must see's and places with teenagers 16 & 22 Boys
 

Our family is flying into Paris 4 days, fast train to either provence or ??(south of france)
for 2 or 3 days then barcelona 2 days then Milain 4 ? Any ideas

Instead of Milan, add the days to Provence. Better yet, limit the trip to either Paris and Provence, or Paris and Barcelona.

Ideas: 2 days in the south of France plus 2 days in Barcelona, plus w days (why?) in Milan is FAR too much to bite off in that short a time, too expensive, and you'll spend as much time in transit as you will seeing anything. You're zigzagging all over Europe and won't experience much of anything except modes of transport. Cut it down to two venues at most, maybe 3 if you actually have 13 days on the ground.

I would limit it to Paris-South of France-Barcelona. I have only been through Milan but heard that it is industrial and not so appealing.

Have you looked at a map and/or the traveltimes between the destinations? If it takes half a day to go from one place to another, which destination will lose that time?

If the teenagers are 16 and 22 (that's not a teenager, actually) they are old enough to have some input. What do they want to see? Of course, if you are paying for everything you should have veto rights to any really crazy or expensive ideas they come up with. But there will be a lot less irritation and complaints if they feel like they have been part of the planning.

What time of year will you be traveling?
I also don't think you get anything meaningful done in Provence in 48 hours (other than spend a lot of money to get there and for the hotel). If your boys are more active types, you can hike canyons or do some rafting, but any activity will eat up its time.
If you had girls instead of boys I would understand the Milan part of your trip as it's Italy's fashion and shopping capital. It's not an industrial town, by the way, except for the outskirts... PP might have mixed that up with Torino.
Otherwise Paris and Provence or Paris and Barcelona sounds more fun to do than racing around the Med.
But you should give some more info on your sons' interests to get some relevant feedback..

Just one more voice to add to the chorus. You are covering way too much territory for the amount of time you have. And you are spending the longest time in the least inviting place (Milan). Unless you are visiting family, I would eliminate Milan entirely. And two days is not enough time for Barcelona.

Consider doing what is suggested above and choosing either Paris and Provence or Paris and Barcelona. WIth 12 or 13 days, two areas will work best. Remember that Provence is a large area and needs a reasonable amount of time.

I agree that you should get some input from your sons, but I also think that you should include at least a couple of days along the D-Day beaches. My son has been there twice, one as a little boy and again as a young man of 21. Both trips were profoundly inspiring to him.

my kids [and i have travelled with them when they were roughly the same age as yours] always enjoyed it more when we moved around less. they liked going to the same places for breakfast [and when he was about 16 DS loved going to get it himself, despite an almost complete lack of italian or french] or for an evening aperitif, and coming back "home" after a hard day's sightseeing. spending longer in a place allowed us to rent apartments, which they [and we] also liked for the extra space and freedom.

Paris and Barcelona would both make great places for that sort of trip.

oh my gosh, I meant Madrid.

madrid instead of....Milan? Easy mistake to make!

i don't think that changes the advice; if your return flights are from Madrid, you ought to allow one night before your flight, but I'd stick with Paris + Barcelona for the main parts of the rip.

Hmm. No input on any preferences or interests... Just a new thread asking what to do with two days in Southern France....
Sorry, but don't you guys have anything you like to do or are interested in... Just to give the people here a BIT to work with???

The last I looked a 22 year old was a grown man - not a teenager - and a 16 year old is almost one. I would assign part of the work to them - esp since they are probably going to want to go out in the evenings while parents linger over dinner or go back to the hotel.

They shuold check out the Let's Go student guide and the Thorn Tree section of the Lonely Planet web site to find info from others of student age - on what to do, not just nightlife.

Also, agree that you are trying to spred yourelves too thin - and would be better focusing on only two places in the limited time you have.