We are going to take our boys who are similar in age to your kids, to Vienna next Spring break. It's safe, walkable, and airbnbs are cheaper than London. There's tons to do in Vienna, all easily accessible with public transportation.

Our kids are 4 and 6 and we've done- Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Iceland, and have Scandanavia coming up in the Spring!

It can absolutely be fun and enjoyable for everyone. We LOVE traveling as a family. Our adventures have included the kids being invited to a neighborhood water fight in Spain in all the local kids, climbing Croagh Patrick in Ireland, attending the huge local bonfires in Iceland on New Years Eve below the northern lights, waffle making class in Belgium taught by a "real grandma" as my DD said, spending Christmas Day having outdoor curling competitions with other families surrounded by bonfires in a German biergarten, and much more in between!

Portugal would be fun as well:

I haven’t gone with kids, but consider Seville.

Definitely don’t go to Seville the week before Easter. They have religious processions and it will be quite busy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spain is great at that time of year.

+1. We went to Spain for spring break this year and the weather was glorious. It seemed like the perfect time to visit (unless you're planning for a beach holiday).

Did Holy Week create any issues?

Our spring break visit did fall during Holy Week but it did not create any issues for us. It's entirely possible that, thanks to Holy Week (and school holidays), all of the places we visited were more crowded than typical for that time of year, but I'm not in a position to know. But we had no problems getting hotel rooms and getting into restaurants, etc.

Apparently, Holy Week is less of a big deal in Barcelona than in many other parts of Spain. The biggest event in Barcelona the week we were there seemed to be the El Classico football match against Real Madrid! Holy Week didn't really affect our stay in Barcelona at all. Although we were able to see the (free and open to all) Passion of the Christ light show on the facade of the Sagrada Familia and that was spectacular and a real highlight of our visit.

We were in Valencia on Good Friday and some places we would otherwise have visited (such as the Mercado Central) were closed for the day. But most places were open, albeit with limited hours (some with free admission for the holiday). Restaurants were open. There was a big Good Friday parade through the seafront neighborhoods and on the beach, but we didn't go.

We were in Madrid on Easter Sunday and happened to see the Easter procession through the streets and again in Plaza Mayor. But otherwise, it seemed to be business as usual. Just watch out for holiday hours at museums and other points of interest and check websites before you go. We found that some museums were closed because of the holiday, some had free admission because of the holiday, and some were unaffected by the holiday. We visited both the Reina Sofia (free, thanks to the holiday) and the Prado (unaffected) on Easter Sunday.

We didn't visit Seville, but I understand that Holy Week is a very big deal there, so there could be more disruptions and crowds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spain is great at that time of year.

+1. We went to Spain for spring break this year and the weather was glorious. It seemed like the perfect time to visit (unless you're planning for a beach holiday).

What was your itinerary?

PP here. Our itinerary was guided by DS's soccer team who were traveling (separately) in Spain at the same time. We flew into Barcelona and out of Madrid. We spent several days in Barcelona, then took the train to Valencia and spent several days there. Then we took the train from Valencia to Madrid (and Toledo). Getting around by train was extremely easy and quite inexpensive. We loved all three cities, but - surprisingly - Valencia was our favorite. It was sunny everywhere we went. The temperatures were in the high 60s in Barcelona, the low 70s in Valencia, and the low 80s in Madrid and Toledo.

We had friends who were in Spain at the same time as us. They flew in and out of Madrid, but, unlike us, went south. They loved Seville and Granada.

Anonymous wrote:Ugh. Europe is wasted on kids that age and is exhausting and zero fun for the parents. Face it: your vacation life is gonna suck for another half dozen years at least. Can’t you pawn the kids off on their grandparents and go somewhere yourselves? Our kids do that all the time and we’re always happy to oblige. The kids have fun with us and their parents get a break.

NP. Sorry that’s been your experience, but don’t speak for everyone. My kids are amazing travelers…in fact, they’ve come up with some of our best trip destinations and we’ve been all over the place. Most of my best travel experiences have been with them.