Europe

I had a 36-hour layover in Helsinki on the way to Rovaniemi in Lapland.  It wasn’t nearly enough time to properly explore this charming walkable port city on the Baltic Sea. Helsinki is compact, very family friendly and easy to get around. My group managed to squeeze two-or three-days’ worth of activities …

What little I knew about Lapland before I had the opportunity to visit was mostly wrong. I thought this part of Finland was covered in snow all the time, that there were far more reindeer than people, and there wasn’t much to do besides feeding the reindeer, eating smoked fish …

As much fun as we had traveling with a younger child, I’m really enjoying traveling with a tween. This was particularly true about our winter break trip to London. She still has the wide-eyed wonder of a kid, and still has a kid’s need to run around. But she knows …

Despite its reputation for chilly air and gloomy weather, Britain is an island. It has a lot of coastline and a plethora of options for seaside weekend getaways. Some of them even off the promise of bright sunshine yearround. If you need some fresh air and want to let the …

As soon as we landed at Heathrow Airport with a long layover before our flight to Frankfurt, I found an information desk and asked where we could find an indoor play area for 3YO Tiny Traveler, who was feeling pretty cooped up after our day-long flight from New York via …

Prague has become one of the most popular travel destinations in Europe. It’s high on the list of young single travelers, retirees and backpackers, but the Czech Republic’s capital city also has a lot to offer for a family vacation. It’s easy to navigate, and is relatively inexpensive. It offers a wealth …

I keep this photo of Tiny Traveler walking through a pasture in schwangau, Bavaria on my laptop’s desktop. The messy hair and girly sundress and the way she’s too caught up in her flower picking to care about the camera capture her personality and her age when it was taken.  But …

London is high on most families’ vacation bucket lists, and it’ss often the first place a family travels to in Europe.   It’s easy to see why, the people speak English, there’s a lot of familiar, kid-friendly food, and the city has attractions and activities you know you want to …

I was about 34 weeks pregnant when I visited *Reykjavic, Iceland. Some of my friends thought I was a little nuts. But I saw it as my last, last hurrah before parenthood, my babymoon. And in many ways it’s a destination that makes sense for a four or five-day pre-baby …

Edinburgh’s Royal Mile is the mile-long sloping pedestrian zone where nearly all visits to the city begin. Many of the city’s top points of interest are along it or nearby and there are plenty of things to do with kids that parents will enjoy, too. It takes 15 to 30 minutes …

Walking around Edinburgh’s New Town on a Saturday night we kept spotting handwritten signs in pub windows that said, “Sunday roast.” Intrigued, we Googled it and learned that instead of going to brunch on Sundays, this city’s residents go to their neighborhood pub to eat plates of roast beef or …

I love German food, in all its porky, potato-ey spaetzle-iness. And since we have friends and family in Munich I’m especially partial to Bavarian German food. I eat my way through Munich when we visit and I know what we like. But I recently consulted with local Munchners we know and …

Imagine a nation that can boast the world’s fastest zip line, 641 castles and ties to Charlie Bucket, The BFG and Dr. Who. That country is Wales and it can serve up a fun vacation for families with kids of almost any age. This tiny nation within the United Kingdom is a bit …

Updated January 2019 A trip to Madrid with its many cultural delights is very exciting—until you start to think about how to entertain the kids. Just mention the word museum and mine—a tween boy and a teen girl— get glazed looks on their faces. Touring a royal palace is also …

Paris is a city built on a a grand scale, but kids like things on the smaller side, built on a scale they can relate to. Here are six small things 6YO Tiny Traveler liked in this big city. If you’re taking a Paris vacation with kids, be sure to …

I got a few looks when I mentioned that I was headed to Amsterdam with my two kids, ages 3 and 5. Some might well see the city as a destination more suited to your partying years than your parenting ones. But this city in the Netherlands offers plenty for …

Updated March 2020 Paris parks are green, full of fun things to do and present kids with well-needed breaks from site seeing. They also provide a taste of local Parisian life. But, these city parks will present more opportunities for your kids to separate you from your money than local U.S. …

We took a day trip to Reims during our Paris vacation this summer, attracted by its history and promise of champagne. Daytrips are tricky because you have only a little time to orient yourself to a new place and see a few worthwhile things. Reims is a well worth a …

Germany is an incredibly easy place to travel with children. How could the country that gave us the Brothers Grimm and gummy bears not be? Bavaria is one the most laid back parts of Germany, making it a doubly great place to vacation with kids. Munich is an easy city …

Updated May 2018 Ireland is an easy place to visit with kids because it’s small and driving distances are doable, even for families with small children.   This road trip through Meath, north of Dublin, is one of my favorites for its roots in Irish history and Celtic mythology. It …