Looking for a homebase for one month in Europe for a family.

Posted by jill on 09/17/15 11:07 PM

My husband and I are traveling with our 9 year old son to Europe this June/July2016 for about one month. We have never traveled to Europe as a family. We wanted to take advantage of the time our son still thinks we are somewhat cool to do a big trip :) We wanted to do something a bit outside of our comfort zone. We'd like to find a home base and rent a house for a month, and take day/overnight trips from there.

We initially thought about Northern Spain. It's not too hot in the summer and my husband speaks a bit of Spanish. Someone recommended Southern France and assured me you don't need to speak a lot of French to get by.

When looking for a place to rent, we do not want to stay in a city. We like the idea of being further out, yet still have access to a train, the market, restaurants. So not too far away from more touristy areas.

We enjoy hiking, swimming, snorkeling, nature, animals, good food, wine and meeting new people. We are looking for a family friendly area.

Can anyone recommend a city/village/town or area that might work for what we need? We'd appreciate any feedback as we are inexperienced travels.
Thank you!!

Posted by George

Kansas

09/18/15 12:18 AM

1175 posts

We've used www.bandbnormandie.com, just outside Villers-Bocage which in turn is around 12 miles southeast of Bayeux and around 25 miles from the D Day beaches. We had a rental car and used it daily. You can drive to Caen (30 miles) and catch a train into Paris. Drive to Caen, leave the car at the railroad station and take a ferry over to Portsmouth England for an overnight. Drive to Brittany stopping at Mont St. Michel and then having lunch at Cancale on the water front, about 20 miles around the bay from MSM. Even with our phrasebook French we delighted in stopping in small towns and villages, buying local cheeses and wines, and shopping where there were no tourists. All of the French we met were very cordial and oh so helpful. It's easy to use the rail system all over France. Go to www.seat61.com for all you'll need to know about inexpensive train travel -- and ferry travel -- all across Europe.

Posted by Anita

Long Beach, California, USA

09/18/15 12:53 AM

3398 posts

We spent a month in a small village outside of Prague this summer and it was wonderful! We took our 17 year old with us and several times I was wishing he was younger because so many places we visited would have been magical to a younger child! We found the country to be extremely family friendly and inexpensive - individual rolls (of many varieties) in our local bakery ran from 6 cents up to 40 cents for a nice croissant. I could have lived on bread alone!

We had access to Prague for the culture and beautiful sights plus the many castles and small towns that are in the surrounding area. The dollar is extremely strong against the koruna (but that, of course, is not guaranteed to last) and we found the people to be lovely! English is spoken widely among younger people and the infrastructure there is quite good. It's easiest to get around by car since you can drive to an outlying metro station and take the metro into the city center OR drive into the city center and park in a garage attached to a mall or other facility - that's what we ended up doing most of the time. It's also best to have a car to visit the castles and villages since trains don't run out to a lot of those places in the Czech Republic. Several of the castles keep bears in the moat as well as birds of prey or other animals that are traditionally kept. Many of them have areas for kids where they can try their hand at crossbows or bows and arrows and other things kids love.

If you like good food and wine you can eat and drink yourself silly for very little money - I don't think we paid more than about $25 for all three of us to have a very nice meal. Outside of Prague it's even cheaper. 1/2 pint of beer is usually about a dollar.

The Czech Republic is a great place to consider spending some time!

Posted by David in Brisbane

Brisbane, Australia

09/18/15 05:35 AM

7175 posts

I would recommend x3 ten day stays (or even x2 two week stays) just so you don't get immersed in a single culture - mix it up.
1) San Sebastian, Spain - with easy access to France and the Pyrenees. (Girona would work as well)
2) Innsbruck, Austria - with the addition of nearby Germany and Switzerland, you can 'taste' 3 countries.
3) Bologna, Italy - at a rail crossroads with easy access to all of Northern Italy.

Posted by Jon

Cincinnati, OH, USA

09/29/15 11:27 PM

768 posts

I'll add a vote for Bologna. My wife and I used this city as a base for travel to various destinations in Italy and it worked great. Additionally, it is an interesting place to visit in-and-of-itself.

Posted by stapledskittles

10/01/15 11:01 AM

45 posts

That place near Prague sounds amazing!

I'll always vote for the area around Bologna myself as I spent many happy childhood years there.

I also recommend the Adriatic coast, the Marche region. Parties, shopping, seafood, beautiful scenery, things to explore, and most of all, it's pure relaxation. Plus it seems to attract more Italian travelers than the opposite coast and thus provides a different experience, though that is changing. Towns like Civitanova are amazingly fun, as well as the surrounding towns in summer and full of sooo many places to eat and shop. Good train access as well and definitely not he cramped city feel. Porto San Giorgio is an amazing town in the area too with great beaches and hills to hike + food to eat. Summer is a busy time but if you look at the area and like it, message me for hotel recommendations, restaurant, etc!