My husband and our two girls (by then ages 8 and 5) will be traveling in Europe for most of July and part of August of 2007. I'm trying to plan early so that we can use our frequent flyer miles for the trip. We'll also be visiting friends along the way and some may come along for the ride.

We've been to Europe seven times before and have spent a lot of time in Great Britain, Normandy, Paris, Belgium, Northern Germany, and Scandinavia.

We're going to use the Renault lease back program and we're starting in Toulouse because that is where one of friends lives. So, from Toulouse we were thinking of doing the following (during the 35 or so days):

Provence area, Cote d'Azur, Genoa/Turin, Cinque Terra, Venice, Vienna, Prague, Salzburg, Munich. We would spend three to five nights in most places, less in some (Genoa/Turin). We're also looking to do some apartment renting instead of just hotels.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Things to see? Advice for traveling with our girls (we traveled in Europe once before with just one of them)?

Ending in Munich is necessary because that is one of the few places we can drop the car off at when we're done.

Thanks in advance!

I think it's far too ambitious a trip with children in such hot weather and far too focused on cities for a driving excursion. In the summertime, you will encounter a lot of traffic and a lot of booked hotels in Cinque Terre and Venice. And a lot of heat and humidity.

I would suggest substituting German and Eastern Europe destinations for the French and Italian ones.

But if you are determined to see Italy, my thought about that portion of your trip is that if you are driving, the cities of both Genoa and Turin are not car friendly, so you should look to overnight outside the towns and, if possible, visit via public transportation.

The movie museum in Turin might make for a very enjoyable experience for all of you. Genoa has its great acquarium, which might be able to drive to and park without difficulty.

I would suggest looping up to Turin from the Cote d'Azur and spending two nights just outside of it so you can take a day trip into Torino. In the morning, I would head for the aquarium in Genova, but spend the night in Sestre Levante (an extremely family friendly town).

Cinque Terre is so hot and crowded in July and August, you might think twice about trying to squeeze yourself in. If you fell you must, investigate the possibility of parking your car in La Spezia and visiting the towns by boat. I'd spend another night in Sestri Levante before heading on.

For Venice, with a car and kids, it might make sense to stay on the Lido.

I want to correct my spelling: It's Sestri Levante.

I also wanted to add that on your list of places you've been I don't see Amsterdam, which children might really enjoy. Nor do I see Switzerland or Austia, which I woould think are very impressive to children.

I know it will be hot. However, I'm a teacher and we'll always be in Europe in the summer because other times of the year are not an option. So, we want to stay in the general area I mentioned.

As for Austria, we will be spending time in Vienna and Salzberg (oops, spelled it wrong in my original post).

Again, I appreciate any and all advice.

Ooops, sorry. I overlooked that you mentioned Vienna and Salzburg.

I'm sorry but I wouldn't touch that itinerary w/ a barge pole -- with small children in tow, plus various other friends, plus all by car?

I personally would scale back to a couple of countries. Maybe 4 regions altogether, w/ an extra city short stay or 2 thrown in.

with kids, please consider staying in one place for up to a week at a time and doing day trips..think house exchange or rent a holiday apt or gite..

Due to your advice, we're now thinking Toulon for a full week and doing day trips to Arles, Aix en Provence, Nice, etc.

Then, another week somewhere inbetween Genoa and La Spezia, but probably not right in Cinque Terra.

We're still working on the rest.

We're definitely going to go the apartment route, we've done that in the past.

Do plan some beach time, and stay in hotels with pools. At that age, I always thought it worked best to do half a day pool/beach, half a day to sightsee. Nice is quite a way from Toulon, in summer traffic and summer heat, for a daytrip. Early July is still fairly ok though; it gets really busy in the south of France from the 14th onwards.
There's a zoo, and also a water park, at Frejus that they will enjoy. Near Antibes there's Marineland (there's also a water park there). And though small, my kids loved the zoo at Cap Ferrat (you are allowed to feed the animals there); you could also visit the Villa Rothschild the same day.
The acquarium in Monaco is also nice for children.

I've never stayed in Venice Lido, but we were thinking that that is what we will do if we visit Venice in summer with children. You can visit Venice in the morning, spend time on the beach or by the pool in the afternoon.

It sounds great; use mappy.com or another site to plan your driving time. I do think you are planning to do too much; France and Italy would be enough for me anyway. You will be spending a lot of time on the road (take a portable dvd player!)

For apartment rentals near Cinque Terre, check out Bonassola, which has a beach.

In lieu of Venice, consider basing yourselves in Treviso and doing day trips into Venice and elsewhere.

Also worth considering is basing yourselves in Lago di Garda. Cool weather, lots of water activities and fun, beautiful scenery and an easy shot north if you ultimately wish to go north. That would mean foregoing Venice, but Venice at that time of year might be more taxing than enjoyable.

However, one of the things to consider when it comes to apartment rental vs hotels is that apartments in Italy most likely do not have air conditioning. For the area of Venice, with its humidity, that could be prove really hard on everybody.

Agriturismos often have pools and the advantage of easy parking. They also have activities for children, and farm animals. Many times they serve breakfast and dinner as part of their packages, and it can be a very relaxing and charming way to travel, even if you day trip every day.

Also, please consider that for most of its existence, Italy really was a dozen different countries with very distinct cultures and cuisines, so spending a week in Liguria, a week in Lombardia and a week in the Veneto will bring you 3 very distinct experiences of 'Italy.'