Europe w/ 4 year old and 2 yr old for the Holidays- Good idea or bad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am sorry, but I just don't understand this philosophy. So you just rule out anything expensive for your child or any activity before they are 9 or so just because they will not remember it? You do not take your children to the zoo and museums at the Mall because they will not remember it when they are older (and tell other people? brag? about it....) So if a french mom asked you about coming to DC you would say forget it, it is not worth your money and kiddo won't enjoy it because he can't read?

It is not about bragging at least not for my family, we honestly LOVE traveling and we simply did not stop doing it because we had kids. We have taken our kids all over the world and enjoyed it immensely. Yes, the pace is different and sure there are some places you will not be able to go but just the same without kids you would probably not spend an afternoon enjoying a picnic in a local park or a visit the zoo or just sit down for a big gelato cone in a piazza chasing pigeons.... Everything is relative.

Back to your question OP. We have done Paris a couple of times with little ones. My first suggestion is to rent an apartment in a central area. We are partial to the 7th arrondissement (Saint Germain). That way you will be a lot more comfortable, have access to a kitchen and W/D and save some money. Do not take a double stroller. If needed take two umbrella strollers and you drive one and your husband drives the other. A lot easier, but bear in mind that most metro stations have no escalators or elevators and restaurants and sidewalks are small and crowded. We usually called restaurants ahead and made a reservation saying we were coming with children and a "poussette". Contrary to general belief people have always been extremely nice and accommodating.
As a PP pointed out the weather in December is cold, dark and damp. Bundle up.
Try to hit the street markets. They are amazing and you can buy a lot of ready made food there for an easy dinner and breakfast.
Museums are expensive. My kids loved the Pompidou center (tons of stuff going on around the building), Orsay and Musee Rodin (great gardens). For the Louvre we took turns.
You might also want to find ahead of time a possible sitter so your husband and you can enjoy an evening on your own. Maybe someone from this boards can help you with that.
Have a wonderful time! Take time just to walk idly and if your children have a fabulous time riding a cab (like mine do every time we go to NYC -big highlight of every trip!) then take a moment to enjoy it too trying to forget all those euros

I think a lot of this depends on whether this is a one in a lifetime trip or one that you will start doing every year or so. If you have the money to do travel internationally often, I saw go for it. If this is going to be a one time thing, I would wait until the children are older and can appreciate it more. I also would think that jet lag would be much less of an issue when you are not trying to deal with naps, etc.