Prinsengracht Amsterdam. Copyright Gretta Schifano
I’ve always loved trips to amazing cities like London, Amsterdam, Venice and New York but since having children the way I visit these cities has changed. Pre-kids I’d research all of the museums and galleries I wanted to see in a city. I’d then try to cram them all in to my trip. In between visiting cultural monuments I’d wander around to soak up the atmosphere of a place. But with kids in tow that approach results in a miserable experience – in our family at least.
Last time we went to Venice my son, seven at the time, actually tried to lose himself because he was so dreadfully bored. He was too young to appreciate the loveliness of Venice, and exploring the beautiful streets and canals was just dull for him. This made it hard for the rest of us to relax and enjoy our trip.
Three years later we went to Amsterdam together and had a great time because it was a totally different kind of trip. Here are my tips for enjoying a city break with kids in tow.
- Put yourself in your child’s shoes and think about what they enjoy and don’t enjoy doing. My son loves football and so on our last day in Amsterdam we went on a tour of the Amsterdam Arena, home to the famous Ajax football team. This was his favourite part of our trip and I found it really interesting too, even though I’m not a football fan.
- Research the city on its official tourist information website and at your local library with your child before you go and find some things which you’ll both enjoy there.
- Look for child-friendly museums and galleries. Many have children’s audio guides or quiz sheets which make a visit much more engaging for kids.
- Find some outdoor space where children can run around and play. This could be a park, a beach or just a pedestrianised area – my son enjoyed climbing on the iamsterdam letters outside the Rijksmuseum,
- Have snacks and drinks with you and make time to stop for an ice-cream or drink and to rest.
- Get a decent map of the city and look at it with your child to show where you are and where you’re going.
- Try out any different transport experiences on offer. My son loved the canal boat tour we took in Amsterdam and was amazed to see all of the different houseboats. He also enjoyed his first experience of tram travel there.
Canal boat tour, Amsterdam. Copyright Gretta Schifano
- Be flexible and don’t plan too much. You need to have time to rest or just to sit and relax while the children play and explore.
- Slow down. Getting around a city with children takes longer than if you’re on your own.
- Leave some free time towards the end of your trip when you can let your child decide what they’d like to do. On our last afternoon in Amsterdam I gave my son the choice of going to the Nemo Science Museum, a street market or somewhere else he fancied. I secretly wanted to go to the museum, but he wisely chose the street market. We had a lovely time browsing the stalls and enjoyed our first taste of tiny sweet pancakes known as ‘poffertjes’. A Dutch lady made them for us while we watched and then we ate them standing up.
- Finally, if you want to see every painting in Paris/ tour the catacombs in Rome/ go to the opera in Vienna, ask yourself whether or not your child would enjoy doing that with you. If the answer is no then leave them at home or wait until they’ve grown up and go without them.
What do you think? What are your tips for enjoying city breaks with kids?
Great tips! Especially finding outdoor spaces to explore. That’s what keeps my boys happy and able to expend some of that energy so they can better handle some of the “boring” stuff.
Candy Cook recently posted…Happy Trails, Wild Tales
Look for good guide books before you go. I used ‘Rome for Kids’ to point out interesting features we wouldn’t otherwise have noticed. Also don’t expect to see everything – we spent 1 hour at the Coliseum only then the kids were bored. Open top bus tours can be great with a kids’ commentary which I always listen to as well so we can giggle along together.
‘Rome for Kids’ sounds like an excellent guide book for families – thank you for your tips.
I would agree with these tips, especially giving children choice and not trying to do too much. My tip – if your child is old enough, let them snap away taking photos. I found this helped my son become more engage in a city.
In art galleries we used to have fun making up funny titles for the paintings or spotting the ugliest face. I remember one in Paris we called Tiger Woods playing a Banjo…
Trish recently posted…Having a chilled weekend near Hyde Park
Really good tips, thank you Trish. My kids love taking photos with my camera.
Some great tips. We’ve pretty much abandoned the idea of city breaks until the children are all older, for now they are happier with green open spaces and running about until they are exhausted!
