London and Italy with Kids coming from New York

[maa9144]

Hi Everyone,

I will be traveling from New York in June 2019 with my mother, sister and 8 year old daughter to London. We will be joined by a friend and her 11 and 7 year old kids. I am taking the reins in planning this 10 to 14 day trip and looking for advice from my helpful mumsneters. The adults love flea markets and clothes shopping and could happily spend the time doing that but could anyone recommend an itinerary and things to do with kids in London and Italy?. I think for Italy we would like to do Florence, Rome and Tuscany. Thank you all in advance.

First of all, you are trying to do too much so you will just do a whistle stop and not see anything properly. That’s a shame. Tuscany is a holiday in itself for most people. I would therefore consider London, Rome and Florence. Tuscany is best left for a separate trip.

You can visit various markets in London such as Campden and Spitalfields but I’m not sure these are highlights. Spitalfields has great restaurants in the vicinity and you can wander up Brick Lane for a curry. There are great shops like Liberties (timbered Arts and crafts building) and Selfridges and if you go to Knightsbridge there is Harrods and Harvey Nicholls. There are individual areas such as Sloan Square for upmarket shopping too. Regents Street is hugely popular and you can walk up Piccadilly and go into the Burlington Arcade which is lovely. Bond Street is smart too. You may be able to book into the Ritz in Piccadilly for tea. Do it very early - it’s popular. Failing that any of the Firmdale Hotels do wonderful teas! There is a massive choice of shopping areas so it’s easy to find shops but London flea markets are in short supply apart from maybe Portabello market. Will the children like this?

I tend to think there are must sees in London. Go to Westminster Abbey, go down the River via a boat to the Tower of London. The London Eye is also great and the museums are world class. Many people take a walk up Whitehall from Westminster and have a look at Downing Street before going into the National Gallery in Trafalfar Square. There are so many things to see, you are spoilt for choice. You can also get hop on hop off buses if you don’t mind the price!

You can easily fly to Rome and then get a train to Florence. I assume you can fly home from Florence but if that’s tricky, retrace your steps to Rome. Both Florence and Rome require 3 days so with about 5 in London plus travelling time, you are certainly at 12 days plus. Any guide book such as Lonely Planet will give you ideas for itineries in all these cities.

Thanks so much for responding!. I am going to pick up a lonely planet guide book this evening. The kids are going to be 7, 8 and 10 on the trip so while I know all the adults will want to do everything you described above (thanks for the suggestions!) I would love to hear from people who have been to Italy on vacation with kids especially with kids that are similar in age and what their kids most enjoyed.

We did take our children to Italy at the ages you describe. We had a villa/apartment with a pool in Tuscany and went to the amazing little towns and Sienna and Pisa. We flew to Pisa from London and picked up a hire car. This might be better for you. It’s more relaxing.

We have also been to Rome where we did all the main sights. If they are not interested in the Vatican, the Coliseum and the Trevi Fountain and all the squares and the Pantheon it’s difficult to know what else to suggest. Florence has it’s must see places too but they may not be suitable for the children either. It is a city famed for Renaissance art treasures. Mine did enjoy what the cities had to offer. If you want a holiday with a pool and sea, try the beach resorts or the Lakes or a Tuscany Villa. You need a car for Tuscany though.

I've got 2 kids of similar ages. In London they love the river boat down the Thames, the London Eye is good, they like going on the red London buses on the top deck around the key London sites.

In Italy with Ryanair - my favourite place is Venice - get the vaperetto down the canals, go to the islands Murano and Burano with their different coloured houses and glass making etc, the Venice Lido has a beach. Florence was a lot of art galleries and personally I wouldn't bother with kids. Pisa is worth a day trip to go up the leaning tower of Pisa but you need to pre book. Rome is fascinating, it takes around a day to tour Vatican, there are horse and carriage rides, Coliseum can be visited in an hour or so which is probably better for kids. Other area that's lovely is down the south visiting Capri and Mount Vesuvius. But there's no way you will have time for all that in 10 to 14 days so you will need to pick. If I had to pick one in Italy it would be Venice as its unique, next the Leaning Tower of Pisa but that's just a day. Italy does have an excellent train service.

Any activities you are particularly looking for? If the kids say like water sports or theme parks then obviously its quite different recommendations but I think US theme parks are likely to be bigger and better.

Thank you both!. I wanted to do Florence but it seems as if Venice makes more sense with kids. The kids are into swimming and biking. Both girls love dolls and fashion. The 8 year old boy is into trains. I have seen Lake Garda recommended on here a few times and may do this instead. Does anybody have any family friendly resorts in Lake Garda, Rome and Venice?. I know I am all over the place but really trying to make the best decision as I am the one mainly planning the trip for a group of 7. Also any recommendations for child friendly hotels in London?. Thanks again!.

