hi!
My sister and I are going with our parents (in their 80's) to Europe for 10-14 days. We are ending with a full week in Paris. One of our parents just had knee surgery, but should be fine to walk by then although rigorous hikes would be difficult. We are trying to decide where to spend the first week - at most 2 locations, and we all prefer smaller towns to big cities. Our preferred countries would be Italy, Northern Germany, or Spain to start in. My parents want beautiful views and slow, easy pace to enjoy but access to fun things to see - pretty towns, architecture, etc.
We will be going home from Paris, but do not need to start in Paris - we would prefer to use the train or local transport to avoid renting a car. I looked at the TGV routes, and it looks like we could fly in to Milan or Turin; Barcelona, Cologne, or Frankfurt, stay in the area for 3 days, travel to another town by train and stay there for 3 days, then go on to Paris. Thoughts about which would be easiest routes to manage without a car, with elderly parents, and best areas to experience?
Itinerary ideas we have thought of 1)- Barcelona, Avignon/Aix en Provence/or Vienne then Paris:
2) Milan or Turin area (are there pretty small towns around here that would be fun places to stay?), then modane/chambery/or vienne before Paris;
3) Cologne, Brussels/or Calais then Paris
4) flying in to Stuttgart or Frankfurt stay in Strasbourg/Colmar, to Nancy then Paris
I am looking for ideas of towns to stay in (planning to AirBnB) that we can get to from the airport without a car, then can get around to see sights, and then after a few days get back on train to go to the next location.
Thank you! Christina in NC