I never understand people undertaking these massive trips on maternity leave. My leave was much different apparently!

I would celebrate by not going to Europe with a newborn. You have lost the plot.

An 8 and 5 yo can miss school

Ask your pediatrician. Your newborn will be on the plane and at the airport with measles increasing.

Have you considered the loony bin? That’s where I’d recommend you go if you’re thinking of traveling to Europe in the summer for vacation with a newborn.

Normandy/brittany? Easy train from Paris. Stay close to Bayeux. Explore beaches and history. Bike around, have some cider and crepes.

Anonymous wrote:You do realize that Europe in the summer is absolutely brutal temperature wise? They are suffering again this summer w/ high high temperatures. A lot of the countries have little to no air conditioning outside of the hotels. I've had a few conferences in the last ten years in France, Spain, England, and the heat was horrible. Go in the other seasons if possible.

Two of the kids are school aged- it's the only time a lot of us have the ability to take a longer trip and not pull the kids from school.

Agreed about the heat, and as a consequence I would stay north or in mountains/beaches/lakes only.

Rent a house in Provence or the Cote d'Azur for a week. Then spend a week in the Cotswolds if you need a second place. I wouldn't do London - it's so crowded and navigating the tourist sites with 2 kids plus a pram would not be easy.

What about Sweden or Norway? Go north and get a spot in a beautiful location. Spend a day or two in the city on your way in or out.

You do realize that Europe in the summer is absolutely brutal temperature wise? They are suffering again this summer w/ high high temperatures. A lot of the countries have little to no air conditioning outside of the hotels. I've had a few conferences in the last ten years in France, Spain, England, and the heat was horrible. Go in the other seasons if possible.

Bavaria and the nearby areas of Austria are really nice and kid friendly. Highly recommend the Zillertal - you’re pretty close to Munich, Salzburg, Innsbruck. There’s some cool things like the Hintertux glacier, you can poke around the Alms, and the community recreation things (which are covered in your tourist card) are really nice. It’s fairly easy to travel in and out of the big centres from there.

I would do 2 placed max with 3 kids those ages. Set yourself up for success and an enjoyable time. Not stress and disappointment.
Italy is very hot and crowded in August so I’d skip that.
Switzerland is lovely. Denmark will be nice weather wise as well.

We loved London with kids. Plenty of side trips too.

Flights in points might be gettable at the last minute but hotels on points will be tough. Especially for 5 people.

Also. I would personally not do a multi stop itinerary with three small children. I would find a nice home rental somewhere you want to hang out the whole time. Or 2 places at most, a week+ an each. But honestly your kids would probably be happiest at a beach resort with a pool.

I fully recognize this is crazy but it’s a big milestone year for our family with a lot to celebrate and we are hoping to make a last minute trip to Europe this August with our kids (8, 5 + newborn).

Any recommendations for places to visit? Europe trips pre kids and when the oldest was young was a mix of beaches, mountains and cities with multiple stops. We generally like multi stop itineraries and would like to plan for 2-3 places.

We have travel points to burn, no real budget in mind and 2-3 weeks to set aside.

We have been considering these but are open to suggestions:

Switzerland
Greece (loved it when we went but harder with kids?
Italy
Denmark
France (countryside + coast preferred).
Belgium
Germany

Please share any ideas you have! Or travel agent/planner recommendations!