Young family travel to Europe - Destination Suggestions

I would love to help but that is an impossible question. Europe is a big area with lots of countries and towns. How would you answer the question if a European asked the same question about the US? Start with reading books and watching travel DVD from your local library.

If a European asked about the US the answer would be simple; any place in Texas.

More info would help. Do you have only a week in Europe? Do you want a place where language is not a barrier? Is this your first trip to Europe? First trip with kids? What time of year are you going?

Look at Belgium for easy travel, lots for kids to do, there's chocolate, waffles (and beer for mom & dad), great food. Language would not be a problem, either.

MS MN,

I agree with the others - more information would really be helpful. What prompted this desire to visit Europe, and are there any countries you're especially interested in seeing?

Take a look at some trip reports at Bavaria Ben's site - www.bensbauernhof.com
Germany s a great place - Bavaria, Black Forest, Rhine. Stay in an apartment (fewo). Good savings for families.

Get an apartment in Paris. There are endless things to do and the city is very visitor and kid friendly. You can walk or take the metro and many activities are free for children. When I take my kids to Paris we usually eat breakfast at the apartment or pick up something from a bakery, eat lunch out while we are sightseeing, then pick up something at a bakery or grocery store for dinner and eat at the apartment again. This may horrify some people who think dining out is what Paris is all about but it works well with children. You can have a late afternoon snack while you are out (crepes, ice cream, croissants) and eat a late dinner and put everyone to bed so they can refuel for the next day. If you want to take a day trip to the country you will be closest to transportation in Paris. I assume since you asked such an open question you wanted opinion and that is my suggestion.

And if you do pick Paris, it's perfectly okay to say, yes, you're going to spend a day at Disneyland Paris. Yes, kids can have a great time at museums, historical sites, and public parks, but nothing wrong with a day spent at Disney, Legoland, Tivoli Gardens, etc.

Speaking of the last two, Denmark might be a good option for a family with kids under ten.

Who would be stupid enough to recommend Texas???? Paris doesn't quite match the criteria for a small cities/town.

I can give more details. Sorry. New to the Forum.

We took our family (3 children under the age of 5) to Brugge, Belgium five years ago. It was a perfect place -great apartment close to the city center, walking/stroller distance to many sights and not too large a place that made it a relaxing place to stay.

We would like to find a new place that has similar characterstics - not a large city, a walkable place to sites from an apartment,, good public transportation in western Europe. We are thinking of Rothenburg,, Germany or York, England to see castles for example. But we know our insights are limited and there may be some very special places we should consider but need your help! We are flexible.

Thank You.

MS MN,

i agree, you will need to crack open some guide books or use google (google is your friend) and see what floats your boat.

Just an for your information. So far almost every place ive been, the trains have been great. Europe has a way better train infrastructure than the USA. If not, buses may go there and then taxis or if not rent a car.

depending on what floats your boat, you can end up anywhere and maybe back in the USA. try googling some of your favorite or what interests you all and see what comes up where.

everyone can recommend what they like or have been to, but it could be 180 degrees off of what you all like to do/see.

a personal comment. 1 week isnt alot of time. you realize you will loose 1 full day traveling to Europe?

happy trails.

I am aware Paris isn't a small town. I still think it should be considered. Small towns and countryside are great but it increases the travel time. You only have a week and small children so some place you can fly in and out of direct from US would be a plus. Or some place a short distance from a major airport since airports aren't in the city centers anyway.

Look at Arles, Nimes and Avignon. Interesting smaller cities, good restaurants. If it's this summer you're going, family lodging may be hard to find, however. I've read that public transport is good in/from all of them. All kinds of things to see/do in that area, eg. Roman ruins, Aigues Mortes a 13th century fortified town, flamingoes in the Camargue. Fly into Marseille.

Frank; Paris, Texas is a small town. And Paris, France feels like a small town in a lot of ways.

I still say the question is too broad.

