It's difficult to give what you call practical advice before you have identified an itinerary. If you tell us what route you have decided on we can give you more specifics.

In 15 days with that many people I would pick 3 hotel stops max. We did a trip with 7 people and it is amazing how difficult it is to herd everyone around. A fast itinerary just makes it more stressful and we would never do it again.

There are so many great places to hike in Switzerland, that I would first decide on your attached town/region where you will stay, ie: Berner Oberland/Interlaken/Muerren vs the Zermatt region vs the Engadine, etc.
Many on this board will reco the Berner Oberland for mountain beauty and hikes :
I found this to be a great starting point for hiking info once you have determined your general area:

http://www.wanderland.ch/en/hiking-i...laken+%28BE%29

A GREAT recent TR with detailed BO area hikes--perhaps you came across it?

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...e-oberland.cfm

Okay, here is your practical info:

Rent a private airplane (divide price by # of family members)

Day 1: fly from London to Paris
Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triomphe, quick trip to Louvre (perhaps with a quick glance Inside)

Day 2: fly to Zermatt
Change to Helikopter and fly up on Matterhorn

Day 3: fly to Salzburg
SOM tour

Day 4: fly to Pisa
Leaning Tower

Day 5: fly to Florence
Quick glance on David and the Duomo

Day 6: fly to Venice
Canals, St. Marc s

Day 7: fly to Rome
Do the ruins, quick glance at Vatican

Day 8 to 14: Do same itinerary in reverse order if you feel you missed something.

Fly home.

Then I suggest you do some research on point to point tickets vs. pass. You've gotten some info on that that the pass isn't very good for Italy.
No one is suggesting going to only one place.
I don't have a specific hike in Zermatt, as I suggested as a stop, but we did some climbing one time that was fun--and not difficult.
So, Paris, Zermatt (or where others are suggesting) and Rome would be my suggestion, although I would really prefer Florence over Rome, in which case you might be able to do a night in Venice en route to Florence.

In 15 days with that many people I would pick 3 hotel stops max. We did a trip with 7 people and it is amazing how difficult it is to herd everyone around. A fast itinerary just makes it more stressful and we would never do it again>

Bingo.

Caroline - we travel often as well... Cest la vie - you will do what you want...

As far as practical advice ... Pack light - it helps when moving a lot & on the trains.

CarolineF,

Try posting your question on the Frommer's forum for Multi-Country questions. People might also suggest you pare back where you can, but they can help you with practical logistical advice about optimal routings, including specific train schedules, and what kind of train pass might make sense. If your son is interested in Rome, makes sense to me you would include it for a family trip. However, if what attracts him to Rome is the Colosseum, the arena in Verona might make a great substitute, and make the overall itinerary easier, so show him some pictures and see what he thinks.

http://tinyurl.com/o7w5lon

Whatever you do, don't buy round-trip plane tickets into and out of London. You would waste time and money backtracking. Instead, on the airline web site, click on multi-city and buy open jaws tickets, into London, out of Rome or Pisa or Venice -- or wherever. Open jaws tickets should cost about the same as round-trip. At least some airlines will do this when using frequent flyer miles.

If you're willing to commit to fixed itinerary, you can save a lot of money buying train tickets ahead of time. As annhig says about the Eurostar between London and Paris. A pass won't pay for this train and, for your destinations on the continent, a pass probably would cost more than the cheap individual tickets.

Let's see, Paris is a must-see for your husband, Switzerland and Austria is a must-see for you, and your son wants to go to Rome. That's more than enough right there to fill up 2 weeks. Next thing to do is for you to research Switzerland and Austria. Is Salzburg the only place in Austria you want to go? Are you fixed on Zermatt only in Switzerland? Look at the German train site, wwww.bahn.de, for details about trains and trip times for all Europe. It won't yet show trains for next year, but if you pick the same day of the week, you'll get a good idea of what will be available. For info about cheap European flights, check out www.skyscanner.com and www.whichbudget.com.

The more you research, the more places you will want to go. And all your friends will say "You must go to XXX; we looooved it there." Alas, travel planning is an exercise in self-denial. You can't see everything. You already have enough must-sees to more than fill your time.

the more you research, the more places you will want to go. And all your friends will say "You must go to XXX; we looooved it there." Alas, travel planning is an exercise in self-denial. You can't see everything. You already have enough must-sees to more than fill your time.>

Yes! Great way to put it!

Not a single person suggested staying in one place. But you certainly want to hit too many places in your short time - especially with the potential size of your party. You need to set on at least a basic plan with approx. four stops and then we can give you all the practical advice in the world.

You say two weeks max. That also makes a difference - will you have a full two weeks before flying home? Or are you considering less time like in your first post? There is a HUGE difference between 14 free days and 10 or 11 days.