Any suggestions for summer European trip with two children (7 and 9)?

I have a conference to attend in Sweden but after this we are free to travel anywhere in Europe for 4 weeks? Any suggestions? Two girls ages 7 and 9. I hate to be an alarmist and will regret even saying it but would anyone have anything negative to say about going to Paris? I know they have been on a high alert and quite a bit of unrest with the alleged rape of a young man by the cops. We are not going until end of June so who knows what the situation will be. Who knows what anything will be like...

Florence & Sienna

doesn't disney have a park in france?

Paris is so lovely - I wouldn't avoid it. And 4 weeks is a wonderfully long time. In addition to some time in Paris, I would rent a car and stay on the coast. I was in Provence and the Côte d'Azur (Nice, Canne, Cap d'Antibes) this past summer and I saw so many families enjoying themselves on the beaches, towns and cities. You won't be disappointed with France.

I know its not the absolute closest, but for this age I'd highly recommend England. In addition to the ease of the language issue, there is so much physical to do there that is really appealing to young children. StoneHenge, Castles, Lake district, beaches, Harry Potter World (or whatever its called). And London has so much to offer younger children - the London Eye, the gardens and palaces, the shopping, children's museums. My parents took each of their nine grandchildren to London when they turned 10 (there were three sets of twins in there so it wasn't nine separate trips) and each one had a blast. Even the less museum oriented kids had an amazing time at the Tate Modern, and a couple of times they went up the Thames on a boat to Greenwich which was an incredible experience. They made a special reservation to go to one of the auto manufacturers (cant remember if it was Aston Martin or Rolls Royce let me know if you want the info) for one of my nephews who is car crazy.

Not to mention that there are so many movies that you can watch with the kids beforehand to help them get ready for the adventure.

wow--with 4 weeks you could cover so much territory! Do you have lots of opportunities for foreign travel or is this a rare opportunity?

Do you envision picking a home base and doing shorter trips via low cost airlines/train?

Given you will be starting in Sweden, I would try to get to St Petersburg/maybe via boat? That (for me anyway) would be a "once in a lifetime."

Any language interests/considerations? Paris or northern France seems most central if picking a home base. Alternatively, you could also pick 4 main cities/areas and spend about a week in each. For me Rome/Italy would be a must. maybe London as the final destination as there are lots of flights back to the states.

What a great opportunity for you and your kids!

Wow, what an opportunity! Further to what others have written, I think you can pick one of two basic approaches: 1) hop from place to place (a week here, a week there, etc.) or 2) pick one location as a home base and do shorter excursions from there. For me it would almost be a tossup, but I would likely lean towards the latter. You can settle into a long-term rental -- maybe a house or cottage -- with a kitchen etc., and not feel like you are living out of suitcase the whole time. You and the family can also immerse yourselves in the locale and almost start feeling like a local by the time you are done. Given RyanAir and other relatively cheap travel options, you could do a number of 1-4 day excursions from that base without breaking the bank.

As to which location to pick.....gosh there are so many options! I would lean towards a place outside of, but not too far from, one of the great cities of Europe, so it's convenient to a major airport and you can spend some quality time in such city, and still have some breathing room of a presumably larger place in the countryside.

Good luck!

Thank you for all the great advice!!! I appreciate it. Yes feeling very lucky and I want to make the best of it, and yes without breaking the bank :]

http://just-go-greece.com/category/must-go/

One thing to keep in mind for budget if using 1 base rental home (which are easily available through Homeaway etc but with better pricing often via localized sites)--when you do overnight stays in other cities, it could be more expensive than anticipated for your group. Assuming you have 2 adults and 2 kids, you will not fit in one typical European hotel room...and apartment rentals often (but not always) have a min requirement 3 nights plus.

If you guys are not experienced/intrepid travelers, British Isles could be a great choice for the entire month and I don't think you would get bored. London/environs, Edinburgh/Highlands, and Ireland...You could finish at a family seaside resort in Ireland and fly home via Shannon. A little more relaxing than covering the entire continent . Really depends on your family's style/personalities.

Our son spent over a year in Maastricht (in the Netherlands) studying abroad and he loved that town and the entire country. He also said everyone there spoke very fluent English and was very welcoming. You might want to see if this country fits into your plans. As I said, our son raved about the culture, the people.....just about everything.

Check out flying on IcelandAir and doing a stopover in Reykjavik. You could stay two nights, visit the Blue Lagoon and do a Golden Circle tour for a good flavor of Iceland. Some good suggestions already in this thread.

With that much time, you can cover a lot of ground. There are so many fantastic places to see, especially with kids.

Starting in Sweden, I'd probably spend 2-3 nights in each of the following cities and work my way through Europe:

Stockholm, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, London, Nice, Venice, Florence, Rome

If you are trying to teach your children a European language, then I would stay in one place that spoke that language. Four weeks of immersion is equivalent to months of studying. If not, then ditto the suggestions to see multiple places/countries.

Rent a barge boat and go sail down the canals. The kids will love it. We did this a while back in the south of France.