Louisa recently posted…Making an outdoor blackboard
they do not work for us… country breaks instead are much easier to handle and give much more fun (for younger kids)
agatapokutycka recently posted…Alphabet Project | B is for Bunk
Breaks in the countryside are great for kids, I agree.
Excellent advice. We always try to search out local parks and make sure we don’t do much. Once you have kids, a great holiday’s only great if the kids are happy!
What great tips – I can imagine it is very different visiting places with a child.
Sarah Bailey recently posted…Like Love Loathe #12
Really great tips there, we’ll need to bear a lot of these in mind! We did a lot of travelling abroad before Poppy came along but the days of sleeping in the Venezuelan jungle are long gone! Last time she was too little, now she’s 3 it will be very different 🙂
Charly Dove recently posted…Photos from Chilworth Gunpowder Mill
Great tips! We haven’t dared take the girls aboard yet but we are very much wanting to next year and i am going to start looking for a perfect place x
Keri-Anne recently posted…Keeping their flowers
Great tips… I’d love to go on the boat! My boys always need somewhere green and open to have fun and burn the energy off.
Sara-Jayne recently posted…Praying the Contractions Stay Away… Britmums 2014.
I’d love to go on a canal boat in Amsterdam! looks brilliant! x
Fritha recently posted…me and you
Would love to go to Amsterdam! We learned the hard way about trying out different transport when we went to barcelona…….my feet hurt, a lot
Kara recently posted…Spring Tide Festival
Some really great tips here, I will remember these for our next trip
Kizzy recently posted…How I tripled my Pinterest followers in 6 months
I definitely agree about the time…I always factor in enough time to relax. It’s hard because there can be a number of sights to see in a city but I’ve realised it’s best to save some for another trip so we can actually enjoy our time.
Globalmouse recently posted…What my children say about…P&O cruise to Italy & Croatia
These are great tips – I have ended up going to Holland twice now and not seeing a thing as we stayed at Duinrell and the kids just did not want to leave!
PinkOddy recently posted…Teacher Gifts and Special Educational Needs – KidsCo-op
Some great tips Gretta, as ever. I’ll be honest, city trips feel impossible with my three year old and my six old – camping, lodge stays and farm stays seem to work well for our family at the moment..
Donna @OrdCyclingGirl recently posted…Aviva stress less challenge
That sounds sensible – give it time though!
Aaah Prinsenchracht – I love that street. Since having children (and a couple of miserable long weekends spent with a toddler in Brussels), we’ve pretty much ditched the idea of city breaks till ours are older. Maybe in a year or two, we’ll go somewhere like this again, armed with your list of tips!
Nell@PigeonPairandMe.com recently posted…Review: Monski Mouse Baby Disco Dance Hall
Thanks Gretta for sharing your tips! I should pass them to my step mother, they travel a lot with my dad and brother 🙂
Sylvia @ Happiness is homemade recently posted…Sardine spaghetti / Spaghetti z sardynkami
I would love to go away but we are doing lots to our house, so it may have to wait x
You Baby Me Mummy recently posted…While you were sleeping
i actually do remember those time when we went on a holiday with my nephew who was absolutely bored hence bad mood all the time, great tips, thanks
Victoria Mylittlel recently posted…Baby Shower!
Green space is often a must for my boys. Just being able to run off some of their energy
Jen aka The Mad House recently posted…A weekend in the garden
Fantastic tips for enjoying city breaks with younger children – they do get so easily bored on adventures like this, but I figure the more they take, the more they will learn to appreciate and love them!
Michelle recently posted…DIY Vacation Countdown Chalkboard | #100DaysOfDisney – Day 15 | Disney Make It Monday
we never look at trips away on our own but always with the children unfortunately with 7 it can be pricey so we resort to british holidays or trips x
I love city breaks and my son loves London in particular. There are loads of things to do in most cities, we are looking forward to going to Miami at some point.
Mel W recently posted…My Belvita Poem
Yep agree trying all different forms of transport – we found walking around Paris hard on the feet! 🙂