Travel with children

Anywhere can be "best", depending on your interests. Even though they are used to traveling, though, you need to consider a few things for a foreign trip. First, are they picky about food, or are they willing to try new things (or at least accept things that aren't exactly what they wanted)? My sister took my nephew to France when he was three and they ended up eating an inordinate number of meals at Pizza Hut and McDonald's because that's all they could get him to eat. He wasn't like that at home, but he was freaked out by the language difference, apparently, and wanted something familiar. And on our first trip to Ireland, my 10 year old niece pitched a fit because they only had 7-Up, not the Sprite that she requested. If they are flexible about food, it helps.

Second, make sure to stop for playgrounds and parks. Sometimes they just need to run around, and kids have a remarkable ability to make "friends" with local kids even if they can't communicate with language. They will be much happier with a mixed itinerary of activities and downtime.

When travelling with children there are a few considerations that are different from travelling as an adult couple. The distination itself is not necessarily a concern. From my experience this points have been important for our kids:

• Don't move around too much, no one-night-stands in any given place if at all possible. We try to do one full week in one place and a couple of others on a two-week-vacation. It's easier to rent an appartment as a base for a longer period and take daytrips from there.

• Big cities are interesting but can be very tiring for kids. Our first trip to France skipped Paris but we had a wonderful time in Brittany and Normandy.

• Include some beach time or if the season doesn't allow for it maybe find a public swimming pool (European hotels don't offer pools as a norm).

• Be prepared to take the occasional afternoon just as quiet time in your hotel/appartment. Read some, play some cards with them.

Boys or girls?? Our sons loved museums with machines, cars, trains, guns, swords,knights, etc. Not big on art museums. Both always want to go to lego land in Denmark. Never made it. Liked boat and canal rides. They like things they could see, touch, and climb on. Have no idea what girls would like. But the advice about going slow and don't push them is very good. We found that they have no sense of time or pace if they found something that they really liked.

At 10 and 12 I did not like Paris much,, I preferred the country side,, but now I love Paris,, so I agree with poster who mentioned most kids do not like big cities too much. I DID enjoy the Eiffel Tower and boat ride on Seine,,and a private tour my grandmother had arranged for me at Louvre,, but other then that,, I preferred the beaches of Normandy,, the countryside etc..

Also noted,, gender of kids and when is trip planned.? Kids like beaches and countryside, but not in winter so much!

I agree with the post about setting up a home base. Renting an apartment or a cottage is often cheaper, gives you more room to spread out, often has washer/dryer, and gives you the option of having dinner at "home" instead of eating out. After a day of sightseeing, having a leisurely dinner out with kids is usually not that leisurely, especially in Europe, where they don't bring you the check until you ask for it.

Playgrounds and parks are great, especially if they've spent time that day in museums or in a tour group going through a castle. Ice cream breaks in the afternoon are a must.

I'm a big fan of staying in farmhouses in Germany and Austria. The kids like the animals, and there's usually other families and kids there, so they can make new friends and have someone else to play with besides each other. I've also found that pretty much every town in Germany and Austria, no matter how small, has a playground.

Our girls were 5 and 7 on their first trip to the UK. They had a fantastic time. We spent several days in London, we visited all the sights, Buckingham Palace, St. Pauls Catheral, Westminster Abbey, Kennsington Palace, Hyde Park, Kensingston Gardens, St James Park, to name a few. While London we used the tube most of the time and would let the girls look and the tube map and tell us which platform we didn't to go to and then when it was time to get off. We also gave the girls inexpensive cameras and let them take any picture that they wanted. We told them a little about each place we were going to see. After a few days we took the train out of London and picked up a car and droved around England for two weeks. No fussing at all. We stayed in B&B's every night and they loved it. One night we stayed at a farm B&B and the owner's son took the girls with him to feed the baby pigs...they loved it, stayed at a pub to. We also gave the girls a little spending money everyday and let them pick out what they wanted. We had watched the show All Creatures Great and Small so when we went to Yorkshire we drove around to areas that we had seen on the show. On the opening scene of the show they drive thru a "watersplash" so when we got to it after driving thru it, we pulled over and let the girls walk in it they had a ball. They also met James Wight (James Herriot)and then got several letters from him. They loved going to Windsor and seeing Queen Mary's doll house. Walking to Eton and crossing over the Thames and feeding the swans. They are dog lovers so of course they always would talk to all the dogs and their owners. One day they decided to count all the dogs we saw that day...we saw over 100 dogs. Going to the UK would get choice since the language is the same and he food isn't that much didn't. If they like chicken, pork chops etc., they would do great and they have great pizza there at Pizza Express. Just a little bit of what we did on the girls first trip, hope it helps.

