curious

...and don't tell me in school! I've been to France, Italy and Spain, but never with children. Where would you take 9 and 12 year old boys on vacation and why?

carmen

We travelled with 9 and 12 year olds in Germany, France, England, Wales and Ireland and had fabulous experiences every where we went. Other than letting them sleep in while we took long walks, they trooped along everywhere we went, from ancient ruins to museums to restaurants.

Rex

The best place(s) would be anywhere they feel involved in the WHY the family is going there.<BR><BR>My only personal experience with kids that age was with fourteen 10- and 11- years old in Haute Normandie and Paris - - and they certainly had a great trip.<BR><BR>With kids 14 to 22, I have had great trips in England, Italy, France, Germany and Austria. If YOU liked France, Italy and Spain, then your choice(s) might be dictated by how much you want new surroundings versus the familiarity of places you know something about. Plenty to like in Holland and Belgium too, for that matter.<BR><BR>Involving them - - in the planning, and the anticipation - - I think this is the real key to their having the first of many good trips to Europe.<BR><BR>For more specific advice, perhaps we would benefit from knowing more about you and them - - where would you choose (or choose to avoid) with them, in the United States?<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

curious

When my husband and I are in Europe our favorite thing to do is just to take in the architecture and stroll through cities. We also enjoy wine tastings and visiting vineyards as my husband is expanding his wine cellar. I don't think either of these are tops for kids, but, my children love all things military, forts, museums. They like science and technology museums as well as natural history museums. They don't like art museums. They love ruins. They also like hiking, swimming and restaurants. The one thing they hate alsmost as much as brussels sprouts is shopping. They'd rather walk over hot coals than through the threshold of a store. I was thinking of Rome because of the colliseum (Gladiator, you know), and I read about some catacombs where there are dozens of skeletons on display. Does anyone know about this? My kids would love that. And then I thought we could go to Pompeii, which I think would also fascinate them. Thanks for your help!

pat

We took our two boys, same ages, to Denmark, Sweden and Finland this summer and had the most wonderful time. There was something there for all of us. Denmark had vikings, castle, ruins, cathedrals, museums (including Ripley's and wax museum which I normally probably would not have gone to)and Tivoli/amusement park. Sweden had a terrific open air market they enjoyed, the actual Vasa ship and the Nordic museum (with a tribute to ABBA if you you like them). Finland was great. Helsinki, Tampere, Savolinna were areas that we all enjoyed immensely with castles, forest museums, open air markets, amusement parks and the best ice cream ever! We also took the ship from Stockholm to Helsinki and had a lot of fun (and great shopping). The best part was that those countries are very child oriented and feel very safe. In the summer you can walk around at 10 at nite and it is still light and you feel fine. Hope this helps.

curious

Thanks Pat, it does help. I never considered those countries and since my husband and I have never traveled there, would be a good idea. What city did you fly into? Thanks.

Julie

The catacombs with the skeletons that you are asking about are in Paris (or very close to Paris). The catacombs the I visited in Rome did not have skeletons, I was glad of that.<BR><BR>Pompeii is fun for kids, they can do a lot of exploring on their own. But I would take the tour first because the area of the ruins is so large and the tour guide can bring you directly to the "highlights".<BR><BR>My 8 year old daughter has tolerated wine tours, but never enjoyed them. If your kids are having lots of fun otherwise, maybe they won't mind going on one or two especially since they are not prohibited from tasting the wine. The more interesting ones for kids actually show how the grapes are grown, harvested and processed into wine.

Rex

If you're thinking of Naples/Pompeii/Catania, then don't overlook Caserta - - where scenes from the (new) Star Wars (II - - Attack of the Clones, not out yet) were filmed. Supposed to be interesting for all ages, but especially fans from the ages of your boys.<BR>

curious

Rex, they probably would be interested to see Caserta, especially if they've seen the movie by then. Any idea when that movie comes out?

christine

What about legoland in denmark or near windsor, england. All boys love Lego and then all boys love running around castles too like Kenilworth england or castles in wales.

