>>Cardiff was just to see some of the castles.<<

There are hundreds of castles all over the UK -- Cardiff Castle is fine but not in the top 10 (or 30 for that matter)

Some of the very best Greek art/artifacts can be found in the British museum.

INDEED--called the Elgin Marbles after the person who took 'em off the buildings!! Greece would really like to have them back!!

There are Roman ruins all over the south of France also. We hit many of them for our kids when they were immersed in Latin. It was a fun little addition to the trip.

With 3 weeks, I would start in Rome, travel to Florence, Paris, Normandy and London before ending in Manchester.>>

that's still a lot in 3 weeks. with 2 young boys in tow, do you want some time in the countryside or at the beach? - Europe isn't all cities.

I think that I would fly into Paris, then go to Normandy and tour, making sure that some time was at the beach, then get the ferry to England, and the train to London. St Malo or Cherbourg or Caen to Portsmouth would fit the bill and it would be great adventure for your boys.

http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/fe...FYgKwwodONgJyw

this has the advantage that you can get direct trains from Portsmouth Harbour to central London - Waterloo.

Are your young boys in the 4, 5 range or the 10, 12 range?

We still do not know how much time you have to travel before being in Manchester on the 30th.

Agree with Rome, rather than Florence, being the place for Roman ruins. It will be super hot. Get your major walking type sight seeing done in the morning.

In England, consider Bath for the amazing Roman baths. Unique, beautiful, great sculpture.

Your boys might enjoy some kind of boat trip on one of the canals in England.

Would your boys enjoy Hampton Court Palace?

Look for castles the boys can actually walk around in, now just look at from the outside.

I think that most of us are in agreement here that we need to know more than we know now to help you better. I do have a few thoughts. I would drop Athens as I think the appeal of Greece at least for me includes at least some of the islands and you don't have enough time. I would also drop Dublin as I think the appeal of Ireland is in the countryside. I would drop Cardiff because I do not think adding Cardiff for a castle makes sense. The age of your children matters as touring with 4-7 year olds will be different than touring with 10-12 year olds. Need more time with younger children. Italy, particularly Rome is a viable option but the heat may be a factor. My limo driver yesterday told me that Rome hit 45C last summer.

I should also add I would also drop Milan and consider Venice. I think young boys may find Venice much more interesting than Milan and probably more than Florence.

Try to take a day trip from Rome to visit the enormous pagan temple dedicated to the goddess of fortune (the national archeological museum) in Palestrina (google it, it's beautiful), it's worth a trip for lovers of ancient Greece and Rome (30 min. drive from the capital). And make your way up the hill to Castel San Pietro Romano for a cookie making laboratory at the local bakery to learn how to make the famous giglietti cookies, their age-old recipe was just accepted into SlowFood's Ark of Taste. Panoramic photo op, and then in then stop in Labico for ice cream at Greed, the award-winning ice cream shop with wacky flavors. Please don't just stay in the main cities, the rest of Italy is more "real" and less touristy!

Thank you all so much for the advice! I think I'm going to take some time to decide what kind of ancient art is my priority and go from there. I appreciate all the feedback.

"I think I'm going to take some time to decide what kind of ancient art is my priority and go from there."

Excellent! That should make a huge difference to the success of your planning.

Whatever age they are, I think you and your boys would love Warwick Castle, easily done as a day trip from London. They have demonstrations in falconry, ancient weaponry, very creepy torture dungeons and incredibly life-like wax figures of famous people throughout the various rooms of the castle.

With two weeks only I would do the 2-3 cities in Italy Rome & Venice (would be my choice) and Paris (then Manchester).

With three weeks 2-3 cities in Italy, Paris, London (and Manchester).

Skip Greece, skip Cardiff and Dublin regardless.

>>Warwick Castle, easily done as a day trip from London.<<

Since they would be traveling from London to Manchester - no need to do a day trip to Warwick and back. They can stop there enroute to Manchester.

Skip Greece? Bad idea.

Ah, Petros, I would be right there with you but we have to be realistic for our young traveler!! She'll be back 'cause she says right at the beginning "these are the places I want to go". Just not this trip!! LOL

>>Skip Greece? Bad idea.<<

Only a bad idea for <i>this</i> specific trip.

Well I am not sure for how realistic this trip is from the beginning. Travelling Europe like you drive through US states is not how it works here...

She can keep Greece and cut something else :-) but something's got to go!

As several of us have said, there are real outliers in her desires (at least she said she "wanted" to, not that she was going to do it!!) and an unfortunate one is Greece--it needs its own little trip to really do it justice--you can't do a swim by, IMO.

I'd take the train from Rome > London & take stops en route. It wold be much easier than trying to hopscotch around. And I agree that five places in 3 weeks is a good pace.

Here's a 19-day breakdown that catches five from your list:

5 days - <b>Rome</b>
3 days - <b>Florence</b>
(Bologna)
(Milan)
(Torino)
(Lyon)
5 days - <b>Paris</b>
3 days - side trip: <b>Normandy</b>
3 days - <b>London</b>
(Manchester)

Florence to Paris is a long 9-hour train ride, with a few changes en route.

In July I would actually give Florence a pass. I think I would go homicidal from the crowds and the heat, especially if I had to deal with kids too. I think major cities can absorb the summer crowds much better than smaller cities.

I'm sure that Normandy is lovely, but there are a couple towns on the train route that I'd recommend researching: Torino and Lyon. Both are very attractive places with great food, fewer tourists, and just enough unique attractions to keep kids and adults interested for a few days.


Here's a 17-day easy route that would offer a great mix of experiences:

5 - <b>Rome</b>
2 - <b>Torino</b> (4 hour train) (alt: <b>Bologna</b>)
2 - <b>Lyon</b> (4.5 hour train)
5 - <b>Paris</b> (2.25 hour train)
3 - <b>London</b> (2.5 hour train)
- - <i>Manchester</i> (2 hour train)

Extra days could be used for day trips to the Alps, Normandy, the beach, etc