1 Month Europe (June 2015) with 3 children, ages 6-11
Dec 6th, 2014, 05:28 PM
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You have gotten some wonderful advice here and your itinerary sound's great. Yes, apartments are practical but sometimes it's fun just to enjoy the included breakfast in a B & B while sitting with other guests. On booking.com or venere.com you can search for "family rooms"...Our kids liked making tea in our rooms in England. While kids that age don't take naps we found that sightseeing in London, for example, with a 9 and 11 year old, they did get tired and it was fun to jump into a London taxi to go back to the hotel to rest a bit before venturing out again. Also, if you want to visit Florence, then I'd not stay so long in the agriturismo (maybe 4 nights instead of 8). Stay at one with a pool and animals. It is hard to drive into Florence and you definitely don't need or want a car there. (To be honest, don't know if kids really enjoy Florence. Ours liked the David but that was about it). Maybe skip Florence and instead fit in a visit to alpine Switzerland (Lucerne, maybe?) before Italy if you can find train and/or flights between Paris and Venice. I'd train from Venice to Florence and then pick up your rental car as you exit Florence for your touring around Tuscany and/or Umbria. Also, using different types of transportation is also fun. Don't know how you are planning your flights but there is something to be said for starting your trip in London where your kids will have no language barrier (unless of course they speak French, too!)
Another comment for any trip to Europe is to have some countryside to balance out the urban/city experience. I'd also consider some kind of day trips outside of London and Paris as well. For example, you could take a day trip by bus from London to Oxford/Blenheim Palace or perhaps to some Cotswolds Villages. Driving on the left can be daunting, but your kids might really enjoy the experience of going to some of the small Cotswolds towns (ours did) or even to Warwick Castle which is very kid-oriented. From Paris, you could do a day trip by train to Versailles. Sounds like EuroDisney is part of the plan, too. Using the train one way between London and Paris and going through the Chunnel would also be efficient and fun. Our kids loved Venice and Rome (and our agriturismo stay in Italy) as middle schoolers. Ah yes, and Gelato was the afternoon treat for good behavior! Arriving into Venice by train and hopping a water taxi to your hotel is a thrill. Our kids were literally jumping up and down in the boat. I suppose you could do that when departing Venice. Driving the autostade in Italy was very easy and you can just stay in the right lane if you don't want to go too fast. The tricky part of driving in Italy is actually the hilltowns with very narrow streets since you might need a midsized car with 5 people and luggage. Just study the road signs since some towns have no-auto-zones and fines are hefty. The signs that say "Centro Storico" will lead you to the historic center of each town but the streets narrow the higher up you go!
To summarize the high level - I could see a plan something like this:
London - 4 nights
Outside or day trips from London 3 nights
Chunnel to Paris Note: you don't have to pick up the Eurostar in London(there are stations SE or London where it would be easier to return a rental car. Also, it is not hard to pick up a rental car in the Bloomsbury area of London and then connect pretty quickly with the highway toward Oxford and Cotswolds). Another thing our kids adored was the Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire. I think Woburn Abbey also had one plus Woburn is a gorgeous place to tour inside. You'll find farm parks and such in the Cotswolds also.
or reverse Paris and London)
Day trip Paris to Versailles or EuroDisney
Total of 6 - 7 days in France
Fly Paris to Venice (or London to Venice) or train or fly to Switzerland for 3 nights, then fly or train to Venice.
3 nights Venice
Train to Florence
3 nights Florence (or skip this in favor of Switzerland)
Pick up rental car in or on the edge of Florence (Lots of agencies near the train station)
Agriturismo in Tuscany 4 nights
Drop rental car in Orvieto which is a great hilltown (take the funiculare to the top of town and stay 1 night. Then train from Orvieto to Rome and stay 5 nights in Rome. That way you don't have to drive into Rome (total = 29 to 30 nights)
Fly home from Rome.
Another comment for any trip to Europe is to have some countryside to balance out the urban/city experience. I'd also consider some kind of day trips outside of London and Paris as well. For example, you could take a day trip by bus from London to Oxford/Blenheim Palace or perhaps to some Cotswolds Villages. Driving on the left can be daunting, but your kids might really enjoy the experience of going to some of the small Cotswolds towns (ours did) or even to Warwick Castle which is very kid-oriented. From Paris, you could do a day trip by train to Versailles. Sounds like EuroDisney is part of the plan, too. Using the train one way between London and Paris and going through the Chunnel would also be efficient and fun. Our kids loved Venice and Rome (and our agriturismo stay in Italy) as middle schoolers. Ah yes, and Gelato was the afternoon treat for good behavior! Arriving into Venice by train and hopping a water taxi to your hotel is a thrill. Our kids were literally jumping up and down in the boat. I suppose you could do that when departing Venice. Driving the autostade in Italy was very easy and you can just stay in the right lane if you don't want to go too fast. The tricky part of driving in Italy is actually the hilltowns with very narrow streets since you might need a midsized car with 5 people and luggage. Just study the road signs since some towns have no-auto-zones and fines are hefty. The signs that say "Centro Storico" will lead you to the historic center of each town but the streets narrow the higher up you go!
To summarize the high level - I could see a plan something like this:
London - 4 nights
Outside or day trips from London 3 nights
Chunnel to Paris Note: you don't have to pick up the Eurostar in London(there are stations SE or London where it would be easier to return a rental car. Also, it is not hard to pick up a rental car in the Bloomsbury area of London and then connect pretty quickly with the highway toward Oxford and Cotswolds). Another thing our kids adored was the Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire. I think Woburn Abbey also had one plus Woburn is a gorgeous place to tour inside. You'll find farm parks and such in the Cotswolds also.
or reverse Paris and London)
Day trip Paris to Versailles or EuroDisney
Total of 6 - 7 days in France
Fly Paris to Venice (or London to Venice) or train or fly to Switzerland for 3 nights, then fly or train to Venice.
3 nights Venice
Train to Florence
3 nights Florence (or skip this in favor of Switzerland)
Pick up rental car in or on the edge of Florence (Lots of agencies near the train station)
Agriturismo in Tuscany 4 nights
Drop rental car in Orvieto which is a great hilltown (take the funiculare to the top of town and stay 1 night. Then train from Orvieto to Rome and stay 5 nights in Rome. That way you don't have to drive into Rome (total = 29 to 30 nights)
Fly home from Rome.
Dec 6th, 2014, 10:19 PM
#42
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This is a great website for planning train travel through Europe: www.seat61.com
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