Or am I right that this is pointless with a toddler?

Do it! They'll love it! I can't tell you it's easier with toddlers than with teens mooching about with you 😂

Absolutely go, I’ve travelled to Europe for city breaks with mine at this age (and younger and older). It’s been great. I mean you won’t be out clubbing, but it was a lovely change of scenery. We enjoyed the playgrounds and lots of ice cream and museums and had picnics in parks.

I would do it, and did do lots of solo trips when was that age. Depends on the toddler though. My dd was very agreeable and used to travelling.
If you pick the right city, with a mix of kid friendly things to do then plan the things you want to do for times you think they might have a nap or just happy resting in a buggy. My dd loved sitting in cafes watching the world go by.

3.5 minimum for me, they're so much easier by then (generally speaking!)

Slightly different scenario since we live in Europe rather than travelling over, but when people come to visit they obviously want to look at things etc. My daughter is 2.5 and as long as we plan in an occasional trip to a playground or make one of the activities a zoo/animal park she's generally pretty happy. So far this year she's been on a boat trip, visited a city an hour and a half away (including having to change trains), accompanied us while we showed someone round the city we live in and gone up a mountain in a cable car. It does probably depend on your child's personality and temperament though. Mine can't walk so we don't have the issue of little legs getting tired since she's always in a pushchair anyway.

The things you do when they're young, shape their expectations of experiences as they get older. So if you want to travel, take your toddler travelling. It will only be as stressful as you want it to be. You do need to manage your own expectations, as travelling with a child is different to travelling by yourself, when you can do anything you want to all day/evening. But if you go with the mindset that you can do a bit of the things you want, in between doing some child friendly activities, you'll both have fun. I took my DS on holiday from 6 months. He understood he had to let me do some things I wanted to do, then we would do something he wanted to do. So we did go to art galleries, but I knew his limitations and didn't expect to wander around for hours - it was one hour in a gallery, followed by a snack in the cafe, then off to the park of wherever he chose next. There are also lots of simple things we both enjoy, like going for ice cream, swimming at the beach, walking in the woods etc.

Ours was an MSC cruise and it was fabulous. It was not however, relaxing! There was too much to do.

Depends. Are you a half a cake is better than none person? Or are you a if I can't do it properly I'll be more frustrated than not bothering? Because it can be done, it can be fine, but it'll be a huge compromise from what you might ideally want from the break. If you're happy to go with expectations on the floor and treat anything you're 'allowed' to do as a bonus, then why not. I'd recommend Tallin.

That is the absolute beauty of cruises IMO. You just drive to the port and boom! You’re on holiday! No flight or baggage allowance or anything! Fabulous.

And OP, read this next bit slowly. MSC gives FREE CHILDCARE from 4 months old. Till 2am!!!

I’d give it a go with toddler - keeping expectations minimal and age appropriate. lots of breaks and icecream .

Would also start trying to increase dads involvement . Not going to happen overnight but surely he needs to step up and start having her overnights / at weekends etc?

mainly to build his relationship with her but has the added bonus that by the time she is school age he can take her on holiday to spend Quality time with her and this will enable you to have the time alone to do things that you want to do .

Definitely do it.

Depending on how far south you are, could you start off with Eurostar to Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels? That way you don’t have the flight to deal with and can take shitloads of baggage.

I think it's a good idea, obviously exclude anywhere where you would be crammed in like sardines - Rome!
If it could be inside and outside, it might be more amusing for the LO, while being interesting for you.
I would give it a go - anywhere you have in mind?

We recently did a 7 night cruise and visited Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and France. Ok so we had to drive down to Southampton, but our parking was right outside the ship.

We had a couple of sea days and there was so much to do onboard (including kids clubs!

One day in port was enough for our kids to experience the different places. One is terrified of flying so this worked well.

You don’t have to do 7 days, There was a guy on YouTube we watched before we went who only did the Southampton to Germany, then flew home.

Having done short haul with the eldest when they were 2, a cruise ship is a much more relaxed option IMO.

I think it's a great idea.

Is there a hotel somewhere with a good kids club that you could put her in? Would she like that, just for an afternoon or two, so you can go out and mooch, then enjoy the rest of the time with her.

Look at MSC cruises. Seriously the easiest way to have something approaching a normal holiday, with a toddler as a single parent.

I would maybe wait a little bit... but then crack on! Otherwise you'll never get to go anywhere nice!
My DD was a bolter at 2.5 though, and I would have had to have her on the toddler reins at all times so she didn't run into traffic... now at 3.5 I imagine it'd be quite fun!

It's better than not going. Just don't compare it to a child free holiday.

I get really worried about this 'it's pointless doing something with a toddler' way of thi;king.

Every new experience helps develop a child's brain, doing new and stimulating things every so often is vital. DS hardly remembers anything we did with him as a child now he's in his 20s, but he certainly loved doing them at the time.

As PPs have said it's not going to be that relaxing for you and you should choose somewhere that has lovely public spaces where you can mosey round with a little one, but well worth doing.

It could work somewhere like Bruges - I expect DD would enjoy a boat trip on the canals, or a ride on a horse and cart, the whole town is small and very walkable. Just don't try to pack too much in.

I would do it, but avoid anywhere that's likely to be too hot. Some European cities are truly roasting in the summer, and everything shuts for siesta all afternoon.

Tbh I'd be inclined to look at booking an all inclusive with a baby club/creche so you get a break, you can then do some sightseeing on top.

Presumably you can travel outside of term time? We've done term time all inclusive for less than £1k for a week in the med.

You should absolutely do it! Of course it will be more stressful than if you didn't have a child, but there will still be lovely bits to it!
Just make sure you rent a flat or cabin or whatever, rather than a hotel.. so there's space for toddler to play and you can do mealtimes whenever you need to, and so you can have a bedroom for her to be in separate to the living area so you can relax a bit after she's in bed.
Don't plan to do too much each day regarding sightseeing. Maybe 1 thing a day and then go and chill out in a nice park where she can run about.
I took a toddler to Venice on my own. Yeah it was stressful but I have such lovely memories of it. I stayed in a little flat on the Lido. Lido has a beach so I'd go to the main island by boat in the morning to see whatever and then after lunch we'd just relax on the beach or back at the flat. Only ate lunch out and cooked dinners back at the flat.

If you do go, I’d suggest Valencia. Huge play park (even I went on it), beach, nice town, aquarium. Stay in an air bnb do you have a bedroom and can do breakfast, lunch nap.

100% do it
Ive done a few trips with my daughter (who is now also 2.5yo)
She loves exploring! I take her to cathedrals, museums, castles. She’s not quiet 😂 but she LOVES seeing new things!

Top tips… no where too hot or too cold. I tried Austria in December and it was a disaster because she didn’t want to be outside. And get sensible flight times because she won’t walk around nicely if she’s tired!
Good luck and have fun!