Home base for summer in Europe with little kids?

[Anonymous]

DH is being put on a Europe-based project for work this summer. He will only have to physically be in Sweden, London, and Germany once each for 3 days, but it will be much easier if he is in the general time zone. Where in Europe would you pick as a home base for 2.5 months this summer with kids ages 3 and 6?

[Anonymous]

I thought about doing this with my kids when they were younger (more like 5 and 7) but the pandemic thwarted it.
If I were you I’d look into Berlin. You’re going to need playgrounds and they’ve got some really amazing “adventure playgrounds” you could use on a regular basis. Plus it’s a good hub for heading to other locations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH is being put on a Europe-based project for work this summer. He will only have to physically be in Sweden, London, and Germany once each for 3 days, but it will be much easier if he is in the general time zone. Where in Europe would you pick as a home base for 2.5 months this summer with kids ages 3 and 6?

TBH I'd look at Ryanair and Easyjet websites and see which cities have direct flights to the three locations he needs to visit. Europe isn't that big, imho.

A summer in Annecy (or one of the surrounding towns) would be great. Geneva airport isn't that far. Doesn't get insanely hot in the mountains.

[Anonymous]

Partial to the south of France. Something to consider is it gets really really hot and AC is uncommon so being near a beach is nice.
Or, south of Spain (Malaga, Barcelona if you want a main city)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Partial to the south of France. Something to consider is it gets really really hot and AC is uncommon so being near a beach is nice.
Or, south of Spain (Malaga, Barcelona if you want a main city)

TBH, you need to be staying at the beach to make "South of France" worth the discomfort. Getting to the beach is a nightmare in the summer - tons of tourists, little parking, tiny clogged roads, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Partial to the south of France. Something to consider is it gets really really hot and AC is uncommon so being near a beach is nice.
Or, south of Spain (Malaga, Barcelona if you want a main city)

TBH, you need to be staying at the beach to make "South of France" worth the discomfort. Getting to the beach is a nightmare in the summer - tons of tourists, little parking, tiny clogged roads, etc.

I spend every summer in the south of France and I don’t agree with this. You need a house with a pool. But that said, I don’t think south of France is the best choice because it’s not the best for kids. I don’t know Germany well, but Austria has lots of kid-friendly activities and it is easy to get to other places from there by car, train or plane. Sweden is lovely and actually great in the summer as not too hot, but it is very expensive. The UK has lots for kids to do but is a bit further from everywhere else in Europe and the weather is unpredictable and often bad. But the language will be a plus.

[Anonymous]

Munich could be great! Fun city with kids and convenient transportation connections (either by plane or train — check out Austria and northern Italy).

[Anonymous]

I’d do Germany but not Berlin, closer to Frankfurt, towards the borders of France / Netherlands choose a small town with great biking, lake for swimming, and easy train access and you’re set. Also, UK and Sweden since DH is going to be there anyway for parts of his work trips.

Another nice option is Vienna in Austria.

I’d also look into Netherlands, everyone speaks English well, so easy to spend time and great connectivity, great biking and sightseeing.

Of course you could also rent a house on the beach on the Mediterranean either in Spain, France and base yourself there, if you enjoy swimming and beach life.

It really depends on what type of summer vacation you want to have with the kids (weather, activities, etc). The flights are easy and relatively cheap in Europe, so your DH can easily travel from most countries to Germany, Sweden or UK.

[Anonymous]

Southern Sweden — rent a lake house. Easy train to Copenhagen, prices are reasonable and nature is amazing. And it’s not sweltering hot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d do Germany but not Berlin, closer to Frankfurt, towards the borders of France / Netherlands choose a small town with great biking, lake for swimming, and easy train access and you’re set. Also, UK and Sweden since DH is going to be there anyway for parts of his work trips.

Another nice option is Vienna in Austria.

I’d also look into Netherlands, everyone speaks English well, so easy to spend time and great connectivity, great biking and sightseeing.

Of course you could also rent a house on the beach on the Mediterranean either in Spain, France and base yourself there, if you enjoy swimming and beach life.

It really depends on what type of summer vacation you want to have with the kids (weather, activities, etc). The flights are easy and relatively cheap in Europe, so your DH can easily travel from most countries to Germany, Sweden or UK.

The area near Frankfurt is so humid and stale in the summer. Went to Frankfurt multiple times in July for work over the past decade and it's just as humid as DC, but with no breeze! It's actually pretty gross tbh.

[Anonymous]

Torekov in Sweden is lovely but not SO much to do.

[Anonymous]

Outskirts of copenhagen - its beautiful, kid friendly, and not too hot

[Anonymous]

Stockholm archipelago summer house

[Anonymous]

Is it comped or do you need to be budget conscious? I wanted to do it but could not justify the expense of even a cheaper city/country because we still have the same bills at home for the most part. I was considering Greece, Prague, etc.

[Anonymous]

Sweden ofcourse. Big country, not too crowded. You can take day trips to Baltics and other Scandinavian countries.