Europe itinerary from Paris?

How about a tour of chateaus of the Loire Valley? Taking the Eurostar to London & the city sights-- like Tower of London, London Eye, etc. I think both of the options would be enjoyable for young people.

We took a train from Munich to Paris last year. It's about 6 1/2 hours. So that is a possibility. Even to Stuttgart. Also, we traveled, briefly, through Normandy and into Brittany. Tons of history in Normandy. We could have stayed for weeks! With a total of 9 days after Paris, I'd stay in France. There is so much to see, so many small villages, so much history. We took the train to Caen from Paris and rented a car. Drove to Bayeux, then down towards Mont St. Michelle, then Dinan, then to Rennes and took the train back to Paris. It was only 3 days with 2 young kids but we could have spent weeks in that region. Good luck!!

So it looks like you're giving Paris four days or so, including the jet-lagged first day, then you're not sure where else to go, except not London, for the next eight days, including the day you'll have to get back to Paris to make your return flight.

I'd spend that whole time in France, since you're already there and your overall time in Europe is so limited. As suggested, a few days in the Loire Valley would be one option. Normandy would be another, Burgundy another. All are a short distance from Paris, minimizing the time you'll spend getting to and from. I'd pick one of those regions, or perhaps Lyon, for the non-Paris part of your trip. And many people would say you could spend the whole time in Paris, with a couple of day trips elsewhere, and not run out of things to see and do.

If you prefer country-hopping, I guess you need to give us a little more info about your interests, budget, and such. You've seen a few places where the cruise ship stopped, presumably for part of a day each, but otherwise the whole continent is open to you. My only suggestion is not to try to do to much in less than two weeks. Remember that moving from place to place will take the best part of a day, even if you fly (pack, check out, get to airport, check in, security, board, fly, disembark, get bags if necessary, get to city, check in, unpack, multiplied by five people), and will cost you.

I would definitely recommend Normandy where your children can see the area of the D-Day invasion and "live" some history. Basing out of Bayeux you could visit the museums in Caen and Arromanches, visit the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach and check out some of the gun emplacements on the coast or at Pointe du Hoc. It's a great area in which to drive and you could even visit Mont St. Michel. If you want to feel Germanic, visit Alsace - Strasbourg and Colmar, in particular. With a party of 5, I wouldn't want to spend too much time in airports.

I will just address the practical aspects. If you are flying out on the 9th, you need to be near the airport (CDG?) on the night of the 8th. If your flight is in the morning you'll probably have to stay in Paris that night. If you have an afternoon flight, you might get away with staying somewhere else. Remember that you should plan to arrive at the airport 3 hours before departure and allow enough time to finish packing, check out, and get to the airport (rush hour traffic?) in time. That leaves 7 nights.

If you rent a car, you'll need one large enough for 3 people to sit in the back comfortably since you'll have long hours of driving. You'll also need a car large enough to hold all your luggage out of sight when you park for stops along the way. Unless you're all good at packing light, the luggage can be a bigger problem than the seat space. Taking trains or planes means getting to/from stations/airports which eats up time. Consider that every time you change location, you use up hours and hours, and you can only move as fast as the slowest person in your group (will everyone pack up quickly, not dawdle over breakfast). On a 2-week trip, you'll need to do laundry. Are you all going to wash things out in the sink at night? Or are you going to need to do laundry once or more? Put in time for that, or budget for expensive laundry service.

So 7 nights gives you at best 6 full days in one other location. Be practical and realistic in your planning is all I'm saying

Just to address the laundry issue - your hotel can point you to a "laverie" (coin-operated laundry), or you can Google the one closest to your hotel.
There are big machines, which are not expensive, and sell soap and softener designed for the machines and water in France.

I agree that it will take much longer to change locations than you think it will. And there is plenty to do in France - Google the regions of Alsace, Bourgogne, Normandie, Loire valley, just for starters.

If you're interested in short day trips, there are many which take only about an hour or two by train from Paris:
http://www.rearviewmirror.tv/the-complete-list-of-day-trips-from-paris/

You could hop on a plane in Paris and skip off to somewhere else, but then you have to get back again, and this is just too much with 3 kids in 12 days. Look at a few easy options from Paris, and get your kids involved. They are old enough to play a part in the decision making process. Looking at 5 nights outside Paris you could do ...
#1 Normandy & Loire Valley
#2 Alsace & Burgundy
#3 Amsterdam & Belgium
Have each of your children research an option and then pitch it to the family. Take a vote (preferably without an electoral college), then get back to us. Simple.

I recommend London. It's an easy train ride from Paris and if you've never been than its a must! If you want to do more country hopping you can add a trip to Amsterdam and/or Brussels.

The Thalys train between Paris and Amsterdam takes only 3h 17m each way between the city centers. But it's expensive if not booked ahead (as is the Eurostar to London, taking 2h 17m). Reserved tickets are available 4 months out, to Amsterdam from $42 per person through our US agent or €35 at www.thalys.com, no refund or exchange. Stopping in Brussels or other city en-route requires a separate ticket.

I like the Amsterdam and Belgium idea. If it's the first trip for the kids, it's a great opportunity for them to get a taste of different countries. Bruge is a truly fairytale town with swans and canal rides and more Belgian chocolate than you can imagine. (Easy to do great family bike rides near Bruges too I believe.)

Bruge can also be swarming with tourists, but you might be lucky in early June. Some prefer Ghent as it's less touristy (but not quite as quaint). Amsterdam could be an interesting way to have some of those necessary conversations with your teens. I always talked with my teens about how Europe does it differently when it comes to sex and drugs. I would've loved to have them see for themselves. Unfortunately, we only made it there after they were off to college.

We were just on a similar trip mostly in Paris, we did a day trip to Normandy and our kids thought it was the best day of the trip. We also went to Belgium and left to home from Brussels. The train trip is easy and going to Ghent and Bruges was different than Paris. On a previous trip we have been to Amsterdam which is also different and an easy train ride from Belgium. If you are into country hopping this might be a good plan if these places interest you.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I am thinking that in addition to Paris, we will visit Normandy/Mont St Michel and then head up to Bruges, Belgium. That may leave a couple pile of days to see the Loire Valley or Amsterdam.

Based on your own choices:

Take a train to Brugges on the 1st and spend a few days. Then take the train to Lille (in France) and rent a car. From there it will depend on what your Normandy priorities are. Rouen is worth half a day, especially if you spend any time on Monet while in Paris. Honfleur, on the coast, makes a great overnight. There's actually quite a lot to see in Normandy.

Assuming that the D-Day beaches are a priority, you should settle in to Bayeux for a few nights. It's a lovely town and a good base for visiting the beaches. From there, drive to Mont St. Michel for a night, leaving the next morning for Rennes, where you will return the car and take the train back to Paris.

You could reverse the order, but this way the return train ride to Paris is a little shorter.

Given that you are probably restricted to your last night being in Paris for your departure flight.

Either,
Paris - 3 nights
Normandy - 2 nights
Mont St Michel - 1 night
Loire Valley - 3 nights
Bruges, Belgium - 2 nights
Paris - 1 night

Or,
Paris - 3 nights
Normandy - 2 nights
Mont St Michel - 1 night
Bruges, Belgium - 2 nights
Amsterdam - 3 nights
Paris - 1 night