Looking for itinerary ideas with young children

You're not going to like this, but have you considered the Grandma/Grandpa option? A 2 YO is hard to work with. When our kids were that age, we went to Europe without them. It was our time.

How about pairing Paris with a week in the mountains of Switzerland? Kids love the trains and lifts. You could pass a week in the Lauterbrunnen Valley/ Jungfrau Region and enjoy trains, walks, dramatic lifts, a day trip to Bern, and so on. You might want to read Rick’s guidebook about this area, but we have spent several one week trips there and are going back again this year. Get an apartment for extra space and savings. PM if you need a recommendation.

We took our two year old to Ireland last summer and it was even better than I could have imagined. We did have grandparents with us (we were there for a family wedding) but we all had a great time. We rented a car and brought a car seat with us. We stayed in Dublin, Doolin, Dingle, and Kilkenny. My son still talked about the trip and asks when we can go back. Good luck!

Paul, thanks for your willingness to contribute but if I was looking for opinions on whether we should take the kids, that is the question I would have posed.

Laurel, thank you so much for the idea. Switzerland wasn’t even an option that had crossed my mind, but the mountains would be an excellent contrast to a big city like Paris. Do you have any suggestions about what towns could be good home bases? Would you say it is easy to get around without a car? I will have to start doing some reading to see what we think.

Meg, thanks for suggesting Ireland. That is definitely on our overall list of places to visit and if we decide to scrap the “no car” idea it would be a strong contender. Glad to hear you had a great experience with a 2 year old!

I think you are making things harder on yourselves by foregoing a rental car. Renting a carseat along with it is simple. If you did this, you could take the train to Normandy, rent a car in Caen, and visit the cemetary, Mt. St. Michel, Bayeux tapestry (which the 6 year old might be able to handle but the two year old might not), and others. The kids could run around the cemetery, play at Omaha beach, explore the monastery (go in the evening when the crowds are thin, so they can have more freedom), walk in the mud flats surrounding MSM, and so on. You could even maybe add a little of Brittany if you gave that region a whole week. Return the car, train back to Paris, and fly home...
Another tip, if you can find rentals with a pool, its great way for the kids to et off steam at the end of the day and for mom and dad to sit and chill out after a day of kid wrangling. I travel with older kids, but water of any kind (stream, beach, pool...) is always on my radar as this always helps break up the site-seeing that mom and dad are making them do ;)

Paris will be warm and it will be crowded - and quite frankly given the age of your children, most of what Paris has to offer will be of no interest to them. However, as you said that this is an anniversary trip, that may not be an issue. The upside is that you definitely won't want/need a car and the public transportation is excellent and a small, collapsible stroller is probably all you would need.

Brittany/Normandy would be a good choice - but you will definitely want a car so that you can do small day trips from a home base.

Ireland would be my personal recommendation. Not too hot and not as crowded with an overall "slower pace" that would work well for young children. Kilkenny for example would make a fine base - lots of day trip possibilities and things that may be of more interest to your children. Dublin and Waterford could be done as day trips via the train and other day trips may be viable via bus.
As to whether or not to rent a car, that really depends on what you want to do/see.

Northern Italy would also be a good choice - an agriturismo would be lovely with plenty to interest the kids. If doing that however, you more than likely will want/need a car.
Like all things associated with travel, there are always trade offs!!

Switzerland is made for getting around by public transportation. A car is ill-advised.

Read up here https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles but also get Rick’s book on SW. We love Lauterbrunnen as it makes a good base to travel to both sides of the valley as well as get to the lakes or even a day trip to Bern or Luzern. The Berner Oberland Regional Pass makes transport a breeze as it includes most buses, trains, and lifts in a large area. See https://www.regionalpass-berneroberland.ch/assets/pass-and-infos/geltungsbereich/Geltungsbereich2018.pdf for the area of validity.

Take a train for Paris to to Lauterbrunnen via Basel, a route with 2 easy changes. (The Pass kicks in at Bern, so you would actually buy a ticket to Bern and the pass and just stay on the same train.)

Nancy’s agriturismo idea is a good one but you would need a car. One week with a car in Tuscany then a week in Switzerland via public trans could be a nice mix.

Or you can go to the Italian Dolomites without a car. We love the Val Gardena and have never needed a car there. Fewer trains than the Lauterbrunnen area, though. More buses and still lots of fun lifts.

For Switzerland, have a look at the apartment operated by Chalet Fontana in the car free village of Murren. the kids would have a wonderful time there. Lucerne is also beautiful. The kids would really enjoy the transportation museum.

Also have a look at London or Ghent, Belgium for your second week.

Im not saying Budapest would be the best choice, but if it does come up on your radar I can give you ideas for things you and the 6 year old would enjoy and where the 2 year old would be in place.

Train not car. We took our first trip when our smallest was 10 months and oldest 7 years, then a year later when our youngest was 22 months and oldest 8 years. We used a backpack carrier, Osprey Poco Plus, lots of room for the small one to move around but not get out. It sits upright by itself, so when the baby falls asleep, you can just sit her down and it is a high chair. We travelled by trains and loved it. Our girls could get up and walk up and down the train to stretch legs and move around VERY VERY important. Don't forget a bathroom and the end of the train car. No need to pull over for a diaper change. Umbrella strollers with small from wheels get stuck and dig down in soft gravel. Your most important sites need to be visited in the morning, both will be cranky in the afternoon. We would stay centrally located and go have a nap time everyday. You will see half of what you expect and think you will visit. I would recommend Lauterbrunnen Valley with Paris. We spent a week there and loved. Get a small apartment. We stayed in La Viola in Wengen and loved it. In Italy, kids are rockstars! For more info let me know.

