summer with a 14 yr old son

I would suggest some cities with lots of activities- London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Prague, Rome, Venice, Florence, Vienna and Salzburg come to mind. They all have much to offer.

You need to put a bit more effort into your own research. We know nothing about your family's interests, budget etc.

If your son is like most of the 14 year-olds I know, he's better on the internet than you are. Why not let him do some of the planning? It will get him excited, and together you can work out a plan that includes sights, places and activities that are interesting to him.

P.S. If you are planning to go this summer, get cracking! Cheap train/plane tickets are on sale already - the longer you wait, the more expensive they'll be. Hotels are getting booked up as we write.

Ask him. When I took two boys to Europe (15 and 12) I asked them what they wanted to see? "Castles," they both replied. "Ruins or restored castles?" I asked. "Ruins."

A six week itinerary boiled down to four syllables, that's boys for you.

Along the way they also enjoyed museums (and psuedo museums) related to medieval armor, punishments and plagues.

My kids are all pretty picky eaters. I'm committed to eating local. In Netherlands, they were happy with anything pancake related. In Germany and Austria, they did well with different wursts. You can't go wrong with chocolate. Italy was ideal, they happily existed on nothing but pizza and gelato.