5 kids, 4 weeks, where to?

You don't want a van while in Rome, or some other cities I can think of (like Paris).You're flying into Paris and are "even contemplating a short stay in Paris." I think you should do it, you've got the time and it's one of the great cities of Europe.

With a family , I would stay first 4-5 days in Paris, get over jet lag, rent an apartment, see sites and do a daytrips( Versailles maybe?),, then hop in rental van,, drive to somewhere else, i]spend a week or two there, and so on and so on. I am not a fan of moving along every two or three days,, especially with younger kids.., they will make and keep memories longer if they actually get to stay a bit in a place. I know some people like to rush about and collect places they have "done" but I think it takes at least a week in any country to get a proper taste.

As for where to go,, that is not something anyone can really answer for you and your family.. What do you all enjoy,, canoeing in the Dordogne sounds fun to me,, seeing Mont St Michel,, swimming in the Med. , touring the ruins in Rome?

I personally think kids should see Paris and Rome, ( hey even a 5 year old can find the history of the Coliseum fasinating) and most kids learn all about the French revolution,, I think history is great for kids, so a mix of history and physical fun trips sounds like a good mix to me.

I don't know how you would set up your dates, but we did a combo of rental van (4 kids for us) until we went to Berlin, then we switched to train. We left the car in Nuremberg, but if I had to do it again, I would have dropped it off in Berlin instead. The train was kind-of pricey and stressful with the kids and luggage (and we were light but with 4/5 kids, it's not ever really really light). I would try to find the right combination of car and train to maximize both.

Hello J.R. , I think everyone in your family can have a good time in Europe. But a family of seven people (including a child, age 5) travelling in Europe is not as easy as two young adult persons travelling in Europe. I suggest : rent an apartment for one week in each country. Rent a van (the biggest van that you can find) for one week, in each country. Go on day trips from each destination. You do not need to travel in a wide area in each country that you will be in. I suggest : be at Paris 5 days, and be at one other region in France, and one region in Italy (Tuscany ?), and Salzburg in Austria. I was at Salzburg five nights. I could have enjoyed being there longer than that, going on day trips (to the lake Wolfgangsee in the Salzkamergut, and the Danube river, ...). When you decide on three countries to go to, tell us what the three countries are, and some people here can give you some specific information and advice. If you decide to spend most of your Europe time doing Greek island hopping, I could talk about that. Teenage kids love the Greek islands.

I'd definitely recommend getting self-catering apartments wherever you're going. That being said, doing that will definitely determine your plans. In France (and Italy, too, I think), most places rent by the week, Saturday-Saturday, except for in Paris, where you can rent by the day. In Austria, you can find daily rates.

If you're going for that long. Lease a van rather than rent. If you pick up or drop off in France, you will save extra charges. We took three kids for four weeks, leased a seven passenger car that we picked up in A'dam and dropped off in Rome. Even with the pick up and drop off charges it was way cheaper than renting.

Our route was (roughly) A'dam, Koln, Rhine, Romantic Road, Fussen, Munich, Salzburg, Hall in Tyrol, Verona, Venice, Modena, CT, Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano, Siena, Florence, Orvieto and Rome.