Hi, Amy, wow, that will be a great experience for your whole family but especially your kids!
A lot depends on what your interests are and so on, but earlier this year I took two of my grandkids, a boy age 15 and a girl age 11, and we went to London and Paris for 2 weeks. We flew into London and stayed there, then took the Eurostar over to Paris for the remaining time and flew home from Paris. We booked a multi city flight, which made it a lot easier and also saved on time, as we didn’t have to go back to London after Paris to catch a flight. I would suggest that you look into doing that no matter where you go.
Both of my grandson kids loved the trip and especially loved all the sites in both cities. They had been Harry Potter fans and even though it had been awhile since they read the books, they absolutely loved the Warner Brothers Harry Potter tour north of London.
I also took them on a tour of Tottenham Spurs Stadium, which they really enjoyed as they both play soccer. They really enjoyed seeing Hampton Court Palace and Buckingham Palace. And of course we saw most of the major sites in both places, including taking an evening sunset cruise along the Seine River in Paris to see the Eiffel Tower lit up.
But I also involved them in the planning. I gave them a guidebook and told them to look through and see what interested them. My 11 year year-old granddaughter surprised me, because she decided that she really wanted to see one of the illusion museums in London and they both had a fantastic time there. It’s something I would never have thought to visit.
But I definitely would involve them in figuring out what they want to see. Tell them to go to YouTube and look up videos or look in guidebooks and see what looks interesting. It took some persuading for them to do this, but I think they were glad that they had some say in the process.
I would also not overdo it. I would say two destinations in 10 days is more than enough. My vote would be for London and Paris. You mentioned not caring much for London over 25 years ago but tastes can change. I went to Paris when I was younger and wasn’t thrilled with it. But this time (30 years later), it was absolutely wonderful. Plus keep in mind that if this trip is for your kids, it’s not going to be your likes and dislikes that matter, it’s going to be theirs.
So while you may not care for London, they would probably be enthralled. Interestingly, the things they enjoyed the most were being able to go out on their own and get take away food from nearby vendors, going out for a morning croissant, and riding the double-decker buses in London. They both thought that was wonderful and loved looking down on all the sites around them. They loved the Tower of London. And they loved the food. There are so many different kinds of restaurants and food available in London, and the kids loved every place we went to.
One last thing. Mr. E is correct—London is easy and so is Paris. You could probably get a nonstop flight to London and from Paris, I would imagine. For a first time trip, I think it would be helpful to start in London with no language differences, get the kids used to that, then take the Eurostar (which is a fun experience in itself) to Paris, where they will get a taste of another culture and place. There are plenty of castles in and around London, and you could always take a day trip to Versailles from Paris.
Regardless, no matter what you do or where you go, I’m sure it will be a wonderful trip!