Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Man, this is a tough crowd. Nowhere in Europe is nice anymore except for the countrysides? Costa Rica is ruined? C'mon.

I really think any of the major cities would be great for a first trip, any of which you can couple with something outside the city if you want. Paris, London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Rome, Geneva, Madrid - throw a dart and take your pick. You'll be fine. (From someone that has been to almost every European country)

This would be my approach as well. 4 or 5 days in each (city and countryside) is perfect. When we have done this type of trip, the balance in environments is good for everyone

I'm struggling with the countryside part of it. WHERE in the countryside? That's like saying visit DC and some other town and then ending up in like Rockville. Or what are some resources for finding this "countryside" area outside of major cities?

There are plenty of options, it really depends on what city you want to go to. Because of the trains serving most major cities in Europe, you can get out to the countryside very easily by train and then rent a car if you need to. A few summers ago we went to Paris and then took the train 3.5 hours to Annecy, near Geneva. Rented a car there for our time and did tons of things around the lake - swimming, boats, biking, hiking in the mountains,etc. Then drove 45 minutes to the Geneva airport and flew home from there.

I'd figure out which city you think would work best for your family. Post it here and can tell you a good nearby outdoors-oriented option.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Man, this is a tough crowd. Nowhere in Europe is nice anymore except for the countrysides? Costa Rica is ruined? C'mon.

I really think any of the major cities would be great for a first trip, any of which you can couple with something outside the city if you want. Paris, London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Rome, Geneva, Madrid - throw a dart and take your pick. You'll be fine. (From someone that has been to almost every European country)

This would be my approach as well. 4 or 5 days in each (city and countryside) is perfect. When we have done this type of trip, the balance in environments is good for everyone

I'm struggling with the countryside part of it. WHERE in the countryside? That's like saying visit DC and some other town and then ending up in like Rockville. Or what are some resources for finding this "countryside" area outside of major cities?

Anonymous wrote:Man, this is a tough crowd. Nowhere in Europe is nice anymore except for the countrysides? Costa Rica is ruined? C'mon.

I really think any of the major cities would be great for a first trip, any of which you can couple with something outside the city if you want. Paris, London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Rome, Geneva, Madrid - throw a dart and take your pick. You'll be fine. (From someone that has been to almost every European country)

This would be my approach as well. 4 or 5 days in each (city and countryside) is perfect. When we have done this type of trip, the balance in environments is good for everyone

Man, this is a tough crowd. Nowhere in Europe is nice anymore except for the countrysides? Costa Rica is ruined? C'mon.

I really think any of the major cities would be great for a first trip, any of which you can couple with something outside the city if you want. Paris, London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Rome, Geneva, Madrid - throw a dart and take your pick. You'll be fine. (From someone that has been to almost every European country)

I agree with avoiding major cities. I would also avoid areas that are likely to be super hot.

Northern Spain is an excellent region for this kind of thing, where you can see interesting things and also enjoy nature including the ocean.

E.g.:

https://www.rusticaltravel.com/blog/family-holidays-cantabria

https://onetinyleap.com/san-sebastian-with-kids-family/

https://wagonersabroad.com/visit-galicia-spain/

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/27/travel/basque-country-spain-family-travel.html?unlocked_article_code=asoBWzIot_XB_w8zEmtLDyyrMGW15Xq67m25nW4CYoFw549le7qQ833jd9NawvqLXsxP6M3N-dsC5zfxy7qYGrNjPhZYwZVKbbrow8RUjiKK0xEFAtHtiFXw3dG5EKjwpcbyTQ3QfHyatK9NIJXOzQ48BHBt4GMXZd5FpQ5skxMpdUkesZgZYJPN0N502kQCFNgjDkQujMdflQcQ3JgVQKaEuu_-HIguer92ET3__OxgSy8u7iE6t8dx0PkGANpZsuCyT3FxSaA4WuW470JjS8B16zrwZo_betoiXmua-eyvl3X_FWAiAqA1qefFhjRELyOLz1HZp4mVCoKrgVh6MGUHENbcbz42QC8u&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Anonymous wrote:Costa Rica or the Galapagos!

Might as well do Disneyland at this point. Especially when it comes to Costa Rica. It’s been ruined by tourism. Nothing authentic about it anymore.

Anonymous wrote:Having been to every European country, I can honestly tell you that the best of Europe is not in the cities, especially these days.

+1

Why out of two pages of responses, there are only one or two that actually answer the question?

OP, my suggestions for those ages (mine are slightly younger but liked the following):

Bruges
Paris/Nice
Switzerland - i.e., Lucerne, La Gruyere district, Gstaad, Montreux
London
Lisbon
Dubrovnik
Edinburgh
Ireland - Glendalough, Kilkenny, Rock of Cashel, Killarney

Anonymous wrote:Costa Rica or Iceland now, Europe when they are older

Ah yes, the DCUM trail. So predictable….

If you want rain all summer, go to Scotland. Otherwise I'd choose Tuscany.

Anonymous wrote:Having been to every European country, I can honestly tell you that the best of Europe is not in the cities, especially these days.

So what other areas would be good?

DS is 10 but he loves museums and really enjoys just wandering around cities. Places he's loved in Europe are:

London (probably not the best if no interest in museums and history). We did day trips to smaller areas as well.
Valencia
Paris
Munich
Greece (all over)
We did a farm stay in Tuscany but I've read the Dolomites have some great farm stays as well.

I wonder if your kids would prefer places like Costa Rica, Patagonia, or similar now though. Or possibly Japan.

Here’s what we did last year with very similar (11 and 14) ages with 8 days on the ground:

- Munich - combo of adult-ish sightseeing plus kid stuff: palace on outskirts of city, main square & city hall lookout tower, bit of the Deutsches Museum (kids picked areas of interest and we just did those wings), top 3 main churches (short visits) + surfer wave and floating in the river in the city, biergarden with good playground, scootering around city some

- Legoland (day trip from Munich)

- Berchtesgaden base - nature & culture focused: Koenigsee boat ride & hike around Obersee, walk through deep gorge, thermal bath, ”mtn coaster”, tour of salt mine

- Salzburg - shopping & traditional sight seeing: toured the big fortress, walked around the old town area and shopped / got treats, popped into two of the churches briefly

- Munich airport area: huge waterpark

We “saw” way less than how I tour when I am solo but had a really good time and saw the traditional top top highlights in each spot. What we missed are any of the next tier and of course spending more time at things. Half day for “traditional” stuff was my rule of thumb as a max for a day.

Costa Rica or Iceland now, Europe when they are older

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think kids become a better match for Europe as they get older so I would do other things until then. I don't see the point of going to Europe and then doing a farm stay when you could do a farm stay in the US. I do have a great farm to recommend in MT though!

They are 13 and 10. How much older do you want them? Do it now before they lose interest in everything but their phones.

High schoolers and college students may be more interested in restaurants, shopping and museums (or at least I was in high school). My kids are the same age as OPs and we went to Alaska. I feel like we are taking advantage of a closing window to do outdoorsy stuff with our kids like hike, kayak, build campfires, and fish.