Europe In Winter
 

Hi, our family plans to travel to Europe this November. I have 2 kids, 5 and 2 yrs old. We will be there for 2 weeks. We will be touching down in Manchester. We planned to visit Italy- Switzerland-Paris-London and back to Manchester B4 we fly back home. Do U think this is achievable? We are from Singapore, looking foward for some snows, but with a 2 yrs old on tow, I'm a bit worried. Any good advice and recomendations for accomodations? Thanks :-)

Hariani – sounds like a tall order with two young children.

Whatever you decide, just remember the daylight hours are very short at that time of year in northern Europe.

Good luck!

Welcome to Fodors,
Yes you are taking on a lot. Every time you move you lose a day and you still have to get over jet lag from Singapore. The snows will not be in Manchester, most of Italy, Paris or London. So I guess we need to know a bit about priority.

If snow is critical then Switzerland is the best for this itinary and so you need to go there. Any cities you want to see?

Do you have a need to see Manchester or is it just the best flight you could get. I'd avoid driving for most of this as Novemeber is not a nice time to learn about driving in Europe.

I'd try to get down to a list of 2 or 3 cities rather than the present very open list. If you tell us what you like to do a bit more we can advise.

Hi, thanks for the feedabck. Flying to Manchester to meet up with relatives. Frm Manchester we plan to fly to Rome-Florence, would love to see the leaning tower of Pisa too.( 3 Days Italy) Will be flying to Switz, for 3-4days, main must see is the Alps. Paris by train. (2days) London(2days) Back to Manchester. Sounds very ambtious.We don't know if we will return so thought of making full use of the 2 weeks. How how how?

You will see nothing if you spend only 3 days in Italy. And the same goes for 2 days in Paris and London. It is not worth the effort. Would you be willing to consider two or three major stops on your trip so that you have time to enjoy the destinations? One possibility would be 4 days in Switzerland, 4 days in Paris, 4 days in London and 2 days for transit time. This is a very fast paced trip, especially with small children, but it gives you a chance to enjoy your time in Europe.

I know it is tempting to "see it all" but to often you end up seeing very little.

@mamcalice, thanks for your advice, will discuss with hubby, sounds more sane. ;-) But I won't be able to shop in Italy ( outlets stores...) ;-(

IMHO way to much bouncing around with a little kid. You are proposing at least 8 EIGHT!!!! stops in 14 days. What you have planned is nothing but an extensive tour of the train stations and airports of europe. You will have practically no time to see anything and I can guarantee you will be hauling a really cranky child around with you the whole time. In the time you have you should have 4 - FOUR - no more different hotels. Otherwise you will be wasting your time and money.

Nov is not not winter - it's fall - and your chance of snow is really nil except up in the Swiss Alps - it's just too early in the year. Temps will likely be chilly and you can get a lot of rain - but I would be very surprised at any snow.

Assume highs will be in the 50s and lows in the 40s - so you will all need a midweight jacket and layers to put underneath for evenings and time spent up in the mountains. (And you may have ot ascend into the mountain tops to get the snow that stays there all year round. In Switz many of the resorts, chairlifts etc close in Nov for repair/renovation - since you are between Oct - the end of the hiking season and Dec - the beginning of the ski season. Although in many places even in Switz you won't get much snow before Christmas.

As for hotels - you need to give a specific amount in euros or francs for peopl to make recommendations.

Oh my.

Since Manchester is a must. I would keep Italy and spend 1 week shared between Rome and Florence. Then, fly up to Switzerland and visit the snowy areas. I would skip London and Paris completely...this time.

The snow situation is iffy in November, but you can always go up in altitude in Switzerland.

@Nytraveler, thanks for ur opinion. Guess I was too excited to see as much Europe as I can. Will have to cut Italy. My 5 yrs old son has been begging us to bring him to place where there is snow. Especially when the movies that's playing on TV have snow. As for accomodation, we hope to get rooms within euro200/night. Thanks

In November you really need a bit of switzerland with a glacier on a mountain top. There may be an early dump but it will be tricky to be certain.

Give the discussion so far could you list out what you see as the logical steps, I think you are proposing
Manchester, train
London, train
Paris, train
Zurich,fly
Manchester, train

You can get good shoping in each of the cites mentioned.
Euro 200 should be ok in most though Zurich will be at the high end.

You should look know for budget triple rooms - and reserve as soon as possible. Nov can be many congresses in London or Paris - which can take up a lot of hotel rooms,. And many rooms are doubles only- with no room for a child - so you definitely need to look for triples rooms on discount sites. I would be surprised if this will cover the price in Swtiz, which is quite expensive. And you need to decide where to stay (Zurich is a business city - you don't need to stay there) - should be someplace in the Berner Oberland - perhaps Interlaken or one of the towns partway up the mountains - so you can take the train up past the snowline.

Thanks everyone for the bundles of information. Still has lots of planning to do. Please keep sharing your views. Will keep all of you posted on our plan...

I agree with nytraveler do not stay in Zurich (or Geneva) as you will pay through the nose, but you can use their airport. :-)