Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 18:59     Subject: help me pick a European destination for early September with adult kids
Anonymous wrote:Lisbon will be hot, and it’s rather boring imho.

Have you been to Rome? Venice? Amalfi? Sicily? The mountains and lake districts? Italy has way more to offer beyond Tuscany and Florence (which are lovely but a bit sedate).

Too bad you’ve ruled out connections because Croatia is fun and has everything—including nightlife.

Edinburgh and Glasgow might be a good combo (or Inverness).


OP here. Yes, we have ruled out connections for a 5-day trip. Do you have adult children? I'm guessing you don't.

And yes, my husband and I have traveled extensively in Italy, but my kids haven't beyond what I mentioned. For us, this is not the time to explore more of Italy.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 14:14     Subject: help me pick a European destination for early September with adult kids
Anonymous wrote:Fly into Zurich and train all over Switzerland


This but Geneva instead. Train is in the airport
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 13:46     Subject: help me pick a European destination for early September with adult kids
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all the great suggestions! I will ask the kids about Edinburgh, Copenhagen and Lisbon.

IMO Edinburgh alone is not worth 6 days; you could throw in Glasgow. If they like Viking history, you could take the train to York for a couple of days, too.

I hear Porto is nicer than Lisbon. I've been to the Algarve region, and it wasn't all that.


I’m the poster who said Lisbon is boring and I think Porto is even more boring. It was nice for a day of wine tasting and wandering around, but there was nothing outstanding about it (and the locals are furious that foreigners have snatched up the bulk of their housing for Airbnbs). The food was pretty good and the wine was good, but there wasn’t anything impressive regarding the architecture or sites.

I think a lot of people just go there to drink.

Sure, what places people like is subjective.

I hated Florida, for example, but tons of people seem to go every year. I just don't see the appeal to places like West Palm Beach.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 12:42     Subject: help me pick a European destination for early September with adult kids
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all the great suggestions! I will ask the kids about Edinburgh, Copenhagen and Lisbon.

IMO Edinburgh alone is not worth 6 days; you could throw in Glasgow. If they like Viking history, you could take the train to York for a couple of days, too.

I hear Porto is nicer than Lisbon. I've been to the Algarve region, and it wasn't all that.


I’m the poster who said Lisbon is boring and I think Porto is even more boring. It was nice for a day of wine tasting and wandering around, but there was nothing outstanding about it (and the locals are furious that foreigners have snatched up the bulk of their housing for Airbnbs). The food was pretty good and the wine was good, but there wasn’t anything impressive regarding the architecture or sites.

I think a lot of people just go there to drink.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 12:28     Subject: help me pick a European destination for early September with adult kids
Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all the great suggestions! I will ask the kids about Edinburgh, Copenhagen and Lisbon.

IMO Edinburgh alone is not worth 6 days; you could throw in Glasgow. If they like Viking history, you could take the train to York for a couple of days, too.

I hear Porto is nicer than Lisbon. I've been to the Algarve region, and it wasn't all that.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 12:23     Subject: Re:help me pick a European destination for early September with adult kids
Amsterdam, Bruge, Brussels for museums.
Norway- Oslo, train to Bergen / Flan for outdoor activities , fjords, hiking
Switzerland- hiking
Prague - music, museums
Austria/Vienna - music, museums, hiking
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 12:16     Subject: help me pick a European destination for early September with adult kids
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Amsterdam
Brussels/Bruges/Ghent
Edinburgh
Dublin/Belfast
Munich/Berlin


Thanks for this suggestion. Just wondering--wouldn't Dublin/Galway be a better combination?


I wouldn't do Ireland without a car. It just doesn't suit the kind of ease you're looking for.


I think it would actually work well for this kind of trip. I might do an excursion to newhrange/knowth from Dublin and then another from Belfast to giants causeway and maybe bushmills. But in Dublin could do pub crawl, see the book of kells, etc, then in Belfast can do titanic museum, tour of the murals. I think it would be a fun trip with adult kids. I’d pick that over Edinburgh.


Eh, I think Dublin feels a lot like the US. And I agree with the poster who says Dublin (and Ireland) is better with a car.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 12:12     Subject: help me pick a European destination for early September with adult kids
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Amsterdam
Brussels/Bruges/Ghent
Edinburgh
Dublin/Belfast
Munich/Berlin


Thanks for this suggestion. Just wondering--wouldn't Dublin/Galway be a better combination?


I wouldn't do Ireland without a car. It just doesn't suit the kind of ease you're looking for.


I think it would actually work well for this kind of trip. I might do an excursion to newhrange/knowth from Dublin and then another from Belfast to giants causeway and maybe bushmills. But in Dublin could do pub crawl, see the book of kells, etc, then in Belfast can do titanic museum, tour of the murals. I think it would be a fun trip with adult kids. I’d pick that over Edinburgh.
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 11:58     Subject: help me pick a European destination for early September with adult kids
Lisbon will be hot, and it’s rather boring imho.

Have you been to Rome? Venice? Amalfi? Sicily? The mountains and lake districts? Italy has way more to offer beyond Tuscany and Florence (which are lovely but a bit sedate).

Too bad you’ve ruled out connections because Croatia is fun and has everything—including nightlife.

Edinburgh and Glasgow might be a good combo (or Inverness).
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 11:55     Subject: help me pick a European destination for early September with adult kids
Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all the great suggestions! I will ask the kids about Edinburgh, Copenhagen and Lisbon.


I would have suggested Copenhagen and Lisbon. I would drop Edinburgh for a trip of 5-6 days only bc I think the food is better in the other places!
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 11:52     Subject: help me pick a European destination for early September with adult kids
Fly into Zurich and train all over Switzerland
Anonymous
Post 01/04/2026 11:51     Subject: help me pick a European destination for early September with adult kids
Anonymous wrote:Where have they been before OP?


We have all been to London, Paris, Fussen/ the Romantic Road towns in Germany, and to Tuscany, including Florence. This time, we have less time and want to avoid renting a car.
Anonymous
Post 01/03/2026 13:17     Subject: help me pick a European destination for early September with adult kids
Munich, assuming it's prior to Oktoberfest. You can do a trip to Salzburg on the train. I wouldn't do Munich and Berlin. It's about a 4.5 hour train ride (assuming you don't get delayed).
Anonymous
Post 01/03/2026 10:14     Subject: help me pick a European destination for early September with adult kids
We did Amsterdam/Brussels/Bruges last year and young adult kids enjoyed it. Stuffed ourselves with stroopwaffel, Belgian waffles, chocolate and beer.
Anonymous
Post 01/03/2026 10:07     Subject: help me pick a European destination for early September with adult kids
Where have they been before OP?