How about combining London with Paris? London is more suitable for the young children than Paris in my opinion and the transport options are excellent, use the Eurostar to travel between the two, central London to central Paris with ease.

Don't worry about their ages, we took our 3 and 5 year olds to New York with absolutely no problems.

Thank you all for you thoughtful replies, you have given us a lot to think about.

I am intrigued by the Laterbrunnen Valley option paired with Paris, but I have to admit I am a bit shocked by how expensive the regional rail pass is, though I guess I shouldn’t be given Switzerland’s reputation as expensive. We could rent a car and car seats elsewhere for significantly less.

We will have to look more closely at some of the car-based options like Brittany/Normandy to pair with Paris, Ireland, and Italy.

Nancy, what did you mean by your suggestion of Northern Italy; the Dolomites, Lake Como area, or something else?

Nancy and JC, why do you say that you don’t think Paris is a great choice for kids? I had done some reading (for example: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/kids-london-and-paris) and thought it sounded like it had good options for kids, but perhaps I am missing something.

Northern Italy has a lot of beautiful countryside and small towns which I think would be an easier and more relaxing trip with more of interest to young children.

As for Paris, given the age of your children, I don't recommend it - and I've spent a great deal of time in that city as it is a personal favorite. What Paris offers is history, art, food, beautiful architecture, music, shopping. Given the age of your children, none of those activities are of remote interest to them. In 4 or 5 years, absolutely, but at their ages, no.

I think the question you need to ask yourself is why choose Paris as a destination? If you are interested in experiencing life as a Parisien, then it may be a very good choice. Rent an apartment, visit the markets in the morning, have a picnic lunch, go the park in the afternoon - take a bit of rest and then have a nice relaxing dinner at the apartment. That would work beautifully for your children. But, If the goal however, is to see all that Paris offers - the Louvre, the d'Orsay, Notre Dame, the catacombs, lovely restaurants and leisurely stops at the many cafes - then I think you need to be honest with yourself - the amount of time you will be able to engage in those activities will be limited - and in the case of leisurely restaurants meals probably non existent! But if given those limitations, the trip would still be enjoyable for your family then start looking at airfares!

Agrotourismo would be my suggestion. In 2011, we stayed in a ski lodge in Austria S of Salzburg near Altenmarkt. The farm we were on had chickens, sheep, and other animals. My children (21, 21, 24) loved it. They enjoyed the animals a lot. Plus it's relaxing and there are pleasant inexpensive restaurants in the area. We went to the Eisreisenwelt (Ice caves) and a local castle which had falconry demonstrations. I think with young kids something like that might be great. A car is necessary however, and with kids, cars are better.

Nancy and JC, why do you say that you don’t think Paris is a great choice for kids?

I wrote that London is more suitable for young children than Paris not that Paris isn't a great choice for kids however I feel that Nancy's reply summarises it quite well.

Whilst I would never advocate denying your children an experience of Paris I just feel that London offers so much more for children, particularly those whose first language is English. If I ask my children for their preference London wins hands down every time. My kids rate Berlin and Budapest above Paris although anywhere with a water park gets their vote!

Another option would be London and Amsterdam, certainly a choice I'd opt for if I was to take my children.

Nancy, thanks for the breakdown of your thoughts on Paris. JC, sorry for misunderstanding what you were saying about Paris. Paul, thank you for your suggestions.

With everybody’s great ideas we’ve decided not to stick strictly to a no-car itinerary, and are now thinking heavily about Ireland or Italy. Does anybody have any thoughts about going to Portugal with young kids?

Go to Amazon and search with "Europe with kids". Lots of book ideas there.

I'd pair a week in Paris with a week in Amsterdam or Utrecht in the Netherlands. You can train between the cities. The Netherlands is so easy to spend a week with no car - particularly cities like Amsterdam and Rotterdam which have a great network of trams and some subway lines and bus lines. As for in the city itself, it's fairly compact so easy to walk around - or if you are feeling a little adventerous and if you research, I'm sure you can even look at renting one of the bikes that has the cart in the front that the locals stick their young children in. If you wanted to add a 3rd base, you could also look at Belgium (Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp or Brussels), but I really don't think you'd be at a loss for what to do in the Netherlands for a week as it's super easy to use the commuter trains to get between many of the other cities and towns.

Here are some family ideas in Budapest
https://welovebudapest.com/en/toplists/11-of-the-best-places-to-take-children-in-budapest/
http://www.zoobudapest.com/en
https://www.gyermekvasut.hu/english_eng/
https://www.fnc.hu/eng/
https://www.mupa.hu/en/program/family-and-youth-events/palace-of-delights-xxl-children-s-day-2018-05-27_10-00-blue-hall
https://budapestbabszinhaz.hu/history-of-the-theater/?lang=en
http://visegrad.bobozas.hu/en
https://www.mujegpalya.hu/en

I am a mom of four and we took our kids on many vacations. I do not regret it in the least. We had so many great trips and experiences. We made memories and the kids learned about our country, the world, the ocean, etc., and became savvy travelers. That said, I really think with the age of your children, you need to be shooting for something that provides mostly outdoor activities. Like mountains in Switzerland, or Ireland or Scotland or a beach location? I think someone mentioned Brittany which I think is a great idea, too, and would work well with Paris. For the most part, I would avoid museums, except for a museum that would hit on a specific interest of the child(ren)--dinosaurs, trains, monet paintings, etc. Maybe you learn a bit about Monet before you go so you can tie that into the places you go. The Orangerie is small and magnificent, I think very doable with children, and after they can enjoy the tuileries. I think small children would love Giverny as long as it wasn't too crowded, perhaps right away in the morning or in the later afternoon. All my kids really enjoyed the book, "Linea in Monet's Garden". It might be fun for them to have their own copy to bring along if you do go to Paris.