I'd advise against doing Lake Garda. Not because it isn't stunning, but because you'd risk doing nothing properly. Venice, Rome and London all have so much to offer, it's worth spending as much time as possible in these cities.
If your girls like fashion, they'll probably enjoy the Venetian mask making workshops in Venice. www.camacana.com

For London hotel cannot beat the location of Premier Inn County Hall. Opp the Palace of Westminster, beside London Eye and in walking distance of many attractions.

palazzoducale.visitmuve.it/en/pianifica-la-tua-visita/special-itineraries/secret-itineraries-tour/ Is a must in Venice. Much more fun for the children than the description on the website implies.

In Rome don't bother with a guide for the Colosseum but do get the audio tour for children.

www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g187791-d2179620-Reviews-Le_Domus_Romane_di_Palazzo_Valentini-Rome_Lazio.html was DS's second favourite activity in Rome (not counting ice-creams & food generally !).

Thanks so much everybody!. I knew I could count on my mumsnetters!.

In Venice we always stay in the Venice Lido (there are a few other Lidos which are not the same place) and book via Booking.com. We stay on the vaperetto boat station side and beach is very close - you take vaperetto to get to Rialto etc and its 5-10 mins along beautiful canals - you can get passes for a few days for vaperetto. Pretty much everywhere in Italy is family friendly. For larger hotels with pools and waterparks you would need to go out but I would stay say 3 nights in Venice. Loads of lovely ice cream shops, think you can bike round Lido too. Rome again stayed centrally, avoid area around train station, think its the prostitutes area. We overheard part of a Colesseum tour talk and was about prostitutes so the kids version would be wise Trains are excellent in Italy. I would do 3 nights in London and rest in Italy, you could just get rain everyday in London in June though we currently have very hot weather, well its over 25C which is a heatwave here

Thanks so much. Any hotel recommendations for hotels in Rome?. Do you think July would be better for the trip?. We have some flexibility but I thought we could avoid crowds by doing the last two weeks of June. For at least one of the days in London we would like to do several flea markets. My mom is into antiquing which would be too much for the kids. Are their any London Hotels with kids clubs?. Which flea markets are best for antiques such as China ( she collects old plates and glasswear.

I would do June rather than July - better for Venice / Italy and not school holidays here so cheaper and less crowded and not much difference in weather. I don't know of London hotels with kids clubs - maybe around the outskirts but not in the cente. Did a quick search and Camden Passage comes up for china but not a market expert - not that much collecting of china atm, very much an older generation thing. There are kids clubs in the summer holidays at places like private health and fitness clubs but those wouldn't start until end of July, places like David Lloyd. Best bet is probably to try and find a market close by to activities kids would like - maybe Camden Market and London Zoo though others may know better and I have never been to Camden Market. Thinks there's boats on the Regents Canal - this seems to link market with zoo though never tried it: www.londonwaterbus.com/

Really helpful. Thank you!

We stayed in this friendly little hotel. It is central & less than five minutes walk to Trajans Column & Victor Emmanual Monument. Walkable to Colosseum, Trevi Fountain etc. They had some adjoining rooms. June will be a slightly better temperature and quieter.

Antiques are not really such a big thing in London now. Other than top end. She can go to the major auction houses of course. Antique shops and centres are better done on a tour around the Cotswolds for example. That is what most visitors do. London is very high end but you can look in Chelsea and Pimlico. People here are more into mid century modern or just brand new. There are very few flea markets held - I cannot think of one in London. London has more to offer than that I think.

July in Italian cities is stifling. June is better. I have stayed on Lake Garda and there is Gardaland. You can get the train to Verona and Venice. Hotels have pools and it can be relaxing. Lots of boat services offering lake desinations.

The Venice Lido would be OK and has hotels with pools but none of the interesting historic areas are really bike riding areas. I think if you want this, cities are not what you want in Italy. The traffic in Rome would scare you off anyway. It is very chaotic. I think you need to prioritise what you want instead of doing too many areas and seeing very little. We have American friends and they spend very little time anywhere - more of a need to tick off the destination. 3 days in London is very little.

maa - is there any reason why your children cannot actually be shown the sights in London? Why would you come to London for a kids club? Get out in the city and have a good look around. It's amazing. Its historic. Its world renown! They might love going on a London bus, going down the River, seeing the Crown Jewels, going on a Beefeater tour in the Tower of London (the best),going on the Eye . Why are you even thinking of not doing all of this?

