Travelling in Europe With Young Children

One thing a day

Pick a single main activity, do it in the morning, and treat the afternoon as unplanned. That might be a playground, a pool, a beach or simply the apartment.

Parents who try two museums in a day usually get neither. Children who get an hour of running around after one museum will often ask to go back tomorrow.

Choose apartments

A kitchen means breakfast without a queue and dinner when someone is too tired to sit in a restaurant. A washing machine means packing half as much. A separate bedroom means adults get an evening.

Two bedroom apartments in most European cities cost less than two hotel rooms and considerably less than a family suite.

• Look for: kitchen, washing machine, lift, ground floor outdoor space
• Avoid: fourth floor walk-ups, apartments above bars, glass and open stairs with toddlers

Transport specifics

Trains beat flights with children by a wide margin: no security queue, no luggage limits worth worrying about, a table, and the ability to walk about. Reserve a table of four where the option exists.

In cities, check station accessibility before relying on the metro with a pram. Many older networks in Paris, Rome and London have long stretches without lifts. Buses are usually the better choice.

Food that works

Eat your main meal at lunch, as the locals do. Children are in better shape at 13:00 than at 20:30, and set lunch menus are cheaper.

Southern European restaurants are generally welcoming to children and relaxed about noise. Pubs in the UK allow children until early evening. Northern European fine dining is less forgiving.

The unglamorous list

Pack medication you trust, a thermometer, rehydration sachets and plasters. Photograph passports. Agree a meeting point in any large site or market before you go in.

Bring one familiar thing per child: a blanket, a toy, a specific breakfast cereal. It sounds trivial and it buys a surprising amount of calm.