If you liked Bruges for a week, some other places that come to mind:

1. Florence (or Siena if Florence is too big).
2. Venice (or Padova if Venice seems too big).
3. Paris (yes, it's not so small, but it's very walkable, and once you settle in and get to know your local area it can seem like a village in the middle of a big city).
4. Copenhagen (again a bit big, but lots of daytrip possibilities plus Tivoli).
5. Arles or Avignon.

I haven't been to Salzburg, but by all descriptions it also meets your criteria.

Many of the mentioned cities aren't exactly something kids would enjoy. A medieval town with turrets and a town wall, yes, but a Renaissance town like Florence?

Dresden in Germany for example offers a lot for kids. The museums show weapons, medieval armor and treasures, there are steam boats, steam trains and a suspension railway, fortresses, medieval castles, newer castles and palaces, you can do a tour in a rubber boat on the Elbe river or go hiking in Saxon Switzerland (kids love this!), see a village with nothing but Christmas shops, and do day trips to cute towns like Pirna, Meissen, Bautzen or Görlitz, where you can set your foot on Polish soil.

My suggestions (having travelled extensively with kids teens and under) are: Barcelona, Rome, and yes, Paris. All bigger cities, but it depends on what you plan to do that makes it relaxing or hectic. Smaller towns, Lucerne, Stockholm (feels smaller than it is sometimes), or Geneva (again, feels smaller, can get around easily).

If u really only have a week I would choose somewhere I could fly right into, and yes. Paris would be on my list, although I see some other good suggestioms,. I personally would not choose Florence or Venice.

Regarding Harold's mention of Salzburg, you can do a salt mine tour nearby which ends with a very cool ride down a looooong wooden slide, what the miners used to get to work quickly. Not sure if there are any age limitations, but I'll bet it would be a highlight for the kids (and maybe you, too).

Austrian train stations also rent bikes, and you can ride and turn them in at another train station down the road then take the train from there.

Transportation to/from Rothenburg ob der Tauber always requires an "extra" train connection, because it's at the end of it's own spur line. Transportation along the Rhine river runs pretty frequently with a choice of train or boat (e.g., between Koeln and Bacharach in Germany). The French Riviera around Nice also has frequent train and bus service stopping at all the towns. York's a great, kid-friendly city, but a car or guided bus tour (e.g., www.eddiebrowntours.com) would make side-trips easier.

We took our kids to England when they were 8 and 10. They seemed to enjoy everything for the two weeks that we traveled around the country -- from North Scotland south to London. 15 years later, they couldn't remember a thing about the trip.

A difficult question indeed: Europe is a very big place but the central areas of many of the cities are fairly compact and easily walked.

One suggestion I often make for families taking school-age children is to involve them in the planning. Public libraries usually have lots of age-appropriate material which is helpful for engaging their interest in advance and preparing them for the sorts of things they'll be seeing. There is tons of material online as well. Encourage them to choose a couple of attractions they find particularly interesting for the agenda. I'll use Rome just as an example? Small persons may find the Colosseum just fascinating IF they know it's more than just an big pile of rocks? Be prepared to provide some narration as tours and audioguides aren't usually geared to kids.

Larger cities, like Rome, also have playgrounds and whatnot for blowing off some energy when those piles of rocks, crowds, museums and bunches of old buildings become tedious. Villa Borghese is great for smaller persons - with puppet shows, pedal-car rentals, row boats, merry-go-round, a zoo, a playground (at the zoo) etc. It's also a nice spot for a family picnic, and escaping the the masses crowding popular attractions.

And then there's gelato... who doesn't like Italian ice cream!!!

Rome has a reasonably compact center and decent public transit so day trips are easily done from there; the kids will probably enjoy a few train trips. It can be a challenging city for maneuvering a stroller, however: lots of cobblestone, steps and uneven pavements but that's true just about everywhere in Italy.

But another thing to consider is occasionally splitting up your group; one parent stays with little ones needing a nap while the other heads off for a bit of exploring with the older children? Whatever city you choose, flexibility is key to avoiding overtired meltdowns and bored restlessness. Avoid tight itineraries and long days without breaks for rest and a little play!