Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are European cities really that great with kids ages 9 and 7? I think of these museum-heavy destinations with a lot of summer crowds and think it wouldn't be my kids favorite.

If you are an outdoorsy family, Switzerland/Southern Germany/northern Italy is so great. The infrastructure there is just different and much more kid-friendly. We hiked a trail in the Dolomites that had playgrounds sprinkled throughout: https://outdoorfamiliesonline.com/exploring-italys-alpine-playgrounds-family-adventure-dolomites/

We've also had an extended stay in Munich with little kids and found the biergartens (many with playgrounds) really fun with kids.

The Lake Garda region in Italy is also great for kids. Garda Land (theme park) along with lots of old castle ruins.

Yeah I'm not sure about this either. If you are only going to do 1-2 European trips with them, maybe it's better to wait til they're a bit older and can enjoy more museums and historical stuff. But then again a lot of the more off the beaten path/outdoorsy type stuff and theme parks people have listed in this thread sounds pretty fun for kids!

NP but I would lean towards a less city-heavy itinerary for this first trip and then do the big cities with the museums for trip #2 when they’re a bit older.

Anonymous wrote:Are European cities really that great with kids ages 9 and 7? I think of these museum-heavy destinations with a lot of summer crowds and think it wouldn't be my kids favorite.

If you are an outdoorsy family, Switzerland/Southern Germany/northern Italy is so great. The infrastructure there is just different and much more kid-friendly. We hiked a trail in the Dolomites that had playgrounds sprinkled throughout: https://outdoorfamiliesonline.com/exploring-italys-alpine-playgrounds-family-adventure-dolomites/

We've also had an extended stay in Munich with little kids and found the biergartens (many with playgrounds) really fun with kids.

The Lake Garda region in Italy is also great for kids. Garda Land (theme park) along with lots of old castle ruins.

Yeah I'm not sure about this either. If you are only going to do 1-2 European trips with them, maybe it's better to wait til they're a bit older and can enjoy more museums and historical stuff. But then again a lot of the more off the beaten path/outdoorsy type stuff and theme parks people have listed in this thread sounds pretty fun for kids!

My kids are similar ages and they like it best when we do a combo of city and nature.

I'd seriously consider Spain. Madrid, Barcelona, and Costa del Sol. Add in Cordoba or Toledo.

I would do London, Paris and Bayeux for the history and beaches and its so lovely there and you can stay at a big housr and bike around.

Are European cities really that great with kids ages 9 and 7? I think of these museum-heavy destinations with a lot of summer crowds and think it wouldn't be my kids favorite.

If you are an outdoorsy family, Switzerland/Southern Germany/northern Italy is so great. The infrastructure there is just different and much more kid-friendly. We hiked a trail in the Dolomites that had playgrounds sprinkled throughout: https://outdoorfamiliesonline.com/exploring-italys-alpine-playgrounds-family-adventure-dolomites/

We've also had an extended stay in Munich with little kids and found the biergartens (many with playgrounds) really fun with kids.

The Lake Garda region in Italy is also great for kids. Garda Land (theme park) along with lots of old castle ruins.

Anonymous wrote:Fly to London stay 4 days
Take train to Paris stay 4 days
Take train Paris to Amsterdam stay 4 days
Fly home

This is a decent suggestion but I would substitute Amsterdam out for somewhere like Berlin or Hamburg. Amsterdam is very much a city for adults it isn't particularly kid friendly. It's not impossible, just not geared towards them or their entertainment.

Equally you could get a ferry from the UK across to Denmark and drive yourselves around.

1-2 week trips we have done were:

London/Paris/Disneyland Paris
Italy: Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, Sorrento
Copenhagen/Amsterdam

For a first time trip, I definitely recommend London/Paris. We had so much fun, and it's a relatively easy trip with kids.

I would do central Switzerland (Lucerne area). It’s so clean and beautiful and kid friendly. So many things to do. One day you could hang out at the swimming pool/man made beach for a relax day. Another day you can go to one of the many mountains in the Swiss Alps and ride a bobsled built into the mountain. Another day you can take a boat ride on the beautiful lake and explore the city of Lucerne. They have a fabulous transportation museum that kids your ages would love! Switzerland is safe and has amazing food and a great mix of relax and sight seeing.

I’d do London, Paris and one other location you can train to in France (and then pick up a rental car to explore) for some lower-key exploration. Big cities can start to get repetitive after awhile.

+Strasbourg and Alsace
+Aix-en-Provence and the Luberon
+Lyon and Annecy
+Loire Valley and Chateaus

Another option would be to just do Spain and do Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Granada and then some time at the beach.

Immediate PP here, suggesting these since you said only taking 2 trips to Europe total with kids. So definitively London and Paris. I like the suggestion of others to add a “country side” to balance with the cities - you could also incorporate via day trips from the city. If you want to add only one more city, then Rome for sure.

London to Paris, Barcelona, Rome.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Europe is a big place OP. You have to help us here. What countries interest you? Where have you been before?

I know that’s why I want the best places to go w kids those ages

I’ve been to: Sweden (all over), Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, Venice, Florence, Prague & other areas of CZ, Vienna, London, krakow, Ireland. But this was all in my teens and 20s before I was thinking about traveling w kids.

I was thinking London would be easy w kids. Maybe also Copenhagen and Amsterdam.

Well for a first time trip, some combo of London, Edinburgh, Paris, etc would work. Personally I wouldn’t waste time with Copenhagen or Lisbon, even though they are for some reason always mentioned here. Honestly I wouldn’t do the cities at all, but smaller towns in England and France, which would be far more authentic, but requires more careful planning and rental cars.

Mostly agree with this. I would aim for one or two countries only, and max 3 different places you stay, so around 4-5 days in each place. Shorter than that and it feels like you are constantly running around. I would do one of those stops in a big city, and the other 2 in smaller towns or beach or mountains, etc. Make sure the logistics between places is easy- a single train ride, or an easy flight. We did a trip where we went to a beach town near Barcelona, then to the French Alps, then train to Paris to end the trip. Mixing up the environments like that worked really well.

Both London and Paris are really great for kids. They have the best playgrounds! I would just do those two cities.

Anonymous wrote:If you are going to France and want to take a break from the cities, we took the train from Paris to St Cyr Sur Mer. From our vacation rental, we could walk to town of Les Lecques (a lovely beach town full of french families but not many americans/tourists), the farmers market as well as a water park that my kids loved (it was very affordable and the concessions served lovely wine and baguettes). We were traveling with another family and kids ages were 1, 5, 7, 9 and it worked for all.

Sounds wonderful! Thanks

If you are going to France and want to take a break from the cities, we took the train from Paris to St Cyr Sur Mer. From our vacation rental, we could walk to town of Les Lecques (a lovely beach town full of french families but not many americans/tourists), the farmers market as well as a water park that my kids loved (it was very affordable and the concessions served lovely wine and baguettes). We were traveling with another family and kids ages were 1, 5, 7, 9 and it worked for all.