Julie

It strikes me that Garmisch-Partenkirchen and environs would be perfect for a child's first trip to Europe. There are castles aplenty, cable cars to take up the mountains and hike around, climbs through gorges, quaint towns with fairytales painted on the houses, lots of oompah pah music and dancing, feather quilts, and kid-friendly places to stay and to eat. Throw in hotels with indoor swimming pools and you've got a vacation readymade to keep kids happy. We took our children there when they were about the ages you mention and they enjoyed themselves immensely.

Rex

I don't think that a month has been set yet - - "summer, 2002", rather non-specifically.<BR><BR>http://www.theprequels.com/news2.html - - for those who choose to follow developments.<BR>

curious

Thanks everyone. Pardon my geographical ignorance Julie but where is Garmisch-Partenkirchen? I'm embarassed to say I've never heard of it.

Rex

South of Munich; east of Neuschwanstein (I think); virtually on the Austrian border.<BR><BR>Use mapquest.com or www.mappy.com or viamichelin.com for more specific locating.<BR>

grasshopper

Curious,<BR><BR>If you're thinking about Italy and Rome you might want to stay in Sorrento for a few days. I recommend the Hotel Aminta (www.aminta.it) where there is a nice pool with a great view. You could boat over to Capri. It's only an hour train ride to Pompeii from there. And even non-shoppers will enjoy browsing the streets of the old town (provided there's gelato as a reward).

Ana

Eurodisney

yab

Our first European trip with children was to Switzerland. Great hikes, cable-car rides, castles, mountain streams, fantastic municipal pools/lakes, puppets, chocolate, farm animals, 4 languages/cultures to explore, cheese, technical and folk museums... I think this trip is truly the reason my children love travel to this day and we've been many places together.

Michelle

In Rome, your boys might be interested in visiting the Santa Maria della Concezione where the crypt is decorated with the skulls and bones of Capuchin monks. My boys, 11 and 15, were fascinated by that sight.<BR><BR>They both loved Italy...my 11-year old says he wants to move there. Highlights of the trip for them included the Colosseum, the Crypt of the Capuchin Monks, a free play near the Forum called "The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire," climbing to the dome of St. Peter's, Etruscan tombs, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Blue Grotto, Pompeii gelato, gelato and gelato.<BR><BR>We didn't venture too far off the beaten trail...they wanted to visit all the "tourist" attractions. We kept very busy trying to see as much as we could every day. Fortunately, they both enjoy fine dining so we were able to relax and enjoy some great dinners together.<BR><BR>My older son was as interested as I was in touring as many churches as we could. He insisted upon carrying the map and guiding us while walking around Rome...and he did a great job.<BR><BR>My 11 year old came to grips with his fear of heights on this trip so at his request we climbed every tower, dome, etc. we came across.<BR><BR>I think it's the most fun to travel with kids between the ages of 8 and 16. They can finally keep up with you and they're not ready to ditch you yet!

Ben Haines

<BR><BR>For military museums and ruined medieval castles Britain is strong. As well as the Imperial War Museum in London pretty well each county town of England and of lowland Scotland has a museum for their county regiment. Castles are thickest in Scotland and north Wales. We're quite good at science and technology museums, too, starting with the Science Museum in London, the Science and Technology Museum in Manchester, the Railway Museum in York, but running on to small museums for things like the steam pumping engines at Putney Bridge. And we're hot on natural history museums, again starting in London, but nowadays including the vast domes in the West of England - I forget their name, but know that they've been putting adverts in local papers to ask neighbours to stay away at rush periods. <BR><BR>They'd hike in North Wales and Scotland, but swim only indoors.<BR><BR>Trouble is, this is no country for wine tasting. We've plenty of wine, but expensive. So for that you'd look south. Germany is short of military museums, which is not surprising - they're only just getting out of hang-ups about Prussianism and Hitler. But the French have no such hang-ups, and I needn't mention the wine. There's good hiking in the Massif Central, open air swimming in summer, and good wine.<BR><BR>They need not set foot in a shop. What sensible children.<BR><BR>Please write if I can help further. Welcome to Europe.<BR><BR>Ben Haines, London<BR>[email protected]<BR><BR><BR>

curious

Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions. It seems there are more great options than I had hoped for!