First time travel to Europe...Swiss OR London &Paris OR Swiss & Paris?

Having been to London, Paris and Switzerland last year I think your plans might be a bit much - time wise. How are you traveling in Switzerland?? We rented a car and could go further and quicker than a train. Paris - we spent 10 days and still didn't see it all. In the time you have I would choose either Paris and London or just Switzerland. Can't speak for what kids would like. Paris/London are more doable overall. Switzerland is terrific (been 3 times) but getting around to a lot of places can be a challenge without a rental car (very expensive) and train travel, while great in CH, takes more time and knowledge of their train system (passes might be a way to go). You have chosen some great places but you must understand travelling in Europe is not like in the US. The countryside of CH doesn't guarantee English speaking citizens either - are you familiar with German or French (depends where in CH you go). Also, do you prefer big cities or the countryside - very big differences in where you'd like to go. Happy travels.

August is going to be very crowded, as well as hot, and your pace is likely to be dictated by crowds and the adaptability and energy level of your children. Given those factors, and the limited time you have available, I would recommend picking one city and making day trips from there. Both London and Paris offer the types of activities you mention and many opportunities for day trips, as well as parks where kids can work off some energy.

Since it's your first trip to Europe, London might be good since it presents no language barrier, and it's a wonderful city where you can easily spend two weeks.

If you decide on Paris, you could do Versailles as a day trip. However, if you go to Normandy, I would suggest you stay at least one or two nights in the area rather than trying it as day trip. Doing it as a day trip, particularly with children in tow, you're likely to spend most of that day in transit and dealing with logistics, meals, bathroom breaks, etc.

I think all of these choices are feasible, except no Normandy or Loire in 3-1/2 days that also includes Paris. Of course, you know your family.

The Swiss-Paris plan does entail a long train ride.

Thanks all for the input, greatly appreciated. Since the train system is so good, we would like to leverage that so we plan to use train mostly as our means of transport. BTW, I dropped the idea of doing swiss and paris so it's either london-paris or only swiss. I don't speak german nor french so it's going to be difficult but we want to see swiss because of what we heard from people purely..especially want to experience glacier express, mountain train ride etc
August is the month which works out for me so that's the only time we can afford to visit. I would love to see Eiffel tower, chateaux, Disneyland Paris (for kids - is it worth going that far to visit disneyland :) ?) etc...

Hopefully, i will make a decision soon on which one to go....:)

We just spent five days in London, leaving yesterday for Scotland. While London Simone of our very favorite places in the world ( we have been many times) we found it very crowded this time, to the point it was difficult to walk around unless one walked through the parks. It would have been very difficult to manage with children. I cannot imagine taking the tube with small children in tow. We ( four adults) became separated several times by the crowds in the tube stops.

If you have ten to twelve days it is very doable to visit both Paris and Switzerland. Fly into Paris and out from Zurich or Geneva. Spend three nights in Paris and then take the train to Switzerland. It is only five hours to Lucerne, and if I recall correctly about the same to Montreux on Lac Leman ( Lake Geneva). Both are very pretty small cities on a lake, with swimming, boat rides, and nice car-free walking paths. Spend two nights and then head for the mountains of the Berner Oberland. Mürren or Wengen would be a good choice with children. Both are car-free villages and very child-friendly. Mürren has the added attraction of arrival by cablecar. You can take the train up the Jungfraujoch for your "peak experience" and enjoy snow play in August and views of peaks and a huge glacier. And take the kids to Grindelwald for a day to ride the summer luge (young one with a parent) and maybe the First Flyer zip line for the older child. ( I did not check on the minimum age so this may not work).

Yes, Switzerland is expensive, but no more so than London.

Your children will travel for FREE on Swiss trains and boats with a Family card which you can request with any type of Swiss card or pass. See the information under Railpasses here.

Skip the Glacier Express which is out of your way and ( in my opinion) over-rated. It is a long train ride with no better scenery than you will see on other routes. The Golden Pass route would be a logical choice for you. It connects Luzern with interlaken ( your gateway to the Berner Oberland) and Interlaken with Montreux ( close to the Geneva airport) so you can travel across Switzerland during your 8-9 days there without backtracking at all.

I should add that English is widely spoken by many people in the tourist industry in the Swiss places I mentioned. Also by the train personnel. You will have no trouble, even if you do not speak German or French.

Thanks Lola, for providing very good information.

We have decided to do only Switzerland this time for 12 days. Here is the itinerary that we are inclined to:
http://www.swisstours.com/Holidays/HolidaysDetails.aspx?PkgID=25&cntry=US
(click on the itinerary tab) I think it's reasonable (expensive? not sure) but do let me know if you guys know anything similar that gives cheaper than above price. SwissTours is affiliated to swiss airlines hence thinking this is a safer bet to go with...

Thank you all and will consider all of your suggestions when we visit Paris in our next trip.