have to decide which airline you are using as they all make their own rùles .

Where are you flying from to europe?

Thanks for answering me!
Well, the fact we are traveling with our baby or not is not the discussion. I already saw this conflict in another topic, and is not my intention to crate a new debate.

We are flying from Washington DC, and will stay for about 3 weeks. It's really good advice to start in Rome and then move to Paris! and definitely will bring the umbrella stroller.
Thanks!

If you use public transportation in Roma or Paris, there are sections to accommodate strollers in the middle of the car; best to enter there rather than at the front.

I like buses better for traveling with a stroller when in Paris -- fewer stairs to deal with. So, your daughter is one year old right now, correct? If you live in a warm climate, she may find April in Paris a bit chilly but a coat, a light hat and a blanket would take care of that. I'd go for May as well and start in Rome and end in Paris. Are you asking if you can have your stroller as a carry on item in addition to your backpack or are you asking if you can check it without having to pay extra if you already have reached the luggage limit? Of course, a regular backpack counts as a piece of luggage (either carry on or checked). Or are you asking about some kind off child carrier back pack? Rules on luggage vary by airline. Here is a blog with luggage rules for traveling with young ones: http://traveling-kids.blogspot.com/2011/09/flying-with-kids-all-about-strollers.html

Many years ago, my husband and I flew from California to Baltimore with our 14-month-old twins. The traveling part was a long nightmare because we had to drive 2.5 hours to San Francisco, stay overnight in a park-and-fly hotel, get up before dawn the next morning, transfer in Denver, - the flight took all day from before dawn to landing in Baltimore at 11:00 pm. Sort of comparable to a flight to Europe. Here are my travel tips:

Before we flew, I purchased a pretty sturdy stroller at a second hand store, because our stay-at-home stroller was a very nice one, and I didn't want it to get banged up in the plane's baggage compartment. Somehow after our flight, the stroller was right at our fingertips as the flight attendant or someone rushed down to get it for us. Can't remember if we paid extra for it, but I don't think we did. We did have to pay extra for the rental car to have twin car seats, and we had to set them up ourselves the next morning at the car-rental place.

Thank heavens we had the foresight to book a hotel right at BWI, our destination, so we all fell into bed with exhaustion. Very glad that we didn't have to drive further, as we were exhausted from the flight. The twins during the flight were like little baby panthers, and husband and I had scratches all over our necks from them clawing to get out of our laps. We bought alcohol for the two people in front of us. who were very very nice, saying no worries, they were parents also. The twins NEVER SLEPT during the flight. We starved because we thought we could eat on the plane - but the children made that impossible. Lucky for you - with just one baby you can take turns eating!

We took along BRAND NEW TOYS that the kids had never seen before, so that they would be mezmerized, and that did help. Nowadays, your ipad mini can play Teletubby videos or Baby Mozart, and you could even see if your baby would wear a little headset. A plane is a very loud place, and I wish I had this trick back in the late 90s, to both entertain them and protect their hearing. Now I always fly with ear protection.

Our carry on bags consisted only of baby stuff - not our belongings; but it was also the time before the 3-1-1 quart bag rules. It was snowy winter back east, but we had LL Bean ski suits for the children, which we used every day, plus parkas and pull-on boots. May in Paris can be in the 50s, which is not warm, and can feel cold if the wind is blowing. Taking layers of clothing is a good idea for the tot. Jacket with hood is a good idea.

My children scratched out one of my small gold earrings in the plane, which I never found again, so don't wear any jewelry. Is your baby eating little treats? Take plenty of treats on the flight. Try to have the baby drinking something during take-off; the swallowing will help with the ears popping.

Keep a little umbrella stroller in your car for the trip home. At the European airport, if the sturdy second-hand stroller is really banged up, maybe you can leave it with someone instead of taking it home, and just walk through the airport and customs with her in your baby backpack.

Good luck and have fun!

Info from raising a baby in Paris many decades ago: bring a sturdy umbrella stroller, such as a McClaren or Chicco. Don't bring a flimsy one because it won't hold up and don't bring one of those large ones because the footprint is too large to pull up to a cafe table, on a bus, in a museum.

By the way, when you travel your child will be 6 or 7 months older and who how many kilos heavier, so take that into consideration if you plan to have her on your back a lot.

Thanks you all for the good tips. We decided to travel the second week of May and stay for 3 weeks, leaving Paris for the end of the trip.
Considering leaving the backpack at home since it will use too much space and counts as a baggage.
My baby is one year old now. And yes, we are aware of the weight situation, she is already 26 pounds haha