The original post: /r/travel by /u/JumpyFuel7256 on 2024-12-26 16:18:08.

Every other Christmas holiday we take my mother-in-law on a bit of a mini-break somewhere in Europe (she lives in England). It’s only been until the last few destinations that we have realized that she is a a picky eater (though she claims that she isn’t). She prefers bland and basic foods and isn’t comfortable trying new dishes.

So, the hubs and I want to start choosing more “touristy” destinations so that we can make sure there are enough food options for her - stuff like pizza and basic meat dishes and such. So far she has been to Edinburgh, Dublin, London, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Lille, Brussels, and Antwerp. We tried to do Rome last year but couldn’t find a good flight so instead had her fly to Zurich and we picked her up and drove to Turin. This last spot totally solidified the error of our ways. We were looking forward to some food experiences, but instead spent a lot of time looking for restaurants that served basic pasta or meat dish. Basic being the operative word here…

For example, in Chinatown in London she said yes to Chinese food but then no because she only eats one dish (which wasn’t on the menu but I asked super nicely if they could make it and then tipped big). No biggie, for the next time we sent her the menus of the restaurants we booked so she approved them, so it was less difficult (once there she was sceptical again, but was convinced to try something and she enjoyed it!). This has become the issue, we have to coax her to try something new and sometimes she agrees, but not always. We would like to not have to have this conversation anymore on any trip.

We have not intentionally been picking super big cities, it just worked out that way. She’s been to a lot of Spain, so that’s lower on our list but not ruled out. We are just looking for places that are not too difficult to get too.

What are some other EU cities we can take her that will definitely have lots of touristy food options? We would rather go somewhere and eat hamburgers than her struggle to find something. For ourselves, we generally tack on a few days before and after so we can do things we want, so we aren’t worried about missing out. We just want her to enjoy herself and for none of us to worry about food. We’ve realized it’s the cultural experience that should be the focus, since she does have an interest in new places, just not the food of these new places 😂.

We were thinking Munich or Prague? I haven’t been to either since before the euro. We thought Germany and their many potato and pork dishes would work (in addition to other touristy options)? We’d rather not do cities we have both been two a bunch, like Berlin or Paris. She’s very active and sporty, so no size too big or small!

Note: For those about to suggest we just cook for ourselves, we do eat in sometimes but don’t want to have to do that the entire time, hence the desire for touristy spots with food for the tourists! The hubs and I are extensive travelers, so we want these trips to be for her, in whichever way that happens to look.

Thanks for any ideas!

Please try not to suggest us we change the MIL. I’m just looking for suggestions for places to go, not for feedback on how she needs to get over it and try new foods. She’s a lovely lady and we want her to experience as much as we can offer her in a way that works for her. She doesn’t like new foods, fine with us. We just want to spend time with her 😍

EDIT: Pub burgers are fine, not fast food. We are looking cities with restaurants that would have good options, local and also not so local… 🙃.

Thanks to those who gave legit suggestions - so many great options, I really appreciate it 😀. It has given us much food for thought.

For those of you who didn’t bother reading the brief or just gave your rando opinion bc it’s reddit, I bet you’re all a joy to either work with or interact with on a daily basis 😂😂.