Where to stay when visiting Europa Park in Germany?

Thanks, James! I will go to the Europa park website and see if I can find any package deals. Are there any other sites you recommend for finding the package deals?

Your boys are just the right age to really enjoy going to one of the Fun Forests. I just checked the Cologne area and there are several, they literally dot the landscape of Germany, so anywhere you go should have one nearby.

Google "hochseilgarten" or "kletterwald" plus Cologne or Aachen, to get the locations near to where you are staying. Kids have to be 10 and 140cm tall.

Jo and James, thank you! I will definitely check into those. I appreciate the information!

"If anyone has suggestions of other things to do/see in this area of Germany or Benelux that are good for families with children in my sons' age range". Sure, here's some. About an hour west of Jullich in the Belgian city of Hasselt, there's an indoor amusement park, Plopsaland, although this may be more appropriate for slightly younger kids. Close by, near Genk, there's an impressive outdoor folk museum, Domein Bokrijk. If you want a truly amazing Sunday brunch, look up La Butte au Bois, which sits near the town of Lanaken.

A little farther away in Brussels, they might enjoy Brupark, which contains Mini Europe (scale models of European landmarks) and a water park. The Musical Instrument might interest them (you get an audioguide that allows you to hear all the instruments). And if they have any passing interest in the world wars, the Royal Military Museum has a huge collection of material from all sides in the two conflicts. The Belgian comics museum is advertised as being kid friendly, but unless they're familiar with Belgian comic strips (Tintin, Smurfs, Lucky Luke, Jommeke, Suske and Wiske, etc.),it probably won't mean anything to them.

PS- I would recommend buying other guidebooks besides Rick Steves. His books barely skim the surface of this region of Europe. Get Lonely Planet, the Rough Guide or DK Eyewitness Travel, as these offer far more extensive coverage, particularly because you're staying in an area that isn't exactly a tourist hot spot.

Lahr (www.lahr.de) is not too far from Europa Park. You can probably find a vacation apartment (Ferien Wohnung) on the website for a resonable price. It will have one or two bedrooms, a sofabed, and a kitchenette.

Tom and Lee - thank you! I will definitely check out your suggestions.

Tom - is the Sunday brunch at La Butte au Bois very expensive? It sounds intriguing!

Thanks!

I was a guest when I ate there, so I couldn't comment on the price, only to note that it probably wasn't cheap. Here's the website, although I couldn't find any information about the brunch:

http://www.labutteauxbois.be/en/#/Welcome/