European city break with 7yo

[Cakeandslippers]

Any suggestions? We'd be going in February. We're not bothered about weather other than I'd like to avoid very snowy places as we don't have the gear. Only real criteria are safe, easy to get to from the airport, suitable things to do with a child, and ideally architecture / old areas to walk around. My daughter loves looking at old and interesting buildings and nice scenery.... She's like a little old lady at heart!

I was thinking Lisbon perhaps. I considered Barcelona but I think it might be too big for us this time. I think she'd love Copenhagen but I'd rather go when Tivoli gardens is open and it's not open in February.

Suggestions gratefully received. It'll just be me and her.

Lisbon can be mega hilly so I would say no. Barca is cool but I think somewhere like Rome would be better? Nicer weather, totally walkable and loads to see. If you have the time and are feeling ambitious then head to Venice after. So much better to visit without the crowds.

Thanks, hills are fine. We will be taking it slow and she's very good with that kind of thing. I did think about Rome but I seem to remember it as huge and difficult to get around....I haven't been for over 20 years though so this may be me remembering wrong. I'll have a look into it!

We took DC7 to Prague over October half term and had a lovely few days (and surprisingly cheap!).

We went to the zoo, walked round the Castle complex and up Petrin Hill, and booked into a cool place to eat where all the beer and food is delivered on the tables by trains. We managed to find plenty of play parks as well and so easy to get around by tram/walking.

Thanks Prague was really high up my list until I looked at the weather and I think it can be a bit snowy in Feb. I'm definitely thinking of Prague for another time though, I've never been but it looks lovely!

Porto. Its a lovely place. Beautiful shops, great buildings and even a river running through it.

Cool. Hilly is mega understating the steepness and amount and worried she may get a bit tired. Anyway, Rome is easily walkable. And there is always Paris which is amazing. Saltzburg is lovely and so Prague.

We had a lovely weekend in Amsterdam at the same age. Heaps to do and v kid friendly.

I took DD to Berlin aged 10 and we had a great time, did the spy museum, climbed the Reichstag, just explored and explained a bit of the history

Bilbao - can be rainy, but the Guggenheim is great, there's a funicular railway, lots of big imposing avenues and churros con chocolate.

If you’ll accept geographical rather than political Europe, there’s nowhere I’ve enjoyed taking a child more than Edinburgh. Breathtaking buildings, wonderful, awe striking museums and galleries, extraordinary outdoor space.

Otherwise, a combination of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence might be rather nice. Ancient yellow stone and the Cité Radieuse.

Well I was going to say Copenhagen ticks all your boxes but I see your reasons as to why not . I would say Amsterdam a good option or Bruges -

Berlin worked a treat for us when DD was a bit younger although it would be cold. Zoo, lots of museums (East Germany museum has a Trabant you can climb into), efficient public transport, boat trips on the Spree, lots of informal eating options, airports accessible for the city, parks aplenty.

I was going to say Berlin or Prague, both have which have already been suggested!

Stockholm is really nice, although maybe cold in February.

I loved Barcelona far more than Lisbon and it didn't seem too big. It's certainly much easier to get around than Lisbon because it's flat and there's great transport. Your DD would love Park Guell if she likes interesting buildings.

Vienna is great.

Spoilt for choice really, so many wonderful European cities.

Maybe you should pull one out of a hat? Make it even more exciting!

Actually we are off to Stockholm for new year , has lovely lakes especially out the centre, the wonderful Skansen park ( animals, rides, crafts) and lovely old buildings, you may well get snow - standardsare high and not cheap but to be honest not that dissimilar these days to UK money wise

Nuremberg is a great destination for children.
Cobbled streets, old buildings, city walls, compact and walkable, castle, zoo, planetarium, brilliant railway museum, easy day trip to Legoland or Playmobil Fun Park if that’s your thing.
Lots of nice places to eat sausages and cheese noodles, not too expensive, great public transport, direct train to the airport.
There might be a bit of snow in February, but it’s well set up for it.

Also the ABBA museum.

As a long-time Berliner I would say: don’t come in February. Just don’t. It’s miserable, it’s the coldest month of the year, but often not in a crisp blue skies kind of way, and Brits are sometimes quite bad at dressing for the weather. I’ve guided several friends around who insisted on coming during the British half term, and I have no idea why they would do that to themselves (and me). April/May and Sept/Oct are the best times to visit.

Thanks for all the ideas. I'm now in a Google hole looking up all the places you've recommended!

Noted re Berlin @LadyGreySpillsTheTea thank you - I think I'd like to save Berlin for a grown up trip anyway.

The problem is I'd happily go anywhere, and everywhere 😆

Trieste is great for children. It's huge main square is open on one side to the Adriatic. There's an aquarium. Fascinating architecture as it lies at the intersection of Italianate, Germanic and Slavic cultures. Great café culture as the home of the Illy coffee brand. A walk westwards along the coast to Barcola. The castle of Miramare and gardens not far away, the Summer home of the Hapsburgs. A tram to Opicina into the Carso, where wine is produced and you can eat Friulan salami and cheese for lunch at little cost afterwards down tracks that overlook the broad sweep of the sea eastwards to Slovenia and Croatia, and westwards to the shipbuilding workshop of Monfalcone. The Grotto Gigante. A climb uphill to the cathedral of San Giusto and its architectural stone museum. It's an intriguing city, the former Port of the Hapsburgh Empire and only part of Italy since 1954. The airport of Ronchi dei Legionnari is a few kilometres away to the north west by coach.

My kids loved Lisbon, lots of trams, subway and buses and really easy to get around, the hills are no big deal.

The Quake museum is good. Take the old tram round Alfama. Take a trip put to Belem.

I last went to Lisbon 6.5 months pregnant with swollen ankles and it was fine! Yes it's a bit hilly but if you're not in a rush it's not a problem. Get out to Sintra too, she'd love that and it's easy to get to from Lisbon, we stayed in Cascais as it was a short train hop into Lisbon and hired a car to explore elsewhere, Portugal is very affordable when there too

I second Bilbao. We took DCs when they were 7 & 9yo for a few days before driving up into France for the main part of our holiday. It was a good mix of old and new, easy to get around, enough to see and do, and DCs loved the regular pit stops for pintxos. We clocked up a stupid amount of miles walking each day. We went in the summer, and the weather was equally-but-differently tricky for sightseeing as it is likely to be at the start of the year (over 40 degrees one of the days of our stay, and 39/40 for the others), yet it was still a great stay. 2 years on, DD2 still goes into full Homer Simpson mode when she remembers the ribs she ate there!

Rome is very walkable. DD did something Rome related (Roman empire or Pompeii or some such) in y4 so we went the same year and she loved it, and took lots of photos to share with the class.
Around the same age she also loved Paris and Barcelona.

Lisbon would be great, it's really small for a capital city while still having all the good stuff you'd expect from a capital.
The old trams and tiny underground network are great for getting around.
I would be tempted to look at Seville
Or Granada as it's February, but that's just because I'd want a proper escape from the cold!

Madrid is very walkable, with great parks, old buildings, and fab food markets (and churros!)