K7TY

Hi, I am new to the forum and am hoping you can help. My daughter and I are travelling to Europe from Australia Dec/Jan for approx 36 days and we are flying into London and out of Paris. I am stuck with where to go as I have travelled when I was younger and although I'm excited to be doing it again I also want to choose places a teen would love to.

Currently we have an itinerary of:
London - 5 full days
fly to Vienna - 2 full days
Salzburg (by train) - 2 full days
Innsbruck (by train) - 6 full days as we hope to ski for 3 days

Then I'm not sure where to go. We have about 9 days free before making our way to Paris where we would like to spend 6 full days.

I was thinking Germany or Switzerland or the top part of Italy or maybe even Barcelona.

My aunt suggested we fly from London to Finland and stay in Rovaniemi but it seemed like a lot and was thinking we could do Scandinavia another time.

I need to book soon so would be very grateful for any ideas/inspiration.

Thank you so much

Travel_Nerd

How much research have you done? TBH, Vienna and Salzburg would not be my first choices as a teen but if she is interested in those areas, start with reading some good guidebooks. Personally, if they are of interest, spend more time in both.

By "two full days" are you meaning you have three nights in each? Two full days would barely scratch the surface of what Vienna has to offer. Salzburg might be fine - depending on yours and hers interests. Christmas markets are popular with folks - but I cannot say they would be of interest for you or your teen.

What about the Holidays? What are your plans then? Landmarks might be shut down, public transport limited and you might need to make dinner reservations, if applicable.

K7TY

thank you travel_nerd I agree re Salzburg. I guess I was in my 20s when I visited. To be honest, I am really just going off memory as I have visited most of Continental Europe so I haven’t been doing a lot of research. I have really been just looking at the map and looking at the logistics and trying to go from there, and taking into account, the time of year, being winter.

We understand that things will be closed at that time of year and that’s fine. We are keen to do some skiing and just get a feel for the cities. we were looking at skiing in Innesbrook just after Christmas. But I am now looking to whether or not going to Finland is a possibility. Before heading down to Austria.

By two full days, yes, that means three nights.

Travel_Nerd

If you want to go to Finland, sure it is possible. But it is sort of a niche place. But if it is both of your interests, sure, go on ahead.

You have time to research. Start there and ask your teen what he or she is interested in doing/seeing. That will give you your baseline. But without knowing more about the both of you, we cannot give suggestions.

I'd actually suggest NOT flying to Vienna if you can swing it. Might involve some planning perhaps areas closer to London via train that you can then get to Vienna by train. But all depends on your other points if you fit anything else in besides Finland If you have already booked that Vienna flight or have set dates, disregard.

36 days seems like a lot and while it is a good amount of time, it gets reduced the more you move. You lose at least half a day in transit from place to place. When you were in your 20s, you probably did not care or even notice that. I can just about bet you will notice it now. And with it being winter with less daylight and colder days, you may need to take it slower to accommodate those circumstances.

While you research, may I suggest you review the many planning threads and trip reports on this forum. Not only will it give you some ideas, you may also get an idea what will work logistically.

shelemm

There's is no such thing as a place in Europe where a 'teen' wouldn't want to go, it's a question of the particular teen. By the time my kids were teens, they had their own idea about where they wanted to go, and it was not always obvious. Can your teen do some research? You have a lot of time in Europe. I adore Prague and Krakow as the perfect counterpoints to Vienna. Also, I adore the countryside and find a lot of value in traveling by car for at least part of the trip.

Michael

South of Krakow there is Zakopane, a resort town which offers skiing in the winter. You could decide either to move your skiing days there, or add skiing days.

lavandula

Germany or Switzerland make logistical sense as they are on the way to Paris. I would certainly think about a city or two so that if the weather is bad you can duck into a café or museum. How about Munich? It pairs quite well with Vienna and Salzburg. Then you could go by train to Strasbourg, and then to Paris. If Strasbourg was your base you could then visit the Alsatian villages.

Lavandula

Traveler_Nick

The only thing you can't really do is go to the beach. With that out of the way you need to give a little information on what you want to do.

Also exact dates wouldn't hurt.

Vienna you can take the train to Venice. If you're doing this after the Jan 6th holiday Venice will less busy and hotels cheaper. If it's during the Christmas period it'll be high season.

You can certainly head in the opposite direction. Prague? Budapest? Munich? Go all the way to Berlin? But without at least a vague idea of your interests I'm just throwing names out.

K7TY

Thank you Travel_Nerd, my aunt loves Finland and has been there 3 times. I'm not sure, I think we were thinking because of the husky sleds etc might be good for my teen.

