This was my second summer stepping away from the studio to co-lead a study abroad group of 35+ Michigan State advertising + public relations students in Rome, Italy and Cannes, France (for the International Festival of Creativity).

The biggest change this year? Jeff co-led the trip with me, and we brought the kids along. A lot of people have asked how it went and what tips we have for traveling so long with kids, so although I’m by no means an expert and this by no means applies to all of Europe, I’ll share our personal experiences, lessons, and favorite things to do from the five weeks we spend abroad.

I’m including a mix of photos I took on my Nikon z7ii, along with a good mix of photos that I took on the camera that I always had on hand – my trusty iPhone.

Packing for Three Very Different Countries Across Europe with Kids

Since we were traveling across multiple countries by bus and train, it was important to us that we only pack one carry on and one backpack per person. We had washers in Rome and Paris, so we only packed about one week of clothes, and we used BAGSMART Compression Cubes to fit everything neatly into the suitcases. We were even able to fit in a few pool floats for Nice. Since Rome is very hot in the summer, I only packed one sweater (which I wore daily when I got to London). These neck fans also came in handy for keeping our kids happy during the hotter weather.

We also saved space by going light on shoes – I bought the Rothy’s Original Slip On Sneaker (washable) – I wore these on the plane, and my only other shoes were flip-flops for the pool. The shoes are pricey, but I tend to lean toward the idea of “own less clothes, but better quality and built to last.” Arden’s shoes, by comparison, completely fell apart by the end of the trip. We did a lot of walking.

We used luggage locks on our backpack to avoid pickpocketing (others we knew did experience pick-pocking in busier areas of Rome, so be on alert in crowded areas).

Finally, our portable picnic blanket came in handy many times during this trip. It was small enough to throw in any bag, and we were able to enjoy quite a few meals while sitting on it in parks.

Flying Overnight With Kids

As far as I’m aware, there’s really no big secret to making the overnight flight great. I brought my Coop travel pillow (I love this pillow so much that I use it all year round) and an inflatable neck pillow. We had melatonin to help the kids with the time change.

In the end, the kids only got two to three hours of sleep on the plane (someone in our row opened a window blind and let the light in, and it was game over), but we still kept them up for as long as we could the day we arrived so they could shift their bodies to the new timezone. Here’s what they looked like before and after dinner on the day we arrived (A on the left, Z on the right):

Traveling to Rome with Kids

Weather in Rome

Rome gets very hot and crowded in the summer (if you have flexibility, we loved going in the fall when it was cooler and less crowded, or go earlier in May). If you’re renting an apartment and are used to air conditioning, be aware that it’s not necessarily as common in Rome as it is in the U.S. If you want it, make sure you filter for places with AC.

Biking With Kids in Rome

Biking in Rome is not necessarily recommended for those who aren’t comfortable biking with traffic – but if you’re okay with driving on the road with multiple lanes of cars (we came across very few bike lanes during our time in Rome), e-bikes are a great way to get around the city more easily with kids.

Our kids are too old for a stroller and generally too young to walk as much as we wanted to walk, so biking was the perfect solution for us. The e-bikes were necessary, because we were staying in an apartment on a steep hill in Monteverde, and we needed the extra oomph. If you’re staying “in town” where it’s flatter, you could probably get by with a regular bike.

One note on biking – it was recommended that we get a garage space or another secure space to keep our bikes overnight. We ended up renting a few bike spaces in a garage while we were in Rome. Some hotels will have a safe place to store bikes overnight, depending on the size.

We got a flat tire on our last day in Rome because we ran over glass, but we called the rental company, and they came out to fix it within an hour.

Places to Visit/Things to Do with Kids in Rome

Here are a few things we enjoyed visiting while staying in Rome:

• One thing we loved about Rome was our personal morning ritual of going out as a family to get coffee and croissants. We realized how expensive food in the U.S. can be by comparison – we could usually get a coffee and croissant for less than €2.50 total in and around our neighborhood in Rome (Monteverde/Trastevere).
• We took a day trip to Pompeii by train (take the train from Rome to Naples, then take the city train to Pompeii).
• The girls had a surprisingly great time at Castel Sant’Angelo.
• We climbed all the steps up to the top of the Dome at St. Peter’s Basilica (free for kids – and both kids were easily able to make the full climb).
• We loved wandering and eating in Trastevere (coloring books made apertivo time and dining more enjoyable). A lot of restaurants don’t open for dinner until 7:30 PM, so we pushed bedtimes later when we made the time change, and the kids often stayed up until 10:30 or 11:00 PM.
• We explored Lungo il Tevere, a summer festival along the river.
• There are a lot of nice parks to explore and get away from the crowds.
• Zel was always on the lookout for cats to take photos of and draw.
• We ate a lot of gelato, like you do.
• We generally just loved biking around and exploring things in the book Mission Rome: A Scavenger Hunt Adventure (Travel Guide For Kids).

