Europe w/12 yo Granddaughter
 

We'd like to take our 12 yo granddaughter on a 10-12 day trip to Europe. Any ideas for destinations? She hasn't been abroad at all - we have some, mostly to the UK. This trip would be during spring break (March) or next summer.

I have taken my children
(daughter is 13)overseas a few times, mainly to Italy. There they enjoy rome most of all.
This past trip we spent a few days in London, which they loved!!
Of course there is Paris, Amsterdam or Switzerland (maybe Montreux)

Since you know the UK, how about definitley London, and then one other country, totally differnt in feel.

Why don't you ask your granddaughter where she would like to go? She might have some good ideas. If she's a Harry Potter fan, she might tell you England, but if she likes Hillary Duff she might ask you to bring her to Rome. Get some input from her; you might be surprised!

We've brought our chidren to England and they liked the castles, the food, and double-decker busses.

My daughter also went to Italy when she was 12 years old (her grandmother took her during spring break) and three years later she's still raving about Italy. However, my mother is an experienced traveller to Italy and the trip went on without any hitches. You might want to consider that angle, that if you're bringing along a pre-teen, it might be more in your comfort zone to visit some place you are familiar with, and one in which language presents no barrier, ie. England.

I think it's a wonderful thing that you are taking your granddaughter. That's a wonderful age, 12, to introduce a new world to. Who knows, when she's older, she might be taking YOU to Europe!

What a wonderful thing to do. My father took my children, when they were 10 and 13 on an African safari. I am so glad they went. It was a trip of a life time for all of them. If you do kid friendly things any place will be great. The weather will be best in Italy that that time of the year. I think your granddaughter might enjoy all the ruins, the food, the gelato etc. Have a great time.

I agree with nanb about the contrast of countries.

In 2001 I took my Dad, niece & nephew to Europe who were then 64, 13 & 12 respectively. We did the following itinerary:

2 nights Glasgow
3 nights Edinburgh
3 nights London
2 nights Winchester
5 nights Paris
3 nights Saumur
1 night Bonneval
1 night Fer-en-Tardenois

With almost 3 weeks we did a great mix of big and small cities in the UK and France.

With 10 to 12 days I'd suggest two big cities like London & Paris or London & Rome. Do try to get out into a smaller town though. Maybe 4 days London, 2 nights Bath(?), take a ferry to France and do 2 nights in Normandy, then 4 in Paris?

Yes, I know you could spend the entire time in London or Paris alone. Do try to mix it up for the 12 year old. Give them a sense of something other than big cities and airports. My Dad loves trains and my niece and nephew enjoyed the train rides we took as well as the smaller more "real" towns. They were thrilled with the overnight train from Edinburgh to London. They'd never done anything like that in the US.

I will admit I was less than happy about the overnight train. I don't like them: screeching wheels, speed changes, no shower in the morning, etc. It was worth it for the kids and my Dad though.

Our favorite memories are from Winchester and Saumur, not Paris and London. Of course they enjoyed the latter: Eiffel Tower, changing of the guard, the Louvre, the London eye. Yet all those things you can see in a guide book or a travel channel special. The other out-of-the-way places are someplace special that they can return to on their own someday.

SELees, I wish were were my grandmother at that age. Lucky child!

I like the idea of London with a side trip to Bath/Stone Henge and then Eurostar train to Paris. We took our 9 and 12 year old kids all over Europe a few years ago, and I think it has made them different (better!) people for the experience. The 9 year old will turn 13 next March, and I'm planning a surprise birthday trip to London over Spring Break. She's a theater fanatic, loves English history, and wants to study at Cambridge, so I'm excited to spend a week there with her, going to plays almost every night, daytripping to Cambridge, etc... (Also hoping the trip will offer nice motivation for developing the work ethic she'll need to pursue those dreams.) I think your granddaughter will love whatever you choose to do. She's lucky!!

What wonderful ideas! Thanks!

We asked for her input, and she's interested in Rome (Hillary Duff and the cute boys!), and also Austria (Sound of Music). I like the idea of getting out of the big cities, especially at this age. She'd be okay with an occasional museum or theater, but more interested in being active. Maybe a bike ride through the French or Italian countryside? And my husband would *love* a train!

Hi,

First, I echo the comments about wonderful grandparents!

I would focus the trip on one or two areas, rather than attempting a "if this is Tuesday, this must be Belgium" marathon. That's a pretty exhausting endeavor, and your experience of any place can be fairly superficial.

Having traveled with my own children when they were age 12, I'd also suggest that you be as flexible as possible in your itnerary, allowing extra time for activities that prove interesting to your granddaughter, and also enabling you to skip things that just don't work out.

Traveling in the UK may be logistically easier than other areas, given your past experience, and the lack of any language barrier. That said, my kids enjoyed both London and Paris (and other parts of the UK and France too) as young teens. Our itenerary limited things they had less patience for, such as lenghty museum visits, and added active sights (boat trips, zoos, the London Eye and Eiffel Tour, time to run through parks and playgrounds, and daytrips by train outside the cities).

That said, outdoor activities may be more doable in summer than in March, in many areas.

Hope this is helpful, if not very specific.

Dave White
[email protected]

Just a little tidbit for your husband's interests - train ride.
I am having trouble remembering the name of the train, But a few yrs ago, National Geographic Traveler had an article on the Top 10 Train Rides.
there is one, which I hope to do some day, it goes from northern Italy, east of Milan area to southern Switzerland .

I am sure I even posted it here but that would have been in '01 or '02
I am sure someone here may even know what i am talking about.

The pictures were spectacular!

nanb - I found the article! Its online at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/tr...00-07-3-0.html

Thanks!
Susan

SELees,
I will top my trip with my grandson. It will give you some ideas.

I totally agree with Carmen, the trip will be a life long imprint; it changed me, when I went with my parents and bro. So I saved my heart out to go again and did so!.

Italy is amazing, everything is so alive, colourful and romantic, your granddaughter will just love it and the Italian guys are handsome! From the gladiator actors in the coliseum to the gondoliers in Venice; romantic love is big in the heart of a 12 year old.

If you can squeeze in Paris, and show her all the Egyptian antiquities at the Louvre, that would be great too. (I loved that).

Memories ;)

Susan,
you're welcome.
and thank you!!! for finding it .
Now I can mark it and save it for future dreaming :)

How wonderful! You will share special memories with your grand-daughter.

A 12-year-old girl would definitely love Venice and Rome. I suggest you limit your number of destinations to have plenty of time for sight-seeing and also for something that 12-year-olds may need from time to time...sleeping in, time to "veg out" for a few hours reading or watching TV...You will all get along better if you allow time for a little break.

So I'd recommend 4 or 5 nights in Rome and 4 nights in Venice.

I just returned from our first family trip to Italy in June, and I travelled with my husband, 22-year-old son, and 18 and 17 year old daughters. My daughters loved Rome and Venice most of all. They thought St. Peter's Basilica was awesome and they returned a second time to see it again, and they climbed the dome. They also liked the Colosseum, where we had a private licensed guide, who took us on a 3-hour walking tour of Ancient Rome.

They loved taking a gondola ride in Venice, and wandering around with my 22-year-old son shopping. They also loved gelato every day.

Oh, your grand-daughter will love you for it if you try to include one hotel in your trip which has free internet access in the lobby so she can e-mail her friends.

Many thanks for all your great suggestions. I think we'll look into both UK/France and Italy as possibilities. We have decided to do summer rather than spring break. Stay tuned!

Susan