I do have time but then I feel the pressure to book asap as the prices will increase and properties book out. I have yet to book anything except our main flights - SYD-LHR and then CDG-SYD.

Thank you for your response, I will have a read through the threads. It is hard without knowing our interests - having a teen that says "I'm happy with what you decide" can work both ways Thanks again

K7TY

Thank you all for your responses. I know I have been very vague, I will have a review of the other threads tonight. Appreciate your time.

K7TY

Thanks Lavandual - that was my initial thoughts too - Munich and Frankfurt then make our way to France. I will have a look at the map again. Thank you for responding, appreciate it.

dreamon

I did something similar with my 20 year old daughter. She had never been to the snow (and I only a couple of times) so that in itself was pretty cool.

There is so much to see between Vienna and Paris that you could spend months doing that journey. Places which we both especially enjoyed were the villages around Colmar in Alsace, Innsbruck and southern Germany, Salzburg (less so), and New Years Eve in Prague. We bought very little at the Christmas markets except food and wine but they were very convivial settings to enjoy (and you'll never get anything like them in Australia). We flew home from Vienna but otherwise it wasn't such a hit with her (okay but not a favourite). We saved up our 'shopping time' to our last stop, which was Vienna, and that was good fun (and didn't have to haul extra luggage through the holiday).

I'd be tempted to not go so far east but stick closer to Paris and explore by train. Places like Bamberg, Meersburg, etc would appeal but have never visited that area in winter. She returned with her boyfriend and visited a lot of Germany (loved Munich and Freiburg, didn't like Frankfurt at all). Amsterdam was a hit. I'd love to visit Switzerland in winter (perhaps Bern in winter would be good?) and Venice in the winter has been a long outstanding and so far unfulfilled dream.

Such a great opportunity to travel together and one which probably won't come again for me. One last thing... flights are a bore: trains are great.

Surfergirl

I'd keep going with the ski theme and continue on to Switzerland and France and ski the Swiss and French alps. When I lived in Grenoble, aside from the relatively local skiing in Alpe d'Huez, we also skied in Chamonix (Mont Blanc - France), Zermatt (loved it!), and Grindelwald in Switzerland.

bvlenci

Vienna is a beautiful and lively city. I think most teens would love it.

We went there from our home in Italy last summer on the Austrian Nightjet train. We got on in the evening and arrived in Vienna the next morning. They have service from various cities, including Paris. It departs after 7 PM, and you arrive in Vienna after 10 AM. Considerably that the cost covers travel and lodging, I think the price is reasonable.

We travelled in a couchette car on the way out, reserving the whole car for ourselves; and in a private compartment on the way back. We chose the couchette so we could each have a bottom bunk; it cost slightly more than the private compartment.

I highly recommend the private compartment, though. Even though one of us (me) had to climb into the top bunk, the comfort and level of service were much better. There is a sink and mirror in the compartment, and the bedding, and the quality of the mattress, were much nicer. When you are ready to go to bed, you can call an attendant to convert the seat into bunk beds, and to convert it back into seats in the morning. (In the couchette you had to do it yourself.) Both had breakfast, but the compartment breakfast was better.

Both provide a hospitality kit with slippers and toiletries. There were not many stops along the way, and the were almost silent. (They didn't call out the stops.)

It's not the Orient Express, but much nicer than the overnight train trips I made as a young backpacker.

J62

Honestly, I think there are better places to choose as a base for skiiing than Innsbruck. Of the mtns/areas close to Innsbruck, the Nordkette (accessible by in-city tram) is so-so skiing. It can be icy, or slushy, and it's not my favorite. It is south facing, so when the spring sun warms up the slopes it's a great place for Fiegln. Great fun. If you haven't tried it, go a google search.. Patcherkofel, the large round top mtn just south of Innsbruck is accessible by city bus, and is ok. It has some long runs which I (used to) like. Nearby Axamer Lizum (also accessible by city bus) I find to be the best of the 3 nearby areas. I'm dating myself, but I used to pretend I was Phil Mahre on the A.L. or Patcherkofel downhill course....

K7TY

Thank you all for your contributions, I think I like the idea of skiing in Chamonix etc sounds exciting. I am chatting with my travel agent tomorrow but am thinking we will stay with Switzerland and then make our way to France. As much as I think my daughter would love Lapland and all it has to offer, it feels like we are zigzagging over Europe due to our flights we have already booked, thanks again.

virginiafish

We took many trips with teens and they loved anywhere we went. We went to London, Paris, Loire Valley, Normandy, Belgium, Holland, Barcelona. Barcelona may be especially fun for those extra days.