A European city with a toddler and pregnant?

emz8

Hi!



Hoping to get away for 4-5 days in either March or April. (Leaning toward March as I will be less pregnant - 5 1/2 months)

We will also be travelling with our almost 2 year old. Hoping for somewhere a warmer/sunnier than Ireland and not too long a flight. Had been looking at Lisbon but reading about it now it doesn't seem to be the most toddler friendly? I'd be quite fit so the hills wouldn't bother me too much but I guess a buggy/hills and pregnancy might not work.

Have been to Barcelona before, so was hoping for somewhere new, although I did love Barcelona so would go back if it was the most suitable!

Any suggestions?



Thanks!

shrapnel222

how about venice or seville? both not too big and both lovely with plenty to see

Ryan Mac Sweeney

Hi
I have read your post. First congraulations on your pregnancy and best of luck with the new baby. I heard that you wanted to go to Barcelona but I would rule it out as it is full of pickpockets and it wouldnt be child friendly. If you are looking to go somewhere warm and sunny I would suggest Seville in Spain. I have never been there myself but I heard that its a lovely city and I know of some people with babies and toddlers who went there and they said that its very child friendly and its also very safe and easy to get around. There is also lots to see and do such as Seville Cathedral and also lots of museums and art galleries and in March the average temperature would be 25 degress so its warm but not too hot if you are pregnant and have a young child. It is also a short flight at only 2 hrs 15 mins.

munchkin_utd

+1 on Barcelona.
Such a den of thieves, you'd only be a sitting target with 2 kids to distract you .

The police at this stage dont even care, which really is a pity for what is a fairly ok place, apart from the rampant thieves.

fricatus

Amsterdam? Lovely compact city, very flat, nice people, mostly safe, and (what I really liked about it) very little vehicular traffic in the centre, other than bicycles. There's a lovely park near the Rijksmuseum too. The weather gets hot there in high summer, but it would probably be only a little bit better than here in March/April.

Or maybe Madrid... I've been there lots of times but never to Barcelona, however those who've been to both seem to say they've got a lot in common, though of course there's no Gaudí architecture or seaside in Madrid. It's a great city though, with tons to do and good transport (if someone can carry the buggy in the metro for you). Loads of squares with space to run around, and I know that the little suburban parks all have playgrounds - not so sure about the central ones.

Only thing is, you won't be able to eat some of the wonderful food during pregnancy, e.g. jamón, lomo, etc. However there will be plenty that you can have.

gercoral

Southern France maybe? Marseille/Carcassone?

munchkin_utd

fricatus wrote: »

<snip>

Only thing is, you won't be able to eat some of the wonderful food during pregnancy, e.g. jamón, lomo, etc. However there will be plenty that you can have.

+1
Have a friend who when in Rome had an extremely early delivery and in hindsight has a seemingly close connection to some raw hams eaten the night before which may have triggered a reaction
They had to rent an apartment for over a month as the baby was in intensive care.

All good now (and private medical insurance coughed up for the parents accomodation) but a drama that was unnecessary at the same time.

Sundew

Palma might be another option but flights only begin first week in April.
We have stayed their for 2/3 nights twice as part of a ten days break to Mallorca.
The same vibe as Barcelona but on a much smaller scale. 2.5 hr flight and only 15/20 mins from the airport.

OP: hope you got to read my original post as have to delete other info.

Dodge

Visited Barcelona with a one year old (some time back). If you're going to use the metro, most stations (even large ones) don't have lifts/escalators so you might be lugging a pram up and down a lot of stairs.

Aim for somewhere smaller IMO

catbear

Two year toddler, stay away from water if they're not used to being around canals so that's amsterdam and venice out!
No messing, my mum nearly lost my older brother the first time he saw a river, he ran straight into it and had to be fished out!
Rome is well set up for walking about and March/April is perfect weather, after that it starts getting hot.
There's so much ancient stuff to explore on foot that you can remain city centre based, plus lots of cheap eateries too.

spurious

Malta - not as warm as some other places, but very child-friendly.

esforum

Madrid offers a lot even for kids BUT theres no lifts in the metro and a lot of stairs, hard going with a 2 year old and a pram. In fact most Spanish cities would be good for kids, always playgrounds around.

Northern Spain, Ryanair to Santandar is cheap, not too far and something a bit different. Its weather wouldnt be miles better than Ireland though, in April probable only hitting the early 20's if its a good year. If its a bad year it can be cold and raining. You would have to be able to speak a bit of Spanish as well, there would be very little English speakers about

sbs2010

Anywhere in Italy. They go nuts for kiddies.

Was in Naples with my 1yo and the reactions were amazing. Everyone was so helpfull, friendly etc.

And you've got Pompeii and Sorrento down the coast on the train.

pjproby

Nice or Malaga

Ryan Mac Sweeney

Faro in Portugal is another option.

uck51js9zml2yt

Venice is worth doing. Its small and plenty to do.
Lisbon is nice and not all hills. Lots to do on the flat. The only hilly part where tourista would go is the town centre which doesn't have a lot in fairness.
There is also a light rail up the coast to Cascais.
Plus its really kid friendly.

Balmed Out

Depends on the toddler but if I were to bring mine to Venice he would jump into a canal as soon as he saw one and it'd be a nightmare with the crowds.

xalot

Venice is all bridges and I would be terrified of all the open canals with a toddler. Barcelona is fabulous, just keep your wits about you in the Ramblas area, it's got lovely parks and the beach is right there in the city.

I loved Lisbon, but think Cascais would be a better base for a family holiday, it's only about 30mins by train so day trips into Lisbon are very possible.

I found Malta very very child friendly.

meeeeh

What about Vienna? I prefer places where they don't frown at you if you stand on the wrong side of escalator but it's nice, well organized and it's amusement park and carriage rides would be fun for toddlers.