In the years before we had kids, we travelled extensively through North and South America, Africa and Asia. Are you wondering why we didn’t go to Europe? We intentionally stayed away from Europe as we were saving it for when we had kids. We knew it would be an awesome place to travel with kids, and it turns out we were right. Europe with kids checks all the boxes for an amazing family vacation.
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20 Reasons We Love to Travel to Europe with Kids
1. Europe is so Easy
Europe is so well traveled that there is an effective infrastructure in place to make life easy on families. Once you arrive, rail and subway systems are world class, with easy airport connections into the city center.
Most of the time you can walk everywhere, and when you need to go farther, a short tram or subway ride does the trick. Hop-on hop-off buses are an easy way to sightsee while kids rest.
2. It Feels Safe
Another reason we saved Europe for when we had kids was safety. There are so many family-friendly cities in Europe, where the streets are clean, lighting is good, and transit is predictable. After our pre-kid travel encounters with cobras in Thailand, scorpions in Africa and all kinds of exotic bugs elsewhere, calm and orderly Europe felt like the right call with little ones.
3. Europeans Love Kids
Our first family trip to Europe was our trip to Barcelona with a baby with our 3-month-old. We worried about restaurants and attractions, but locals made us feel welcome everywhere.
Italy especially stands out as a culture that loves children. In Rome, waiters fussed over the kids and our children soaked it up. One favorite memory was hiking in Cinque Terre with our kids when a farmer chased us down to cut a fresh lemon for each child (we made pasta with them – so yummy!!)
Another was on our trip to the Island of Elba with kids, when our Airbnb neighbor cut a fresh rose for our daughter.
Moments like these happen a lot when you travel around Europe with kids.
4. Fun for Everyone
One thing we have learned on our family travels is that you need to take into account everyone’s needs – not just the parents. It doesn’t matter that you are on an expensive family trip to Europe – kids are still kids and need time to run and play, no matter where they are.
The good news is that the variety of things to do in Europe with kids is huge. You can plan a single day with one big cultural sight, a kid-focused stop, a park, and an easy meal. Think Eiffel Tower views, mummies at the British Museum, gladiator daydreams at the Colosseum, or a gondola ride in Venice.
The key is to keep your cultural stops short and mix in stops at playgrounds or parks, and everyone goes back to the hotel happy.
5. Kid-Friendly Attractions Everywhere
Along the same lines, we try to balance adult-focused attractions with activities our kids will love. The all-you-can-eat Dutch pancake sightseeing boat cruise on our family trip to Amsterdam stands out as a highlight.
Likewise, if you have a Potterhead in your family (as we do) London has excellent Harry Potter attractions.
Planning a London stop at the beginning or end of your route? This post has a great list of things to do with kids in London on a budget.
6. World-Class Parks in City Centers
Great European cities put parks at the heart of things. Feed pelicans at St. James’s Park in London, stroll Jardin des Tuileries on your way to the Louvre, or stretch out at Rome’s amazing Aqueduct Park (one of our all-time favorites!). A simple family picnic and space to run can reset a busy day.
7. Walkable Old Towns for Little Legs
Compact historic centers make family sightseeing easier. We loved wandering the charming lanes before the crowds during our family trip to Salzburg, crossing bridges to viewpoints on one of these easy walks in Prague, or letting the kids pick the gelato stop during our Florence family trip.
8. Easy Nature Escapes from the City
Another thing that we love about family trips to Europe is that you can go from city streets to hiking trails quickly.
For example, during our Oslo 5-day family itinerary, public transit took us right to Nordmarka Forest for an easy family hike. On a Prague city break with kids, we took the tram to Divoká Šárka for a nature reset. Likewise, on our family trip to Hvar, the coastal hiking paths from town took us to picturesque small coves perfect for a swim.
Before you head out, read our best tips for hiking with kids and see what we actually pack in our guide to hiking gear for kids.
9. Iconic Views without Big Hikes
Short climbs deliver big payoffs. When planning a family trip to Athens, add Lycabettus or Philopappos Hill for 360-degree views. During our family trip to Edinburgh, we loved that the hike up Arthur’s Seat felt wild but was actually in the heart of the city. Likewise, on our trip to Ålesund with kids, the steps up Aksla ended with a panorama we won’t soon forget.
Related: Plan a Trip to Norway with Kids
10. Food Kids Actually Eat
I’ll be honest, in other destinations around the world it can be very challenging getting our kids to eat on holidays. For example, we had trouble feeding our kids in South Korea, or finding Thai food for kids.
We rarely have this problem on our family trips to Europe. We devoured pizza and pasta during our family trip to Rome, schnitzel on our Vienna trip with kids, and a fun variety of tapas during our trip to Seville with kids.
We don’t like three restaurant meals a day when traveling with kids, so we mix in some grocery-store lunches (fresh bread, fruit, bakery treats), etc. This strategy is so easy when traveling Europe with kids as grocery stores, bakeries and corner markets are virtually everywhere.
11. Transit That’s Part of the Fun
It’s not just easy to get around Europe with kids – it’s fun too! The trains, trams and ferries entertain all by themselves. Getting around Italy by train was a real highlight of our family travels in Europe, as was the incredibly scenic train ride from Oslo to Bergen. And, did you know that you can ride the real Hogwart’s Express on a family trip to Fort William, Scotland?
