We’re a family of 4 with two teens. We like to rent apartments in Europe because finding rooms that sleep 4 people in real beds (not sofa beds) is next to impossible. You might have an easier time finding a double room and a triple room. Having 2 bathrooms is important, if we ever want to get out the door! We also like access to laundry and a fridge. I would start looking and bookmarking places that interest you. Plug in dates for this summer and see what’s available.
When renting apartments, beware that a living room with a sofa bed is considered a “bedroom”. And a “bathroom” can be a room with a sink and toilet OR a room with JUST a shower. Or any combination thereof! So if a place says 2 bedroom 2 bath, look very closely at the pictures or you could end up with one actual bedroom, a sofa bed, and one toilet and one shower. With a sink in another room!
I would also recommend checking out the books from the library. Covid isn’t over and it’s impact on local hotel and restaurants isn’t reflected in the most recent books. But you can establish a general idea of what you want to see and do.
We fly from the west coast and generally book about six months out. Fares are ridiculous now, and I’m hoping they drop by our trip next year!
I totally understand working around kids’ schedules. But if there is ANY way you can take the trip in late June, your experience will be VERY different than in July and August. We spent 3 weeks in mid June to early July in various countries in 2018 and noticed a BIG increase in crowds towards the end of June. Many places in Europe shut down completely for August (restaurants, shops) as the owners go on vacation. July and August put you at peak season for foreign AND local tourists, plus some potentially very warm weather in Paris. I would look for an apartment with AC).
If your open to a sofa bed in a hotel, I can recommend the “apartments” at the Hotel Residence des Artes in Paris. They are actually two rooms next to each other: a double room with a queen bed, bathroom and mini fridge: then a room with a huge king bed, separate sitting room with sofa bed, mini fridge, microwave, 2 burner cooktop and microwave, huge bathroom with shower and separate tub. For about $300/nt. If they would add a rollaway bed to the king room, it might be perfect (except no laundry). The location is ideal.
Plan for laundry. Either pay someone to do it, or plan to spend a few hours in a launderette. Don’t plan this for Switzerland - launderettes are hard to find there. If you rent an apartment with a “dryer” it could mean a drying rack, not a machine. And a washing machine in an apartment is generally VERY small, washing one or two peoples daily outfits per load. Don’t underestimate the amount of time you could potentially be doing laundry.
Swiss Rail offers sales on passes each year. (I think it’s in the fall). You’ll want a rail pass to get around the BO, so it’s worth getting an idea which one works best for your plans and watching for sales.
Don’t over fill your days. We found that our teens needed a bit of downtime mid day. We would plan one or two big sights in the morning, try to have lunch someplace with a great view every day, head back to the apartment for an hour or two in the afternoon (throw in a load of laundry!), then head back out for the evening.
