My husband & I are planning a 30-day trip to Europe in June/July with 2 kids ages 7 & 10. Our plane tickets are purchased & we have reservations in Venice. I?m still working on the remainder of the trip but the plan is:

3 nights inVenice.
7 day house rental (for 8) in Riviera (looking at self-catering rentals in Antibes or Theoule-sur-mer) with another family.
1-2 nights in Parma, to visit the other family?s relatives.
North into Switzerland, eventually to Stein am Rein for 3-4 days to visit and stay with friends.
Considering 2-3 days between Parma and Stein am Rein, perhaps Como, Lugano, Locarno, Murren, Wengen, or Gimmewald.
After Stein am Rein, perhaps a night or 2 in Rothenburg?
To Paris for 5-6 nights. Flight to London with 2 night layover & fly back to US.

We are thinking of using a 5-day rail pass, particularly for the Venice to Riviera segment and Germany to Paris segment. Also, considering a 2-week car rental for the middle of the trip.

L
I'm looking for comments and suggestions including on the following:

We had considered other 1-week beach options in Italy like Cinque Terre, Rimini, or southern coastal Tuscany, as the other family wanted to stay in Italy, but to me the south of France seemed to have more going on for a 1-week rental with kids. Any opinions?

Any experience with house rentals in the South of France? The primary purpose of this segment is some beach time and to be the relaxing part of the trip. However, once we get the car, I am arguing for a one-day trip to Arles and, if enough time Avignon. Can this be done in one-day as a round trip?

Any suggestions on the portion between Parma and Stein am Rein? My list is too big and I need to pick one place only!

Any thoughts on staying in Stien am Rein versus going on to Rothenburg?

Call me - obsessed over trip planning! Thanks for any thoughts!

Hi leanders,

Before you purchase your railpass go to www.railsavers.com and enter your itinerary. Click the button that says "only if it saves me money".

It might be cheaper to buy point to point tickets.

Thanks for the suggestion. In running the #s, the selectpass comes out cheaper, even with only the two segments planned. We will also have 3 other "day trips" that could be used during the period that we do not have a car.

Also, I have booked the Gli Angeli B&B in Venice that I continue to see referenced in this forum!

For Switzerland and the Alps, I suggest either Mürren or Wengen for a short stay. Good hotels/restaurants, good views, some activity at night.

Why Gimmelwald? I keep seeing people discussing it, but having walked through it several times, I am not attracted to stay there -- unless I needed cheap lodging.

Let me guess. You read a Rick Steves book and that's why you mention Gimmelwald. We also walked through and I couldn't imagine what the attraction was other than a place to walk through for 5 mintues (although we did buy some great cheese from a local cheesemaker).

For your Swiss Alps stay, I'd choose either Wengen or Grindelwald. Easier to get to and easy to take trips out of during the day.

Yes, it's clear that Gimmewald comes from the Rick Steves guidebook. I must admit, hanging around a tiny village in which everyone else has the same guidebook does not sound too appealing.

So, would folks pick Murren or Wengen over the Italian Lakes? It would seem to add some variety as we don't otherwise have the Alps on the itinerary.

Thanks for the on-going feedback. I have just recently (of course as a result of trip) come upon this forum and am enjoying reading other posts that may assist in my planning.

Hi Leanders,

This thread might be helpful

Helpful Information: Italy http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34443340

There are two major ranges of mountains in Switzerland that contain 4,000 meter peaks: The Pennine Alps south of the Rhone Valley and the Berner Oberland on the north.

Zermatt, featuring the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa, is the major tourist destination of the Pennine Alps, although Saas Fee is a good option. So are Zinal and Grimentz and some other villages the northward facing slopes.

If you want to see the high peaks of the the Berner Oberland, go to Wengen or Mürren.

Both villages of these village are reached easily by mountain transportation from Interlaken Ost; one does not drive there all the way.

In Wengen and Mürren, hotels and vacation apartments often have direct sight lines to the higher ridges of the mountains. And both villages have good restaurants and bakeries as well as a few upscale shops.

Also from each village, mountain cable or train facilities provide transportation to higher destinations, such as the cable lift from Wengen to the towering crest of the Männlichen ridge that overlooks the Lauterbrunnen Valley to the west, the Jungfrau-Eiger massif to the south, and the more expansive meadows around Grindelwald to the east.

If you don't want to see the high Alps, and enjoy an alpine environment, then plan for another destination.

I personally like Lauterbrunnen for many reasons, but I am usually there for at least a week in a familiar apartment. I go to Mürren and Wengen on each visit, but my objectives are the scenic splendor of the high Alps, to hike some of the easier trails, and enjoy the pastoral scenes associated with Switzerland.

Other than the beauty of the mountains, and the experience of being in a Swiss mountain village, or to enjoy the solitude of a remote mountain valley, there are not many other reasons that I know of to be there in the summer.