Italy with Babies: Why Italians Are the World's Best Hosts

The Italian Relationship with Children

In Australia, we have a complicated relationship with children in public spaces. There's always a slight anxiety about whether your child is being too loud, too messy, too present. Italy has none of that. In Italy, your baby is a gift. Strangers will stop you in the street to admire them. Waiters will take them from your arms so you can eat with two hands. Nonnas will pinch their cheeks and tell you they're beautiful and mean it with every cell in their body. It is the most welcoming culture for families I have ever experienced, and it makes travelling with young children genuinely easy.

First spaghetti. The look on her face said everything.

Eating in Rome with Babies and Toddlers

Rome is a city built for wandering, and wandering with a pram is genuinely doable if you choose your cobblestones carefully. Our favourite approach is to pick a neighbourhood — Trastevere, Prati, Pigneto — and just walk until you find somewhere that looks good. In Italy, this strategy never fails. The food is extraordinary almost everywhere. For families, look for trattorias rather than tourist-facing restaurants — the ones with handwritten menus and no photos on the walls. They will seat you, they will bring bread immediately, and they will find something for your children to eat even if it's not on the menu. The pasta in Rome is in a category of its own. Cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana — these are not dishes, they are religious experiences.

Left: grilled fish on Lake Garda — the freshest meal of our trip. Right: Amalfi lemons the size of your head.

Lake Garda — The Underrated Family Gem

If Rome is the headline, Lake Garda is the secret. It's Italy's largest lake, ringed by medieval villages, lemon groves, and olive trees, with the Alps rising behind it. The water is clean and swimmable. The towns — Sirmione, Malcesine, Riva del Garda — are genuinely beautiful and completely manageable with a pram. The food around Lake Garda is extraordinary — fresh lake fish, local olive oil, the best lemon granita you will ever eat. We stayed in Sirmione and spent our days eating grilled fish by the water, drinking local wine while the baby slept in the pram, and feeling like the luckiest people alive. Lake Garda with a baby is, I would argue, one of the finest travel experiences available to a human being.

Lake Garda in bloom — the kind of moment that makes you want to move to Italy permanently.

Venice with a Baby — Yes, Really

Everyone told us not to do Venice with a baby. Too many bridges, too many stairs, too much chaos. They were wrong. Venice with a baby is extraordinary. Yes, the bridges are a workout with a pram — you'll quickly learn to fold it and carry it, or invest in a baby carrier for the day. But the reward is a city that feels completely unlike anywhere else on earth. The canals, the light, the complete absence of cars — it's a sensory experience unlike anything else. We sat at a canal-side bar with an Aperol Spritz while our baby watched the gondolas go past and we thought: this is the most Italian moment we have ever had. The kiwi gelato from a gelateria near the Rialto Bridge is still the best gelato I've ever eaten.

Left: Aperol Spritz by the canal — the most Italian moment of our lives. Right: kiwi gelato near the Rialto — still the best gelato I've ever eaten.

Practical Notes for Italy with Young Families

Italy is genuinely family-friendly but there are a few things worth knowing. Cobblestones are everywhere — a carrier or a robust all-terrain pram is essential. Most restaurants don't open for dinner until 7:30pm at the earliest, which is challenging with small children — book early sittings or eat at local bars where the hours are more flexible. The heat in July and August is intense — we'd recommend visiting in May, June, or September for the best combination of weather and manageable crowds. Italian pharmacies (farmacias) are excellent and well-stocked — if you need anything for the baby, they'll sort you out. And finally: say yes to every gelato. Every single one. You're in Italy.