Traveling with a Baby to Paris, France - Day 2

On our second day in Paris, we took it easy on the walking and just decided to hit 2 main sights. But first, we found a nearby cafe to grab breakfast.

Maddox loves quiches

Palais Garnier

We did a self guided tour around the Palais Garnier. It has a beautiful interior with breathtaking architecture.

The grand staircase

The grand staircase

The ceiling of the Grand Foyer

The Grand Foyer

It was Maddox’s nap time

Paris Opera Library Museum

Paris Opera Library Museum

Strolling Through the 9th Arrondissement

We left the Palais Garnier and took a leisurely stroll through the 9th arrondissement. We stopped by a market and grabbed some fruit to eat. We also stumbled upon a bakery for some sweet treats.

Square Louise Michel

The Square Louise Michel is a series of terraces that have great city views and fountains as you take the steps leading up to the Sacre Coeur.

Great view looking up at the Sacre Coeur from here

View of the Square Louise Michel from the top of the hill

Sacre Coeur

The Sacre Coeur is one of the most visited landmarks in Paris. It sits on the top of Montmartre in the 18th arrondissement and is the highest point in the city.

Tutti Sensi

We found this really cute alleyway right next to Sacre Coeur. We stopped to get a quick gelato snack at Tutti Sensi

Maddox’s first time having gelato and he LOVED it

Le Sancerre

We came across this beautiful brasserie in Montmartre. It was decorated with green vines running along the exterior and the interior was decorated in an art deco style.

Truffle and jambon risotto

Scallop carpaccio with truffles

Moulin Rouge

Eric Kayser

On our way back to our hotel, we grabbed some quick snacks at Eric Kayser’s boulangerie.

Traveling with a Baby to Paris, France - Day 1

Paris is the second stop to our multi-city international trip with Maddox. After coming to Paris by train from London, we only had a couple days here so we tried to cram as much as we could into our itinerary.

Angelina

Our first stop is Angelina where we grabbed a few pastries to eat in the park. They’re known for their hot chocolate, but their pastry selection is really what caught our eye.

Jardin Des Tuileries

We took a leisurely stroll through this huge landscaped garden that’s right in the middle of Paris. The gardens were beautiful and there were tons of wide open spaces where you can just sit and enjoy the day.

Carrousel Arc de Triomphe

The Louvre

The Louvre happened to be closed on this day, but we were fine just walking around the outside of the pyramid. Hearing stories of how crowded the museum gets, I’m not a fan of cramming myself in with those kinds of crowds, especially with a baby in tow.

Notre Dame Cathedral

From the Louvre, we walked along the Seine until we got to the Notre Dame Cathedral. Most of it was blocked off due to the April 2019 fire.

La Cure Gourmande Paris

Make sure to stay hydrated

Berthillon

We heard from multiple people that Berthillon has the best ice cream in Paris so we had to stop by here to take a break from all the walking.

Luxembourg Palace

The Luxembourg Palace and gardens is a wonderful place to relax. The palace itself is a large architecturally beautiful building set in the center of Paris full of history. The Luxembourg Gardens are even more beautiful and has a little bit of everything for everyone.

My favorite part of the Luxembourg Gardens were the rows of perfectly groomed trees, similar to the ones at the Jardin des Tuileries.

Eiffel Tower

We took the Paris Metro out towards the Eiffel Tower to end our day with a picnic. We walked along the Seine leading up to the Eiffel Tower and decided to find a spot in the Champ de Mars.

We went to a nearby convenient store to grab some food and drinks.

We waited until the sun went down to see the Eiffel Tower lit up.

We tried our best to stay out until the sparkle light show started, but it was getting too late and already way past Maddox’s bedtime. Luckily we got a peek of it when we were walking back to our hotel.

Traveling with a Baby to London, UK - Day 3 and 4

Walking along the River Thames to Tower Bridge

We started our day by taking the London Underground to the London Bridge station. We walked along the river starting at the London Bridge and made our way down to the Tower Bridge.

London Bridge

HMS Belfast

City Hall and Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge

Maddox loved seeing the bridge open and close

Potters Fields Park

We took a break at Potters Fields Park for Maddox to get some toy time.

Borough Market

We grabbed lunch and drinks at Borough market. It was a close walk right across the street from the London Bridge station. Unfortunately, most of the market was closed and there were only a few stands open.

Burgers

Chorizo Paella

British Museum

We ended the day at the British Museum. This was a great place to grab a snack at the cafe and take it easy while looking at their huge permanent collection.

