I love to book active trips. We did a kayak trip down the Dordogne river and a bike trip through the Loire valley. We did a house boat around rural England on the canals, with the kids biking alongside. There are great hikes in Switzerland, N Italy or N Spain where the huts are all set up and food is planned for you. We kayaked for two days around the south island in New Zealand. We camped with Bedouins in the White Desert in Egypt. I've heard great things about kayak trips on the border between Spain and Portugal. There are tons of options.

We tend to sandwich the active middle with city visits near where the airport is located.

We went to Copenhagen this summer and my 16yo loved it! He had a blast at Tivoli and enjoyed the day trip to Kronborg castle.

We then did a cruise through the Norwegian fjords and even he found it beautiful. We did the rib boat tours and hikes. He had fun looking for trolls and waterfalls.

We would love to go back to Norway and visit Oslo and go back to the fjords.

Oh, and there is a beach in Barcelona. My 10 year old liked that a lot too.

We went to Barcelona last year with my 10 year old and 14 year old and Montserrat, the aquarium, Parc Guell, wandering through neighborhoods, the cable car up to Montjuic, and the zoo were all hits.

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.

Hahha! only if you give them phones. Mine got their phones at 16.

Parents are such enablers and then complain.

Anonymous wrote:

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?

PP here. That’s the thing, you have find the places that work best for you. I have places in dozens of countries based on decades of travel and 40+ trips to Europe, but I’m not about to share them publicly. Hint: you have to think way beyond Tuscany, the Croatian Coast, Algarve, and Icelandic Ring Road to have the best experiences.

Omg, you’re insufferable. OP, I’m sorry that some of these posters are seemingly running you around in circles, but it looks like you’ve gotten at least a couple concrete suggestions. We also like city/countryside combos but our kids are younger and we haven’t taken them to Europe yet. Pre-kids, we loved Italy (did Rome/Florence plus a few days in Tuscany) and Czechia (Prague and then a couple small towns in southern Moravia, there are so many cool-looking little towns all over the country).

I would do Athens for 2 - 3 nights, then spend the rest of the time on Crete. You can do ruins or beaches or villages or hiking there, depending on what you want, and spend a few nights in each place. I'd probably end the trip at the beach so you've got down time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

PP here. That’s the thing, you have find the places that work best for you. I have places in dozens of countries based on decades of travel and 40+ trips to Europe, but I’m not about to share them publicly. Hint: you have to think way beyond Tuscany, the Croatian Coast, Algarve, and Icelandic Ring Road to have the best experiences.

So why bother commenting? Such a smug response!

+1

If you have replies that actually give OP concrete suggestions offer those. Otherwise just scroll by.

Anonymous wrote:

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?

PP here. That’s the thing, you have find the places that work best for you. I have places in dozens of countries based on decades of travel and 40+ trips to Europe, but I’m not about to share them publicly. Hint: you have to think way beyond Tuscany, the Croatian Coast, Algarve, and Icelandic Ring Road to have the best experiences.

So why bother commenting? Such a smug response!

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?

PP here. That’s the thing, you have find the places that work best for you. I have places in dozens of countries based on decades of travel and 40+ trips to Europe, but I’m not about to share them publicly. Hint: you have to think way beyond Tuscany, the Croatian Coast, Algarve, and Icelandic Ring Road to have the best experiences.

Iceland! Sun 22 hours a day, kayaking, black sand beaches, whale watching, puffins, decent weather to go to East Coast, volcanos, lava tunnels, geysers, waterfalls, all he hiking you can handle. You can even rent a camper and do the ring road— or stay at AirBNBs along it.

And Reykjavik can be done in a day, max.

Norway is so nice in the summer- boat rides through fjords, hiking

We also enjoyed Cyprus including seeing the archaeological sites, hiking and beaches

Road trip through Balkans starting in Belgrade and then Montenegro, Lake skadar, beaches by budva, and kotor (speed boat ride there was amazing) and day trip to to Dubrovnik

Also Tirol in Austria

Azores in Portugal, northern Spain

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This. You can also get very good ideas for countryside from any major city by scoping out where locals there tend to go on weekends in summer. We have found great AirBnBs within an our or three of Paris, Vienna, Copenhagen, etc. by asking friends who have lived there or researching online. We are generally looking for something with water, for swimming, boating, or both, plus a little hiking. Have never had trouble.

In southern France (and probably elsewhere) is look for excursions that let you tour medieval ruins as that can be a fun activity for active, adventurous tweens/teens, provided they tolerate the heat well.

Also, some cities have a lot of active adventure in the city center. Copenhagen, for instance-- you can rent kayaks for the city harbor and swim there in the warmer months, renting bikes to travel around us a no brainer, climbing the round tower is a great, active challenge that combined history and sightseeing with something strenuous. Would highly recommend for these ages

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?

We just did Rome + Tuscany.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

We went white water rafting in Costa Rica. How is that inauthentic? It's certainly not less authentic than going to a water park in Germany. If you don't speak the language, it's hard to get an authentic experience anyway.