If you like countryside/English villages in the UK then Bath / Longleat / Cheddar Caves (can do rock climbing here as well as look round though might be too young) is great and still interesting for children and they would be able to bike ride etc but you would need to take something out or do London just as a whistlestop bus / boat tour and hire a car for this. You can hire lovely cottages for a week or so on Cottages.com (read reviews though) and you can also get to Cotswolds from there I think and Bleinheim Palace (great children's adventure playground) / Oxford. Plenty of hotels in that area too though can be on the pricey side - I would look on Booking.com, we used to rent a gorgeous cottage in Bath but they've now not doing holiday rentals. We all prefer countryside to cities but its very much personal preference and city types would prefer a week in London. I would say you would need a week for the UK part to do this, I appreciate its really hard to get holiday in the US. Should be some steam trains around there too.

Venice to me doesn't really feel like a city as its smallish with canals though it can get very busy. It's very unique and think the girls at least will love it as full of little shops selling arty stuff like masks and the boats are lovely. It's stunning. Rome is very city like, the driving is crazy (we were parked and a car crashed into us!), my friend is Italian and she says red lights are optional in Italy, pedestrian only areas are too, its fine as long as you aren't driving and you assume traffic signs will be ignored. It is amazing historically but I wouldn't let kids bike ride there. I really loved Rome though. The historical sites in Venice you couldn't really bike ride through, too crowded but you could get the odd hour in here and there on the Lido, its more residential there. When we stayed on Lido we went back and forth, though we were a bit addicted to the boats, I love trains and love boats.

I wouldn't bother focussing on shopping- it's all so globalised now that you're unlikely to find much that is very different from what you can buy in NY. Of the big stores, I think only Liberty offers anything different. Camden Market is for teenagers. Saturday in Portobello Road is fun; but the antiques are overpriced. As others have said, elsewhere in the Uk is far better for antiques- London is mostly very very high end auction houses etc. Spitalfields and Brick Lane markets are fun (esp Sundays) for adults and children but no antiques. Marylebone High Street has some nice independent shops. Steer clear of Oxford Street and Knightsbridge.

Putting the children in a kids club (if such a thing exists in London) would be a terrible waste! Take a trip down the Thames past the Houses of Parliament to Greenwich and visit the Cutty Sark. Go to the British Museum. The V&A has great design and fashion exhibits (and shop). You should also go to the theatre: there's always something on that will please all ages. Kids also love the Tower of London and Tower Bridge

In Italy, I think that you are trying to cram an awful lot in. One idea might be to do the Colosseum and the forum in Rome- leave out the Vatican because the queues are awful, then perhaps stay in a city near Venice, such as Verona or Padua rather than Venice itself (both cheaper, friendlier and wonderful in themselves) from which you can make day trips to Venice, Ravenna etc.. I'd leave out Florence and Tuscany on this trip.

In Rome, think about staying in Trastavere, across the river but still close to the main sights-cheaper and less frenetic but with nice neighbourhood restaurants.

June rather than July: cooler and fewer crowds. Once the schools break up the airports can be hellish

Thank you all so much. BubblesBuddy thanks for the reality check!. You are all totally right of course. I don't know what I was thinking in regards to a kids club!. To be honest with you all I visited London four years ago with my sister and we had a great time!. We did London and Winchester (I am obsessed with Jane Austen and we went to see where she was buried). I still get complements on a dress a bought in a market on Portobello road four years later!. I guess it was selfish to want to do some of those markets again and I thought of a kids club because I don't think the kids would tolerate the shopping. It seems to me we could literally do London alone for the 10 to 14 days but doubt my friend and I will be doing this together again so we really want to do too countries. I am going to still run doing 10 days in London by her because the Costwolds sounds amazing. Any kid friendly hotel recommendations for the Costwolds?. I can't thank everyone enough for being so kind!.

The Fish Hotel just outside Broadway is perfect for families. It is off the beaten track but is in a 400 acre estate and even has tree houses for families. Have a look at their web site for the activities they offer for families. You will need a car or two for this though. Broadway itself is stunning. From there you can get to Cheltenham, have a wander around Snowshill Manor (full of antique collections) and antique shop in Moreton in Marsh. Burford is also wonderful as is Chipping Campden. Mellow Cotswold stone towns. You can easily get to Stow on the Wold for more antiques and Blenheim Palace is not that far. Ditto Oxford.

You could stay in Oxford but it’s not really got family activity hotels. If you are ever in the vicinity of Giffords Circus in the Cotswolds, do go!!! The best village circus entertainment.

If you do make it to Oxford the rowing / punting is really good fun (kids wouldn't be old enough to punt and there is a risk of falling in so rowing is the safer option) but mine do the rowing (though in Cambridge).

www.oxfordpunting.co.uk/

Quite a few Harry Potter locations there too if they know Harry Potter.

It looks like you maybe to stay in an Oxford Uni college room overnight if that appeals too. I went to Cambridge and the rooms are basic but full of history. Not sure I would do anymore than a couple of nights and not sure when term ends but its pretty early as they only have 3 eight week terms. Though one above sounds great. www.experienceoxfordshire.org/places-to-stay/colleges/