I'm planning a trip for myself, my husband, and our two children (ages 2 and 6) to France. I have family in Lyon, so we will be flying into there and spending a few days and then flying out of Paris. We'll have 14 days, excluding travel days to and from Europe. With two young children, there is a limit on how much we can drag them to museums, monuments, historic buildings, etc. I'd love to add a third location that would be a bit more leisurely and give us a break between the two cities. Any suggestions? Alps? Burgundy region? Loire Valley?

Alps? when are you going, that makes a big difference as to how that would work out. Have you ever been to France before?

You could easily go to Provence, Lyon isn't very far from it by train, then you could rent a car and stay in a more rural area for a few days, drop the car and take the TGV to Paris. That's what I would do. Otherwise, maybe the Loire would be good, at least you have some castles that might be of interest to the 6 yr old. Of course the 2 yr old is too young to be a tourist or to "do" anything, so doesn't much matter with the baby.

Why would you want to go to Burgundy? YOu can, but I mainly think of it as a wine destination, so not sure why that would appeal to you with two small children. Of course you can jut do nothing there, also, if that's what you had in mind, sure, why not. If you want more summer campy, you might consider Annecy which is almost directly east of Lyon, which has a lake.
eg,
http://www.lauriemucha.com/my-annecy-favorites/

I think ANnecy is on the edge of the Alps or maybe even considered Alps for all I know. Different in winter, of course.

How long must you take at your family in Lyon (or want to)- how long do you want to spend in Paris?

yes when are you going- places like the Loire and Avignon areas crawl with tourists in July and August.

You can take a train right from CDG Airport to Lyon but be sure to book tickets way in advance to get nifty discounts - they must be booked (in stone) weeks ahead of time often to get as they are sold in limited numbers on each train and can't be changed or refunded I believe.

Anyway www.sncf-voyages.com is the sight of the French state railways - easy to book your own tickets on it. For lots about French trains also check www.seat61.com -sage advice on discounted tickets -and www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Burgundy, Loire are convenient other bases that are close to Paris - Provence is really nice (Avignon area) as would be Annecy and the pre-Alps.

I think Christina's suggestion of Annecy is a great idea with little children. Plenty to see and do around the lovely lake and the children can run around in the big park on the edge of the lake, not far for a daytrip on the train to Geneva and even a day trip to Mt Blanc and Chamonix. Then a train to Paris.

With small children, the fewer destinations the better. I'd stick with just Lyon and Paris, which will give the children time to settle into each place and establish a routine.

Christina, I forgot to mention we are thinking October. And we have not been to France before. I will look into Provence and Annecy. I had heard Burgundy was similar to Loire with the chateaux, but maybe less crowded.

PalenQ We don't have any plans yet for how long we will stay at either place. I do not want to stay too long with family as I don't want them to feel obligated to entertain us. If you have suggestions on that I'd welcome them. Thanks for the tips on the trains!

Helsie That definitely does sound appealing!

Kathie We recently traveled to Australia with our kids and definitely learned what not to do on a big international trip like that! It was rough those first couple of days (mostly for our five year old, I have a feeling the youngest won't be as adaptable when he is 2). ��

You'll have to deal with jet-lag, so can probably write off the first day, as well as the final departure day. So you have 12 days to spend. I think the time will pass faster than you think it will.

For best train fares, you should buy 3 months in advance. Also, the time of day and day of the week can often be less expensive than going during peak periods.

You'll find plenty of fun things for the kids to do in Paris - carousels, playground equipment in many parks, boat rides on the Seine, puppet shows in Luxembourg gardens and the Jardin d'Acclimatation, which is easy to get to and is a lot of fun:
http://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum...-Acclimatation

If you get the Paris Museum Pass, you can go in for an hour, leave, and come back when you want to.

There are things to do in Lyon, as well:
http://www.family-travel-scoop.com/t...o-in-lyon.html

There is a lot to do in Lyon and Rhone-Alpes area:

Roman theatres and other Roman buildings at both, Lyon and Vienne.
Open air Roman museum at Vienne.

Museums of Lyon, among them:
Cinematics Museum
Puppets Museum
Maison des Canuts where one can learn how silk is made
Musee des automates (250 animated dolls and objects)
Touro Parc zoo and amusement park
Tete d'Or Park (zoo, 19th century carrousel, electric bike rentals, paddle boat rentals

Medieval city of Perouges

Annecy, charming city along a network of channels, situated between Geneva and the Alps

Montelimar, the city of nougat
Pont d'Arc Cavern (Unesco World Heritage site)

Chamonix and Mont Blanc, the highest peak of the Alps

Vine festivals along lake Geneva and Lake Neuchatel

fuzzbucket and neckervd,
Thank you for your suggestions! I think based on yours and others' comments, I might be changing my strategy and just stick with Paris and Lyon, adding a couple of day tours from each. Is something like a paddleboat in the park possible to do in Lyon in October? Are the carousels in Paris open year round? Or would we be better off going late August/early September?

Carousels in Paris are open year round.

Paddle boats in Lyon close down around 1 November - might be slightly earlier for school vacations, and this also depends on the weather.
Here's some more info for Lyon - Google translate works OK.
http://www.loisirs-parcdelatetedor.com/

The weather in both places in October is normally slightly rainy and temperatures around 45 to 60 F. The days will be a little short - sunsets around 6PM or so.

In late August and early September, "canicules" (heat waves) are pretty normal. Temperatures stay at 99 F and won't cool down at night. Many places will not be air conditioned, so if you're used to that, you will be miserable. Look for a hotel with a/c.

Also, this is the time when most people take their "last gasp" vacations before school starts, so it will be crowded in both cities.

Friends report they had a smidgen of snow in Orleans, south of Paris, last week - earliest they can recall.

I've been in a tent in a Paris Camping in August and practically froze to death -very variable weather but seems to be getting warmer in summer now and perhaps more snow in winter - my Orleannais friends say.

Springs and fall see a lot of cool but not cold gray rainy days but again it could be warm and sunny.

I do not want to stay too long with family as I don't want them to feel obligated to entertain us. If you have suggestions on that I'd welcome them. Thanks for the tips on the trains!>

Well if it's shirt-tail relatives you really do not know I'd say a few days at most-in any case I would not use their hours as a hotel, just coming back at night!

That said Lyon is a fabulous city worth a few days itself.

If you get a car there you can drive the Burgundy Wine Road all the way via Macon, Beaune to Dijon, another city worth a nice day.