15 days in London & Paris with 9-year old twins - one other destination?

Hopefully someone with more castle experience than I have can offer up some specifics, but you definitely don't need to go over to Heidelberg and it doesn't fit really well on this trip unless you're somehow flying into Frankfurt.

Your girls are the perfect age for castles and manor houses etc. We did a Scotland trip when my daughter was 11 and she loved all the houses, with their lavish rooms, gardens and mazes.

I don't know if you're planning on driving or taking the train, but one area to consider is York, 2 hours by train from London. There are lots of castles and large houses in the surrounding area and York has The York Castle Museum, which I imagine your girls will love.

Or head into the Loire Valley to see chateaux for a few days from Paris.

I, too, would suggest keeping to the two general locations. There are plenty of beautiful castles and scenery nearby to both London and Paris. I would be tempted to suggest a train ride to Scotland for castles and scenery.

I would suggest a few days in Kent /Sussex seeing Bodiam Castle (a proper ruin) or Leeds Castle or Hever Castle. Or several of these.

Gorgeous countryside, historic towns and easy access to/from London. Walk on the south downs, visit Lewes or Brighton or Rye. Plenty to keep all ages occupied for days!

A trip to London years ago ( which didn't include Paris) included taking the train up to Edinburgh for a few days, then returning by train to London, stopping in York for a couple of days. Now you can take a quick Virgin Air or flybe flight to Edinburgh.

West of London is Bath (with ancient Roman baths) or the Cotswolds.

Another option in France, north of Paris, is Normandy, with countryside, the Bayeux Tapestry (in Bayeux), and D-Day beaches on the coast. Or just northeast of Paris, the Champagne region, with rolling hills and lots of grapes. Every little village there seems to have a World War I monument and/or cemetery.

Two easy suggestions are - the Cotswolds in the English countryside, (but it is better done with a car driving on the opposite side) and the Loire Valley- an easy train ride from Paris to St. Pierre de corps for one hour then rent a car from there. The car rental is just outside the the train station. I think with two girls the Loire Valley would be perfect. Talk about castles!!! Do a google search and just see the castles (chateaux) in that area.

You can PM me if you would are interested in a great B & B in the Loire Valley and I also have a great info for a cottage in the Cotswolds.

In the interest of not losing any more time going from one place to another than necessary, consider staying close to London or Paris. The Cotswolds are great for the countryside aspect, and the Loire Valley has plenty castles. Perhaps you can get the twins to really open up about what they would be most enthusiastic about and plan from there. They'll enjoy the trip much more if they are involved in the planning.

Two words: Paris Disney. The kids will go nuts and it's a great reward for slogging through museums that mean nothing to them. Also, the Natural History museum in Paris has lots of great dinosaurs skeletons they might like.

Are the girls Harry Potter fans? 2hour train ride from London to Durham, England. Wonderful town known for its university and Cathedral. Durham Cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage site and was home to the Hogwarts in the Philosophers Stone and the Chamber of Secrets. If you are fans of the BBC's Inspector George Gently series it's where the season six cliffhanger finale was filmed. The adjacent Durham Castle is a treasure as well. The town itself is lovely as is the countryside surrounding it. Or while in London enjoy Hampstead Heath, Regents Park, Battersea Park, Mudchute Farm. Lastly take the underground to Uxbridge then a short bus ride into the Colne Valley regional park. It's huge. 43 acres.

Take the kids to Warwick Castle.

If you want to see countryside, a chateau, and entertain your kids at the same time, then maybe a day trip out to Chateau de Thoiry is in order? The family has collected animals for several hundred years and it has morphed into a very beautiful little zoo! They even have a drive-through lion safari. My favorite part of the zoo is a very thick plexiglass tunnel that goes through the lion enclosure in the main part of the zoo. The lions sit on it and against it and you can get right up to them! Feeding time is especially fun.
There is a large play structure for a break during the day.
You can visit the chateau, drive through safari park, and the zoo - we took our son when he was your twins' age and he loved it!
You would need to rent a car but it is well worth the trouble. It's just west of Paris.