Any suggestions for trip around Europe.

Suggestions for a first trip Europe with boys ages 11 and 8?

• My family and I are thinking about going to Europe next year. We are a group of four, with two boys ages 11 and 8, who will be traveling from the East Coast of the U.S. None of us has been to Europe before, but we don't want to do more than three countries (AT MOST) on this trip. Do you have suggestions? I was considering the UK (England, Ireland, Scotland), OR France (possibly with Switzerland or Germany), OR Italy (possibly with Croatia or Austria). In other words, we have no idea! Any suggestions of destinations that are kid-friendly (without being theme parks) would be appreciated. Thanks.

• Answer:

  I would do a week in a country at least. Select one mountainous and one flat, like Scotland (the highlands,) Switzerland or the Pyrenees for the mountains, and Belgium or the Netherlands for the flat. See one city and one small town, do a walk in the country side and spend the rest of the time next to the water of a beach or lake. The day(s) you go to the city, look for a museum or such so that is fun for your boys, like a science museum or a special exhibition for kids their age, or see a real castle (not a palace) which is something young folks all love. Palaces are formal, places where you have to walk with your hands in your pockets, castles allow you to pretend to be a knight or a king. If you select the Netherlands or the western part of Belgium, you can ride a bike as well as or instead of your walk. All of Europe is child friendly, although some places have a bad reputation. I live near Amsterdam and have been visiting there all my live, as child with my parents, but if I hear the stories on Yahoo answers I wonder if those people go to the same city. England, Ireland and Scotland will have the advantage that people speak English there, but different enough that your children know they are in a different country. Your oldest is old enough that he can have a voice in your preparations if you want it. When you have decided you can look for a book about the area written for either or both their ages. Specially about the UK and Ireland you can find much in English, but I am fairly sure that you now can find books on each country and likely each main city in English. Read the book with your boys, and go visit places out of the books. And remember, wherever you select in Europe you can not go wrong. As I teen I have been to Luxembourg 6 years in a row and different villages each year, and I still like going back, and Luxembourg is just a small country. Perfect scale to experience a lot in a short time and in a scale kids can handle.