12. Weather-proof Days
If rain moves in, there are so many fun things to do in Europe with kid indoors. For example, you could spend hours at the hands-on NEMO during your Amsterdam family trip, visit an aquarium, tour a palace or explore a science museum. When the sun returns, you can easily switch back to parks and river walks.
13. Big Moments that Match School Topics
The educational opportunities while traveling in Europe with kids are endless. When our daughter started learning about Ancient Greece in Grade 6, we decided to go on a family trip to Athens to see the Parthenon.
The learning opportunities extend well beyond Greece – you can step into the Colosseum to bring classroom lessons to life, see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, or visit any of the hundreds of world-class museums.
14. Playgrounds Where You Need Them
As you can see from these playgrounds in Rome, you can always count on finding playgrounds near the major sights. On our travels, we enjoyed the pirate ship at Ålesund’s Town Park below the Aksla steps, a playground on an easy walk in Budapest, and easy play spaces around Vienna’s museums.
Trust us when we say that investing 20-minutes at a playground does wonders for your kids’ frame of mind, and happy kids are more cooperative kids.
15. Day Trips that Work with Kids
As much as we love European cities, we also love getting out and enjoying the beautiful natural attractions outside the city. It’s easy to base your family in a city and enjoy easy adventures from there.
Nowhere is this more true than when visiting Reykjavik with kids. There are so many things to do in Iceland with kids that are easily reachable by a day trip, including the legendary Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls.
Other fine examples from our travels include our visit to Dublin with kids, where we took public transit to the countryside for a beautiful coastal walk from Bray to Greystones. An during our family trip to Split, we visited the Klis Fortress (famous from Game of Thrones), along with memorable time at the beautiful beaches.
16. Short, Memorable “Wow” Views
In many European cities, it’s easy to enjoy amazing scenery or time in nature without needing a long day trip to the country. For example, we enjoyed an incredible hike with city and coastal views on Mount Srđ during our family trip to Dubrovnik. Likewise, while visiting Bergen with kids, we loved the many excellent hikes in the Mt. Fløyen area.
17. Family-Sized Lodging
Traditional European hotel rooms are renowned for being quite small, but it’s also surprisingly easy to find family friendly accommodations. Apartment rentals and hotels with family rooms are common across Europe and often steps from transit and markets.
When we travel to Europe with kids, we usually stay at vacation rentals as we value the extra space, separate bedrooms, kitchens for cooking and laundry facilities (so we don’t have to worry about messy kids).
That’s not to say we don’t stay at hotels… sometimes it’s just easier to stay at a hotel, even if the sleeping arrangements aren’t perfect. We’ll often stay at a hotel for a one-night stay, or if we are wanting to stay very close to a particular attraction, airport, etc. And the hotel breakfasts in Europe are usually far superior to the ones we get in North America.
18. Seasonal Magic Without Rewriting Your Plan
While we haven’t yet visited Europe in fall or winter, we love all the different experiences you can get through the seasons in Europe. Spring is one of my favorite times to visit Europe as the days get warmer and the trees and flowers start to bloom.
Summer in Europe offers amazing weather but is often very busy. With a little forethought, you can easily escape the crowds. For example, we took an amazing family cycling trip in France, or a hut-to-hut hiking tour in Austria.
19. Endless Variety, Trip After Trip
When visiting Europe with kids, I’m always amazed at how different each itinerary can feel. One year it’s fjords in Geiringer with kids, and the majestic Alps on a family trip Chamonix the next.
Not to mention, castles on an Ireland family road trip, or amazing coastlines on a trip to Croatia with kids. With such diverse offerings, you will never run out of options for family trips to Europe.
Not sure where to start? We love this post on how to plan a Europe backpacking trip with kids.
20. Little Wins that Make a Big Difference
If you are visiting Europe with kids during peak times (and families are often forced to do so with their kid’s school schedules), a little strategy goes a long way.
For example, for extremely popular attractions like Diocletian’s Palace in Split, take advantage of kids rising early by getting there well before the crowds. Or, if you want to visit the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam with your kids, you’ll need to know the exact time and day these tickets go on sale, as they sell out quickly!
Not researching properly can have terrible consequences for your family trip to Europe. For example, when we visited Rome with kids, we just showed up without tickets to the Vatican Museums. We got there about 30 minutes before opening, thinking we’d be among the first there, but were shocked to see hundreds of people in line already. And this was on top of people who had already pre-purchased tickets online. This huge mistake cost us our chance at seeing the Sistine Chapel – a mistake that could have easily been avoided.
We have traveled Europe widely with our kids, so make Family Can Travel your first stop for travel advice for your family trip to Europe. For inspiration, check out all of our content on traveling to Europe with kids.
Final Thoughts: Why We Keep Choosing Europe with Kids
As you can see, Europe is one of the best places to travel with your kids. The combination of simple logistics, welcoming culture and a huge variety of kid-friendly things to do means everyone goes home happy. Start with one city you are excited about, build in park time and treats, and follow your children’s curiosity. That is how city days turn into lasting travel memories.