Hello, we're a family of 4 (daughters are 12 and 7) planning to visit Europe this August 2024 for around 20 days.
Plan is to fly to Paris from Dubai, and then explore 2 additional countries.

What would you recommend: France-Germany-Austria or France - Belgium - Netherland? any other suggestions are welcomed
We're looking into exploring the beautiful nature, hiking, lakes, countryside and some cities in between.

Thanks!

Hello, we're a family of 4 (daughters are 12 and 7) planning to visit Europe this August 2024 for around 20 days. (August 3 - August 23)
Plan is to fly to Paris from Dubai, and then explore 2 additional countries.

What would you recommend: France-Germany-Austria or France - Belgium - Netherland? any other suggestions are welcomed
We're looking into exploring the beautiful nature, hiking, lakes, countryside and some cities in between.

Thanks!

I would suggest you do France, Germany and Switzerland. Switzerland just fits better than Austria for logistics by train. Beyond that, it really is up to you regarding your city interests. I just don't think belgium and Netherlands will give you as much for scenery etc as Switzerland.

You could look at Slovenia, Austria and northern Italy. It's much better if you can travel by train between countries once you're over there and avoid flying within Europe.

Two things may be an issue - August is when all the Europeans take their yearly holiday and it's June now and presumably you don't have any bookings. I would plan and book quickly.

The second thing that may be an issue is the Paris Olympics and Paralympics. I'm not sure of dates but personally, I would avoid Paris.

Thanks KayF! Yes we're aware of the Olympics however our Schengen visa will be issued by France, hence planning touchdown in Paris + kids would love to visit Disneyland. Mainly will do couple of days in Paris and then move to our next destination.
Question: what do you mean by "August is when all the Europeans take their yearly holiday"? how will this affect our holiday?

Thank you Christina! will def consider the logistics parts of the trip

Welcome to the Fodors Forums. Your topic was moved to the Europe Forum, merged with your existing thread and country tags added

The Olympics in Paris are from July 26 through Aug 11. Then there are Paralympics until Sept 8 or so (those are the games for people with some physical challenge).

If you are just landing at CDG and going to Disneyland, should be fine. Paris hotels will be hard to come and extremely expensive. The center of Paris has all kinds of restrictions, regular people can't even walk in certain areas of the center without a special pass and the local transport fares are raised during this period. Paris transport is still really a bargain, of course. YOu may have your plans on getting to Disneyland, the RER train does go there from CDG and I think there are some special buses or transfers you can book. YOu can take a TGV train from Marne-la-Vallee Chessy (where Disney is) to Strasbourg direct in a couple hours, though. You can also go south in France from there by train, say to Lyon in a couple hours.

What do you mean when you say you will "do a couple of days in Paris?" Do you mean that literally, not Disneyland? see my comments on that. I think Aug 11 until 28 is a somewhat interim period, though, and it may not be so crowded then. Transport rates will be increased until Sept 8.
Here is one site which says it should be ok during your dates in terms of restrictions

-- the rest of the Olympic Games July 27th through August 11th and Paralympic Games August 28th through September 8th, where closures and restrictions are only applicable to motorized traffic around specific venues when events are taking place --


August is a popular month for Europeans to vacation, it's worst in popular areas, of course, and beach areas. I don't know that it will be a big issue for Germany so much, I suppose some Swiss mountain towns will be popular for vacationers, such as for hiking etc. I"ve only been in these places in July and it was fine (Berlin, Switzerland, parts of France but not the coast, etc).

OP, contrary to popular belief, not all Europeans take their vacations in August. Scandinavians don't. However, it can mean smaller shops might close down for a few weeks in August and that a lot of people head for the beach.

August will be hot in Europe. Accommodation, transport etc will be harder to get and more expensive. Simply put, it's a busy time of year.

I would strongly advise you to browse few books on European countries, just the essential parts like what to do, when to go, currency, budget, public transportation, driving...
You will then be able to narrow your options, maybe reconsider your plans to visit several countries (France and Germany are large countries with many options for travel experiences).
As already reported, the only specifics for this coming season are the olympic games (mainly affect Paris / Versailles)

Souki-
I suggest you (and entire family) research more, reading travel books.

I live in Michigan USA, and my (perhaps stupid and naive) assumption is that Dubai is flat, hot, and sandy, so that nature, countryside, lakes, hiking would be a nice contrast. Likewise, although you didn't mention it, mountains.

We've travelled to Germany, France,and more 9 times. Personally, we find northern France and Germany more urbanized, and southern France and Germany more rural, perhaps more to your liking.
Southwestern France (unless you get near the Pyrenees mountains) is somewhat rolling countryside, but no mountains. Southeastern France (the Vaucluse, for example) has similar, but has some "mini-mountain ranges". Personally, I find photos/videos of mountains more interesting than seeing them on-site (sort of dreary when there's no vegetation in sight, but no one ever tells you that).

There are bullet trains (the TGV) in France take you from Paris to Avignon or Aix-en-Provence in 3+ hours at 200mph. we like that area

That is a rather sweeping statement tomboy - you have never been to Normandy or Brittany or the Ardennes or Alsace or Jura or northern and north-eastern northern Germany clearly.

Most European countries, but not all as stated have their school holidays in August and a lot of place will be busy with families, but then again the tourist hotspots in Europe are always busy.

Do you want heat, coming from Dubai or cooler weather for a change? There is of course no guarantee of either, nor of it being dry. Since you need Schengen visas, and given the school holidays you need to make up your minds soon as to where you want to go.

Belgium has hills and forests, but no mountains, the Netherlands is largely flat, and is lovely in it's own way, with big skies, nice villages and towns, and walking and cycling easier because of the relative flatness.
France and Germany are large countries with very different landscapes depending on where you go. I think you need to look into both countries a bit more before you decide.

au contraire
been to Normandy & Brittany, Alsace, Jura.
just didnt' like it as much as points south
but everyone's different.
what rings my chimes might not ring yours, and vice versa
That's why self-research is important.

Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) sounds like it's got everything you want. You could land in Copenhagen, do some biking and exploring, then head to Sweden and up the coast to Norway. There are beaches and places to hike. In Norway you could see the fjords and hike. Go back to Sweden and Stockholm, which has the archipelago and Lake Mälaren. August in Scandinavia is generally cooler than the south of Europe. Both Copenhagen and Stockholm are lovely cities.

Thanks once again for your input. Plan now is to land in Paris, visit Disneyland for 3 nights and leave to Strasbourg then Germany. And then come back around Aug 17 to 22 to Paris (Avoiding the Olympics hype).

Thanks once again for your input. Plan now is to land in Paris, visit Disneyland for 3 nights and leave to Strasbourg then Germany. And then come back around Aug 17 to 22 to Paris (Avoiding the Olympics hype).

Thanks once again for your input. Plan now is to land in Paris, visit Disneyland for 3 nights and leave to Strasbourg then Germany. And then come back around Aug 17 to 22 to Paris (Avoiding the Olympics hype).
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