Help to plan trip
 

Dear All,

My wife and I (from Sydney) are taking our three children (aged 14, 13 & 10) to Europe for for first time for 6 weeks between December 2012 and January 2013 - yes I know it will be freezing.

We want to spend about a week in each of London, Paris and Rome, which leaves about 17 days available to visit some other places. We thought we would spend about 9 days travelling through the UK and we thought we could go to the south of France (perhaps Monaco) and then across to Italy (perhaps Florence) for 8 days. We also want somewhere in the UK that will be "special" for Christmas.

Our main objective is for our children to enjoy it.

All advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
David Stack

Hi David,
We're Australian and spent 5 years living in the UK. I'd suggest either the south of France for Christmas week or possibly Austria or Germany. We had a good Christmas in an apartment in Nice, the weather was much better than in the UK and there are loads of day trips you can do by bus or train.

We also had a week at Christmas in Strasbourg which had the Christmas markets which the kids would enjoy, it looks pretty lit up at night. The problem I had with Strasbourg was it was just too cold for me, there were frozen fountains and we found ourselves going inside anything that was open just to escape the frigid air.

If you've always lived in Australia you won't have the right clothing for a European winter but if you visit the UK first there are lots of charity shops where you can pick up coats, hats, etc very cheaply, then give them away again before you come back. At the very minimum, you'll all need a thick coat, warm hat that pulls down around your ears, a warm scarf and waterproof shoes/boots with nonslip sole.

Be aware that in London there is no public transport at all on Christmas Day and almost none on Boxing Day. So if you are going to be in London plan ahead. It's good for walking around empty streets but nearly everything is closed.

If you do a search on www.slowtrav.com you will find a couple of trip reports of Christmas in Paris, Nice etc. They might help with your planning.

One other thing, the days will be short, it starts getting dark around 3pm in the UK. Some things will be closed in winter.

Kay

Dear Kay,

Many thanks for your helpful advice.

Regards,
David Stack

If your kids have never experienced snow and you have some extra time yuo might want to visit a resort in Switzerland for a few days. Even i fyuo don;t want to elarn to ski there is a lot else to do (skate, sled, carriage rides etc) - and it is something they may never experience again.

As ofr cold - I know that much of europe has been oddly cold this year - but most years it is farily mild in winter unless youare in the Apls, Scandinavia or the central european plain *heading towards russis). You will need winter clothes - but it's in the 40's or 30's -n0t 20s or teens.

Many thanks nytraveler

Hi David,
Sorry I can't suggest anywhere for Christmas but do think about spending some time in Venice. It is so different & I'm sure your kids would love it. "
Clothing-wise you will need very warm coats etc. "Fairly mild" is a bit subjective. We'd probably call it something else - brass monkeys do come to mind!!

For xmas in the UK I would suggest London. As above there is no transit on xmas day, but if you are central its kind of fun to walk around and get pics with very few people around. London Walks also do walks that day www.walks.com (they are fantastic for all kinds of walk and day trips btw).

For that amount of time I would recommend renting an apartment in London, Paris, and Rome.

For your 9 days in the UK - what do you want to see? I might recommend flying into Edinburgh spending a few days there then train to York spend a few days (lovely minster and great free railway museum, also Viking museum might interest the kids?) You could rent a car for a few days and drive around Yorkshire then train to London and do your week in London. Or you could rent a car for a few days and drive through the Peak District to see some lovely villages and towns and drop the car just outside central London and then spend your week in London.

Book your London to Paris eurostar train as soon as you can to get the best prices (90 days out I think, but check, it might be 120) www.eurostar.com

Happy Planning!

Many thanks, aussiesue & jamikins.
David Stack