janisj

Dead horse is well and truly dead - will say no more re Warner Bros -- (It is not at all like WB in SoCal -- just sayin')

Every single person who has tried to help you has been to every destination on the various plans you've thrown out there. Several have been to all of them many multiple times and do tend to know what they are talking about. Visiting Vietnam or California is not the same -- honest

For context - I am a Californian, lived in the UK for 5 years, have traveled all over Europe with and without kids, visit London at least twice every year, and some of the others are much wider traveled than I am. They have all been generous with their time trying to explain (over and over again) why some of your decisions might be problematic. None of it seems to have swayed you, which is of course your choice.

bilboburgler

cycling and walking; in Amsterdam cycling will blow your mind, in Paris will be almost as good and in London will be interesting, especially the canals (yes in London). In fact in London you can walk/ride from London to Oxford using trains or the Oxford tube when you get tired. Only 60 miles so a day's ride on a bike or just do a bit for a walk.

aliviv

I really appreciate the time everyone taken to respond.
I haven’t finalized the plan so if I came across as dead set in my decisions, it’s a communication error on my end.

aliviv

thanks for the tips. We will see how it goes. If we can get time to bike in Paris it will be a bonus!

aliviv

yes that’s what I tried to avoid, ie burnt out.
At this stage I am certain about London, Paris, Grindelwald and Lucerne ( as the last stop before flying home) as our bases.
If it comes to just those places I am fine with that as well. I just need to find a good logistically way to reach Grindelwald without traveling the whole day!!

aliviv

I am relieved you found Lucerne not too overrated! I will drop Monaco since we are not doing that loop anymore.
Geneva was a transit point to avoid long hours on the train to Grindelwald. I have a choice to drop it if it is not that interesting.

aliviv

ok point taken about Vienna.

janisj

What makes Grindelwald so very important? There is simply no quick nor easy way to travel from Paris to Grindelwald. No matter whether you take trains, or buses, or fly+train, or even rent a car and drive. The fastest journey would take 8+ hours in transit.

millie2112

Hi Aliviv
I live in Melbourne, and I have travelled with my children to Europe. We aussies travel a bit differently. We have no jetlag after 8 hours, which to some is dubious, but with a 2 day stop in Dubai you will be ready to begin once you land again.
I am one of these odd people that are not a fan Switzerland. Sure it is picturesque, but it is also very pricey. and given the aussie dollar, it is a place not on my list. We visited Lucerne and honestly it was enough for me. Lots of rich retired people (I think I am going to get into trouble for this comment)

what about going to Amsterdam with the kids... you can bike ride with them. or changing it up even more and doing Italy. Italy is really doable, from France.

neckervd

millie: if you were at Lucerne only, you have seen absolutely nothing of Switzerland, except tons of American and Asian tourists

aliviv

Thanks Millie, great to hear about the jet lag!
One year, we landed in west coast US in the morning and the next day flew to New Mexico for a wedding 😀 So hopefully we will be good in London.The reason we are doing Switzerland despite our abysmal exchange rate is partly because we fly out of Zurich!
Since we will be Switzerland I was looking at some outdoor activities in the Swiss Alps like hiking, cliff walk, cogwheels trains up the mountain, toboggan or scooter down the mountain, hang gliding. Of course all at the mercy of the weather! So I allocated three nights in Grindelwald just in case we had a bad day.

Lucerne was recommended to me over Zurich where we will depart Europe. I am not too excited about it either though could use it as base and travel to nearby mountains and/or the Lindt museum before we leave.

Amsterdam sounds like a great city! If we want to explore it we will have to swap with Grindelwald.

I have lots of information now to go back to the drawing board!

shelemm

The South of France is wonderful if you have time plus a car. Absent that, I would trade more time in Vienna for your 4 nights in Nice/Avignon.

aliviv

Thanks shelemm. We won’t have a car unfortunately…

shelemm

I took my kids to Vienna, and I found it very kid friendly. In addition to the interests you talked about in your OP, there are magnificent gardens, a historic zoo and farmhouse at Schonbrunn Palace, the imperial crypt, and your kids might also love the museum designed by Hundertwasser to house his own imaginative art. The house is itself a work of art, so it's like walking into one of his paintings. Then of course there is the Prater, a historic amusement park with a famous and unusual ferris wheel (prominently featured in the classic movie, The Third Man.)

If you go, I do highly recommend watching the movie.

aliviv

Thank you for your positive and thorough reponse! Love the details provided!
Yep, a spirit of adventure resonates with us 😍

aliviv

thanks for the tip!
i feel like any city we end up going to will have something special for our family to enjoy!

Firecracker25

Hi, you may not realize it, but that looks like an AI bot. It would be best to watch those - they often are not feasible.

May I ask? What research have you done? I say this because that you mentioned Switzerland was non-negotiable. But later stated that Grindelwald was recommended to you. I am confused and seems as if you are only planning what others tell you should do. What do you want to see or do? Edits: I am not judging you. And, do not think anyone here was judging you and perhaps misinterpreted their intentions.

janisj

Be really (REALLY) careful -- apparently there was a fake post that you took to heart. Looks like that post was deleted so whatever information was included -- just FORGET about it . . .

AI bots are a scourge!!!!!!