Winter break with 3-4m baby - advice/ideas!

[RedPandaMama]

DP and I are both avid fans of European travel; last year we did long weekends in Faro, Stuttgart and Milan - all wonderful. We don't want that to stop now we've had a baby. I know some people will immediately say 'don't do it', but we're both confident we will be fine as DD is a very easy baby and I've read lots of parents say travelling when DC are tiny is much easier than toddlers/kids.

For our first trip away we'd like to go somewhere this November or December, any advice where?! Nowhere busy (I'm quite anxious in busy places) or very expensive, e.g. Paris. Happy for it to be warm or cold climate. Ideally Europe and doable over a long weekend (4 days max.) but also happy for a UK break. DD currently 7 weeks so will be 12-20 weeks, dependant on when we go.

Current ideas - south Spain/Portugal for warm weather and relaxing, Christmas markets in Germany for beer and fun, maybe Poland as we've never been there? Ireland could be nice as never been there either, is it extremely cold/bad weather that time of year?

Ideas or advice GREATLY appreciated as we are stabbing in the dark here. Thanks! :)

Anyone? Pretty please

Berlin in winter was -10 so I think somewhere milder would be easier in terms of getting out for walks...

Munich? It packs a lot of punch for its size.
Venice? I went in February once. It was stunning in the mist.

Lisbon?
Venice?
Rome?
Get a decent sling though. Pushchairs are a pain in airports and cities!

We went to Maderia (PortoBay apartments) when DS was a few months old and that was fine. Most places are nice in December as you have the decorations up. I would tend to either go for an apartment as they are bigger and you can self cater and not worry about noise or all inclusive so it's super easy. Venice is lovely. Rome also lovely but more city like.

Christmas markets can be quite crowded so many not be ideal with a baby but not impossible.

We took DD1 to Bruges Christmas markets at 9 weeks - actually stayed in Ghent which was also beautiful. We drove over just for ease.

I would say most Christmas markets would be lovely with a little one (we've been going to different ones every year for as long as I remember both before and after having children).

For warmer climes, we went to Porto with our DD and it's a lovely city - hilly though with a pram. Madrid was lovely, we went there when she was about 6 months - very easy with a baby.

We've done the fjords in Norway too with our DD, again gorgeous and all of Scandinavia is soooo child friendly.

We're taking our DD2 over to holland when she'll be about 12 weeks - again driving. Lots to do there and is suitable for our 3 year old too.

Definitely true that traveling with a tiny baby is miles easier than a mobile one - our DD got harder once she started crawling at 7 months. Then easier again when we could bribe with snacks and tv at about 2 years!

We just got back from The Netherlands which was great for kids. Delft was very pretty and easy to get to from Amsterdam airport by train. I'd also recommend Stockholm and Copenhagen for kids but probably a bit cold for your winter holiday! If you want a snowy, wintery holiday, Innsbruck is beautiful. I'd probably avoid the bigger Christmas markets while your dd is so little, it'll be really busy and they'll just be stuck in the pushchair.

We usually do airbnb now the kids are a little bigger. They're up super early and sleep best in their own rooms, plus it's cheaper than a hotel normally. It's great you're not put off travelling with children, I've found children really adaptable and love seeing other cultures. It gets them used to trying new foods too which is always a bonus. Most European countries are well set up for children, your dd will have a great time.

I'm not sure that nowhere busy and Christmas markets fit in the same sentence. The issue with going somewhere cold with a small baby is the constant removal and putting on of layers as babies overheat very easily, so I would probably go South rather than North.