Europe with children
 

We are just starting to look at taking a trip to Europe next year with our 2 sons, 16 & 13. We want to do a tour without breaking the bank. Does anybody have any suggestions on tours and places to go? We are very open to almost any country. Thanks.

Glenn

Hi glenn
let's narrow it down a bit :)

how much time will you have? What time of year were you thinking--summer, because of the kids? Christmas time, when it's colder and days are shorter, but places are less crowded?

Do you have a total budget in mind for the trip? When it comes to hotels, do you want clean and simple (and possibly no air conditioning in summer) or do you want more than that? What sorts of things were you hoping to do--that is, there must be some things that you and your spouse have always dreamed of seeing or doing.
Seeing the Sistine Chapel? Climbing the Eiffel Tower? Visiting the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa? Hiking around Cinque Terre?

Would you like a combination of cities and small towns, or just one or the other? Will you want to drive, or take trains from one place to another?

Once you answer some of Elaine's question I think people here will be better able to advise. ANother question I have is have any of you been to Europe before? I would get the boys involved in this one. I think they are definitely old enough to contribute.
We've taken 3 family trips to Europe, all were 8-9 nights (unfortunately we can't be away any more than that!). Our first trip was 6 nights Paris, 3 night AMsterdam. Our 2nd trip was 9 night in Italy (a bit of a road trip), and last years trip was 4 nights Madrid and 4 nights London. The first trip we wanted to do Paris, but thought our kids would like a change of pace from the big city and major museums. Amsterdam was an easy train ride away, and none of us had ever been. Italy has always been my favorites, we spent 3 nights Venice, then rented a car. Spent a night in FLorence (to visit a babysitter who was studiying there), a night in ORvieto (I wanted my kids to spend some time in a medieval town) and then 4 nights Rome (1 day we drove to Pompeii). My kids just loved this trip, especially the food! This trip was 4 years ago and my son still talks about it. Our last trip I picked partly because none of us had been to Spain and I thought my kids would like London. Madrid was perfect for a short visit, plus my kids got to use their SPanish. As expected, my kids, especially my teenage daughter, loved London. This combo was also influenced by incredible airfare at the time (< $400pp for the 3 leg journey). When I saw this fare, I booked. I caught a great sale that ended days after booking and the price tripled!

There are so many great options, but much depeneds on your interests, the time of year, and how long the trip will be.

Having taken my kids to Europe four different times, I strongly recommend Italy...the food "works" for kids (think pizza, pasta, gelato), the Italians are friendly to kids, and the sights are just awesome (what's not to love about the Roman Empire???)

glennlevy,
I have taken my grandchildren to Italy the last two years for what I thought was a reasonable amount. You can read my trip reports here:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34608686

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34494897

glenn posted this thread on April 15 and hasn't responded since posting it