As long as your children are open to each day being a new "adventure" you can do almost anything and go almost anywhere. We have taken our 13, 11 and 6 year olds to many different countries, urban and rural, driving and train, long and short stays.

It's good to look for city parks in urban areas and not to OD on museums, but I wouldn't make any other concessions just for children. Make them love what you love. Don't make them the focus of the trip. Make the trip be the focus. Ice cream works wonders.

I would make it a point to balance urban vs rural destinations and avoid short stays. The longer in one place the better. Also, avoid being crammed in a car for too many hours. Short drives are ok, but for longer trips, a train or even a bus is better. That way they can fidgit without bothering anyone. They may even sleep.

Look into weekly cottage rentals whenever possible. That is the best situation for families both psychologically and financially.

I have to second Robin's nomination of the UK. We took our kids there several times (daughter started at age 11 and son several years later when he was 9 and she was 18. Windsor and the Tower of London were big hits- as were Covent Garden and Camden Lock markets. Scotland was a hit, too. The kids loved tracing our family connections there as well as the scenery. Austria is also a good place. (Our family LOVES the Sound of Music, so that made Salzburg extra special). Ireland- not so much for some reason. The camera tip is excellent- ours loved taking their own pics. The main thing is to plan to rest! Don't push too hard and allow flex time so that when they want to "stop and smell the roses" or talk to dogs, or stare at a beautiful waterfall - they can. Also if they are bored, be ready to move on, even if you want to spend more time.

Hi Shirley. I think : children, ages 6 and 8, like to see things of nature, such as fish and birds and flowers and trees. (Edit): And, there are some human - made things in Europe that Children like. In Paris : Children like the Science museum Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie. Its "inventorium" is for kids. Located in Parc de La Villette (north Paris). And, children like to climb through an old broken castle. For children, I think it is best to go to a castle that does not require being in a group of 20 people with a guide. Scotland has old broken castles.

Ron- Scotland has SOME "old, broken" castles. Others are "complete"- check out Elliean Donnan for example! BTW- my children enjoyed the old, broken ones just as much!

Oh, that's funny. We were in Ireland this summer, when we went to Bunratty, my kids said "finally! A castle that's not broken!"

I disagree with a lot here! We don't go to Europe to see trees and birds and wildlife ... we can stay here in the US and see that. Also, our family likes to move around a bit 2 or 3 nights in a town is perfect for us. We like to wander around cities, peek into churches, art museums aren't a big thing but we love historically significant sites - chapel in a canal house in Amsterdam, Anne Frank's House, Omaha Beach, astronomical clock in Prague - he loved that. I do know that my kid has liked the smaller cities like Haarlem and Krakow best. We have enjoyed hiring a private guide to take us on a walk in a few cities and that has been great to have someone show our family places we would have not discovered on our own. We did a night highlights tour at the Louvre which was lots of fun for him as there were other kids there.

For kids first trip to Europe I usually recommend either UK or Italy. UK is great because, of course, they can speak the language. There is also the familiarity with Children's Literature from Harry Potter to Alice in Wonderland to King Arthur - pretty cool to see where those "people". And my kids have always much preferred the broken castles to the completed ones because usually they could run around, touch the walls, etc.

Italy is also so great for families - all the things that adults like, kids like too - the Colesseum is fabulous for anyone - and there is the advantage of familiar food for young kids. My son ate "pasta bianco" almost everyday on our first trip to Italy.

A few random thoughts: Children of that age typically enjoy ruins that allow them to explore at their own pace over visiting intact structures with an organized tour group (e.g. Rheinfels over Burg Eltz) and museums of antiquity more than those focusing on paintings (e.g. British Museum over Madrid’s Prado). They like to see famous landmarks that they’re familiar with already, such as Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower. Luge rides in Bavaria or Austria are a hit with kids. They appreciate adventures, such as touring a salt mine. They love gelato and ice cream breaks. They’ll like boat rides in Paris or along the Rhein. They may actually enjoy the gardens at Versailles much more than the chateau itself. They’ll like age-appropriate Medieval and torture-related things (Tower of London or the Medieval Crime & Torture Museum in Rothenburg odT. They like smaller towns over huge cities. And, of course, every kid enjoys amusement parks, such as Tivoli Gardens. My point is that selecting a destination is important, but it may not be as important as the activities you do once you're there. This is just scratching the surface. Have a great trip!

Thanks to all who replied to my question as to the best European destinations for our 6 and 8 yr old girls. Merry Christmas and happy travels.