Traveling to Nice, France with Kids

I found Nice, France to be very kid friendly. They have a huge public park that has mini trampolines, a ton of beautiful wooden play structures (including a life sized blue whale), and a giant splash pad.

We swam at the beach once, but the pool was generally easier for swimming with kids.

We took side trips to Monaco (by train) and Eze (by bus) while Jeff was with the students in Cannes. Eze was my favorite, and Monaco was not a great visit with kids. If you go to Eze, don’t miss Le Jardin Exotique d’Eze (free for kids).

We also splurged on a one hour perfume making workshop at Molinard in Nice that we all enjoyed (minus Jeff, who was with the students in Cannes).

Traveling to Paris, France with Kids

We took the train from Cannes to Paris and stayed in a VRBO apartment (we specifically found a place with air conditioning, and we were glad to have it when it hit 93 degrees the second day there – it was back to 72 by day three).

We rented another set of bikes – this time a long tail cargo bike for Jeff and kids and a regular bike for me. Paris has done a phenomenal job adding bike lanes to the city, and it was absolutely the best way to get around the city with kids. You’ll see in the photo below that the metro was extremely crowded.

Places to Visit in Paris with Kids

Here are a few things that the kids enjoyed in Paris:

• We biked along the Seine.
• We stayed up late to watch the Eifel tower sparkle at 11:00 PM (we kept them up later in general the whole trip when we made the time change – check the times on the days you plan to be there, as they change based on sunset).
• We took the stairs up to the second tier of the Eifel tower (tickets for the top sold out when we tried to pre-purchase them).
• We took a bike tour of the grounds at Versailles, which included entry to the palace and gardens. The palace was extremely crowded, but the gardens were breathtaking.
• We found shade and enjoyed picnics in the parks.

This is how Arden feels about riding the crowded metro ↓ 

London, England with Kids

I’ll admit that this stop was driven in large part by Zel’s desire to visit the Harry Potter Studio tour. She will absolutely tell anyone that this was the highlight of her entire trip. Here are a few of the things we enjoyed:

• Harry Potter Studio Tour – the Making of Harry Potter.
• Tate Modern
• The “splash pad” at Coal Drops Yard was a hit.
• Diana Memorial Playground – Kensington Gardens.
• Diana Memorial Fountain – Hyde Park (a fountain that’s made for kids to play in it).
• We got the book Mission London: A Scavenger Hunt Adventure (Travel Guide For Kids) and worked on getting through a few missions.

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I spent just over three weeks in Italy and France over the summer as a part of a study abroad trip that I co-led through Michigan State’s advertising and public relations department. Jeff joined me for the first ten days while the girls stayed with my parents. We took a whirlwind two day weekend tour to Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri. If I did it again, I’d plan more time for each, but we were happy to be able to see such gorgeous sights.

Jeff flew home after ten days, and my group jumped on a bus to drive to Cannes, France for a week at the International Festival of Creativity. Our bus drive spoke about as much English as I speak Italian (about 300 days of Duo Lingo, I have basic phrases, but I’m far from conversational), so that made for some interesting interactions as we worked out plans along the way.

We wrapped up study abroad with a final week back in Rome, where I ate my way across the city—I found a little bookshop that sold English books and spent most evenings with a glass of wine and a book on ivy covered narrow cobblestone streets.

The heat the final week was more than my little midwestern heart was used to—it got up to 104 one day, so I bought a one day pool pass after class to stay cool. While I was floating, I saw ash flying through the sky. Apparently a nearby park had caught on fire from the combination of drought and heat. I had a small air conditioning unit in my bedroom that could cool the room just enough to make sleeping bearable, but the rest of the apartment had no AC.

In the height of the pandemic, I was resigned to the fact that I might not be traveling again for a long time, but it was so refreshing to get out into the bigger world out there and to appreciate cultures beyond my own.