I guess the good news is that any decision will be "the right one" as long as they slow down and spend more time enjoying the locales than traveling between them!

My thoughts are that Paris is closer to the UK and that teens seem to be more "into" Paris than elsewhere.

Perhaps my opinion is colored from watching the original Sabrina last night with Audrey Hepburn.

Judging from my nieces and merchandise being marketed to young girls/women, Paris is still the chicest of all European cities. But, any of the above would be wonderful - as long as it's not ALL of the above!

I agree w/ starrsville. To me London/a bit of the UK/Paris makes more sense then UK/Italy. You can take the Eurostar from the center of London to the center of Paris in less than 3 hours w/o the hassle of extra airports/flights, etc. And Paris would IMHO much more enjoyable than a rushed trip through bits of Italy.

Save Italy for when you can devote 2 or 3 weeks to it . . . . . .

Do not worry about language being a barrier. I agree with Rex, start learning the language now. We just got the Pimsleur Italian tapes from Barnes & Noble, and listened to those. We found many people in Italy spoke English (aside from the taxi cab drivers), but you will pick more up when you arrive.

After two weeks in Italy our last day was in Siena. We ate in a restaurant where they did not speak English and they had no written menu. The proprietor just listed off the dishes verbally! While I would have been intimidated if it was our first day - after 2 weeks we felt confident ordering and had one of our best meals!!

We have just returned from England and Italy.

We had no trouble surviving without speaking italian. It might be polite to pick up a little italian. But do not let that sway any of your decisions.

Italy has an awful lot of great things for the traveler. My recommendation would be to research Italy. An itinerary with Rome and Venice then you might add Tuscany, Florence and or the lakes has alot of appeal.

SELees - Don't worry too much about the language thing. Yes, you have plenty of time to start learning and should learn some basic polite phrases and such, but don't feel that you shouldn't go if you don't learn a lot. Many Italians speak English, especially in the larger cities and tourist areas. I listened to language tapes in the car for several months and carried a sheet of some key words and phrases and that was more than fine.
jgg - Thanks so much for sharing your experiences traveling with 9 and 12 year olds. We will be taking our 11 and 14 year old sons to Europe for the first time in 3 weeks. They, too, have travelled all over the place (Arizona, Disney,Colorado, Caribbean, Belize, etc...), but never to Europe. It is great to hear you are already planning to go again and that they loved it. I was also thrilled to hear about your great experience at Locanda Orseolo in Venice as that is where we will be staying while there. Your trip report was very informative and full of a positive attitude by all - it made be even more excited for our trip.

Dear SELees:
Like the other mothers, fathers, and grandparents that have answered, don't try to do the three countries in two weeks. I have learned the hard way that although my kids are excellent travelers, they get tired and want "down-time." My daughter (now 13) has been to England, Scotland and France (as well as Mexico and Hawaii) and she told me she wished she could have shopped more on each trip. Although she likes a day or two of museums (she had just finished studying ancient cultures, so she loved the British Museum), she also likes to watch street performers, attend plays, and "people watch." I like the idea of London/England (York, Avebury or Bath) & Paris or just Italy for a 12 day (on the ground) trip.
Another hint to keep her happy: if she participates in a sport, plan some time for that activity. My kids are competitive swimmers, so we HAD to find a pool in London one day. We had one of the most fun times going to a local community pool and hanging out with "real" kids.

We just returned from two weeks in Italy with our 14 year-old daughter. She recommends:

Rome and the Amalfi Coast are a very good idea. If you can spend a day or two at a beach, it adds a lot to the trip for someone your granddaughter's age. We went to Viareggio, a little beach town, and it turned out to be one of my favorite things on the trip.
I think you should definitely go to Florence. It was the highlight of the trip for me, and no trip to Italy would be complete without it. I would skip York and Bath/Stonehenge, but for sure go to London and Paris. When we went to England we only visited London, and I don't feel like I missed out on anything.
In Rome, I think your granddaughter would really enjoy guided tours of the Forum and the Vatican Muse

We just returned from two weeks in Italy with our 14 year-old daughter. These are her comments:

Rome and the Amalfi Coast are a very good idea. If you can spend a day or two at a beach, it adds a lot to the trip for someone your granddaughter's age. We went to Viareggio, a little beach town, and it turned out to be one of my favorite things on the trip.
I think you should definitely go to Florence. It was the highlight of the trip for me, and no trip to Italy would be complete without it. I would skip York and Bath/Stonehenge, but for sure go to London and Paris. When we went to England we only visited London, and I don't feel like I missed out on anything.
In Rome, I think your granddaughter would really enjoy guided tours of the Forum and the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel. I was not bored at all, when normally in museums I just yawn.