We are trying to plan our spring/early summer trip to Europe, but we can't decide where to go. We will be traveling with our 2 year old son, so we can't do a lot of hopping around. Last May we spent 9 days in Barcelona with one side trip and that worked well. We've also already been to London, Paris, and Italy (Rome and north through Bellagio).

Any suggestions? We are thinking of a major city with some doable side-trips... help!

Thanks.

Why not try for something a little different. Germany: Munich or Berlin, Scandinavia: Copenhagen or Stockholm or Switzerland. Lucerne is a great center with lots to do, incluidng boat trips, mountain hikes, cable car rides and access to adorable little towns and castles.

NYtraveler has a couple good ideas IMO. Southern Germany (Munich) is nice and it's relatively close to other areas such as Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland if you decide to day trips. Lucerne also looks like a good area as it is near the center of Switzerland with easy access to larger cities such as Zurich and Bern as well as the amazing outdoor activities at Interlacken. Another place I really enjoyed was Malta. There are lots of things to see and do there. You can check out their national tourism website at http://www.visitmalta.com.

Kathyl
Amsterdam could be fun too. There's lots of day trips but not too far. Amsterdam itself is very interesting and, in my opinion, one of the best neighborhoods.

The Dutch all seem able to speak English, so this isn't a problem. The food is great and varied. It's cheap too. The city transportation is cheap and fast. If you like to treat yourself, order the rollmops.

Blackduff

Thanks for all the suggestions. Keep them coming!

I am beginning to look into Lucerne, Amsterdam, and Malta. I like the idea of Malta for the warm weather and sunshine, but am wondering how expensive it would be--getting there and renting an apartment?

Now the plot thickens. I had originally ruled out Paris, but am now reconsidering. What do you all think about 4-5 days in Paris (our first and only trip there had been during a grey November some 6 years ago) followed by 4-5 days in the Loire Valley (we've never been there)? Any recommendations on which town to use as a base?

I bet tomorrow I may be thinking of a completely different plan--this is the problem I get when I read all the wonderful posts on this board!

ttt