justineparis

Ah , my point exactly,, kids enjoy seeing things they have heard or seen something about,, so yes, you can choose where you go , but then fill them up with ideas of what they will see.. it does mean a lot more to them.. hence my idea of letting them see a lot of vidoes etc and then asking them what seemed fun or interesting ( I totally agree kids don't get all the excutive power till they are old enough to pay to take YOU to Europe, lol ).

Pi0neervalleygirl

We took our boys to Europe for the first time when they were ages 6 and 12. We spent two nights in Amsterdam, then took the train to Paris for 2 nights. Next we took the train to Bruges, Belgium, where we spent two nights. Then back by train to Amsterdam, to the same hotel as the beginning, for our last two nights.

Eight nights seemed like the right amount of time for us, and the trip worked out beautifully.

Pi0neervalleygirl

I should add that we moved around every few days to keep the kids engaged. They loved the idea of traveling by train and visiting different countries.

We also had each boy keep a journal about their experiences. Nothing fancy or long, just enough for some nostalgia later.

travelswithcurley

We just returned from a trip to Ireland with our young kids (not quite 2 and not quite 4) at the end of May and I thought it was a very family friendly destination. We flew into Shannon and spent all of our time in the western part of Ireland to avoid long drives. We especially loved our day trip to the Aran Islands (Inis Oirr), Connemara National Park, and the Cliffs of Moher.

There are so many family friendly B&Bs (you can easily find B&B owners that also have kids in the house, which means built in playmates and toys!) and restaurants.

Here are the links to our family blog with pictures and details of each location to give you an idea of potential kid friendly activities:

Connemara: http://travelswithcurley.com/2013/06...-our-car-woes/

Doolin: http://travelswithcurley.com/2013/06...iffs-of-moher/

Inis Oirr: http://travelswithcurley.com/2013/06...r-or-inisheer/

Dingle: http://travelswithcurley.com/2013/06...n-its-berries/

Good luck with your research and have fun!

flpab

Travelswithcurley, great pictures and blog. So nice to see people planning vacations with their kids. Germany is a very kid friendly country. There is so much to do and see in Bavaria. I think my favorite times were weeks at the beach but loved the first time we went to Boston and history books came alive. We lived close enough to Philly and DC that we were able to see it not just read about it. Very important. Washington DC is free, even the zoo. Love that you all are giving this gift of travel to your children.