Eurostar Train to Paris

The next day, the only thing we had planned was to take the Eurostar train to Paris at the St. Pancras International Station. I messed up and we didn’t get in line early enough to catch our train because they shut the doors 30 min before departure. We were able to be booked on the next train out and it gave us some time to get Maddox his own Paddington Bear and see the Harry Potter Shop at Platform 9 3/4 in the King’s Cross Station.

We made it to our hotel in Paris and just took it easy for the rest of the night.

Traveling with a Baby to London, UK - Day 2

The Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill

After a full nights sleep and fully rested from the previous day, we started our day with a nice stroll by the water in The Regent’s Park. There were lots of pathways throughout the park and we took one route that led us up to Primrose Hill. Primrose Hill is just to the north of The Regent’s Park and we stopped for a quick breakfast break.

Breakfast in Primrose Hill

Primrose Hill

Camden Lock Market

From Primrose Hill, we walked along the Regent’s Canal towards Camden Market to get lunch. This was a quiet waterway and a great place for a leisurely stroll to build up our appetite.

Regent’s Canal

Makatcha Indonesian Street Kitchen - Chicken Rendang

Kolkati

Kati Roll from Kolkati

It was extremely crowded, so we just ducked away in a corner and sat on the floor to eat our lunch. There’s such a variety of food here that it was hard to decide on what to eat. We ended up getting a kati roll and Indonesian chicken rendang.

From the Camden Lock Market, we took the London Underground toward Westminster Abbey. Luckily it was easy to get around the stations with our foldable Pockit Stroller. This stroller was a huge lifesaver on our trip since it was so compact and portable.

Westminster Abbey

The London Eye

Maddox is not impressed

Unfortunately, Big Ben was under construction and covered by scaffolding due to the repairs that were going on.

Westminster Abbey

Maddox is probably sleeping

The sun is way too bright here

Westminster Abbey

St. James Park

A finger elephant rescues Maddox from boredom

The parks throughout London are great for taking a quick break when Maddox wants a snack. We’d often find ourselves ducking into a park to relax and give Maddox a break from the stroller. A bag full of toys is essential to keep him entertained.

Buckingham Palace

A quick walk down the tree-lined walkway from St. James Park and you get to Buckingham Palace.

The Royal Coat of Arms on the gate

Wellington Arch

Walking from Buckingham Palace to Hyde Park, you’ll come across Wellington Arch.

Hyde Park

The Victoria

After a long day of a ton of walking, we ended the day at The Victoria with a nice cold pint. Maddox was pooped and didn’t get to enjoy his pint.

Burger

Fish and chips

Pimm’s Cup

Always remember to wash your hands!

Traveling with a Baby to London, UK - Day 1

Our first international trip with our baby

This was our first trip with Maddox and we did it BIG by making the trip a multi-city, multi-country international trip. We’d be starting in London, then hop on a train to Paris, finally ending in Lisbon and Sintra in Portugal. Traveling internationally with a baby isn’t easy, but we did a lot of planning and preparing to make it as seamless as possible.

We knew traveling with Maddox would force us to slow down and take things more slowly. Our typical trips consist of cramming as much as we can in a day to optimize our sightseeing time. This time, we marked a few must sees, then just kept our schedule fairly light.

Arriving in London

Paddington Station

We chose to stay right near Hyde Park. It was a short walk to Paddington Station and we could get to anywhere in the city with the London Underground.

Maddox enjoying the ride in the carrier

The Swan Pub

The Swan by Hyde Park

We came across this great pub right around the corner from our hotel. It was still pretty early in the morning, so we just grabbed a quick morning pint and some eggs benedict for breakfast.

Hyde Park

Since we were staying nearby, Hyde park is the obvious place to start after our quick breakfast. We first stumbled upon the Italian Gardens.

Italian Gardens in Hyde Park

Maddox loved the swings

Kensington Palace

A short walk to the west side of Hyde Park lands us at Kensington Palace. The Sunken Garden there was gorgeous and there are plenty of spots to sit and enjoy the great weather.

Kensington Palace

Kensington Palace

The Sunken Garden

Kensington Palace - Sunken Garden

Duke of Kendal Pub

We ended the day at the Duke of Kendal pub. We got some typical fish and chips and huge portion of sea bass for Maddox.

Sea Bass

Fish and Chips

We took the first day pretty easy mainly so we can adjust to the time change. Definitely have to make sure our 10 month old gets enough nap time throughout the day to avoid grumpiness.