My husband and I will be visiting our 2-1/2 year old granddaughter in Trier, Germany for 2 weeks and would like to take her on several day trips. Any suggestions for outings that she would especially enjoy? Thank you for any help.

Topping for the OP.

I have a 2-year-old and am wracking my brain trying to think of things you could do, but toddler-friendly activities simply weren't on my mind when I spent my time in the Trier/Mosel area. I suppose Burg Eltz is out of the question (a bit of a hike and the tour isn't really child-friendly).

Perhaps a boat ride on the Mosel would capture her interest?

The one castle I can think of that I would consider child-friendly is Burg Pfalz in the middle of the Rhine. You take a little boat across to the castle and then basically have free rein to explore. The castle is pretty much unfurnished and it's just fun to walk around. I know my daughter (a real explorer-type) would love it. I remember seeing some little kids running around the day we were there, but we mostly had the place to ourselves. I'm not sure if it would be manageable as a day trip, however.

If you think she would like castles, there is a beautiful one in Vianden, Luxembourg - a real fairy tale type in its setting, about a one hour drive from Trier. If you go there, take the route that will take you through Echternach. Vianden and Echternach are both lovely little towns that at least you would enjoy and the route is scenic much of the way.

I've got a 3.5 year old daughter. She was very excited about the chance to see a castle - so we played it up in advance with stories about kings and princesses and knights and such. Definitely a winner.

There's good biking in the area and you could rent a bike with a child seat or trailer.

The boat ride idea may or may not be a good idea. Our daughter got kind of bored and stir crazy after a while and there was nowhere to go. Plan to keep it short or be ready to disembark just in case.

Our daughter was born in Germany and we left when she was about 2-1/2 years old. We learned that we were lousy judges of what she would like. She was totally indifferent to Neuschwanstein but loved running down the hill from it. Legoland in Denmark was no big deal but churches with painted ceilings were really wonderful. The animals in the Vienna Zoo (at Schönbrunn?) simply stunk; but the gardens of the Residenz in Würzburg were a fantastic playground. We gave up guessing and just made sure that she had time to be active.

Regards, Gary

<We gave up guessing and just made sure that she had time to be active.>....my thought exactly, Gary. Sounds like open-air activities where she can be physically active would be best at that age.

Sounds like your main interest is spending time with your grand daughter and tourism is an aside activity. Is there a Bad (Spa) or outdoor pool to enjoy with her nearby? You might want to check out this web-site for Gardens without Borders (sorry, only in French or German) many of which would be a nice drive, walk in the garden and picnic outing.
http://www.jardins-sans-limites.com/

You could maybe find some ideas here:
http://www.cometogermany.com/ENU/inf...r_families.htm

Kaiserlautern isn't too far away and I know they have a Japanese peace garden to visit.

You also could take her to the zoo. Look into:
http://www.zoo-infos.de/index-en.html

Have a wonderful time!

BM