Over the years since the original edition of Take Your Kids to Europe first appeared, scores of readers have written and shared their experiences. Many of these suggestions have appeared in subsequent editions of T.Y.K.E. A small sampling appears on this website. We hope you'll contribute your own experiences!
Email us with your own stories and recommendations.
"Culzean Castle in Scotland was particularly kid-friendly. Besides the animals and park-like grounds, they positioned a Lego person in each room on the tour. Small children are involved in an I Spy game that has them closely examining the furnishings.
The kids liked the maze at Scone Palace, Perth, Scotland much better than the more famous one at Hampton Court near London because it had an observation platform from which I took some great photos and attempted to guide them to the fountain at the center.
An English friend suggested we contact the University of Surrey in Guildford for a week of summer lodging for the family (www.surrey.ac.uk/conferences). What a bargain! We had a whole flat (in a student dormitory) which gave us a total of 4 bedrooms (all single beds), 2 bathrooms with showers, a huge but simple kitchen, and a TV/sitting room for 350 pounds. The commute was only an hour into London on a suburban train (walking distance from campus or by bus), and Guildford's town centre was a relaxing change of pace when we decided on a break from the city."
Marilyn Patel, 2001. Kids 8, 13 and 16.
"Do brass rubbing at St. Martin-in-the-Fields. The people were MUCH
more helpful than at Westminster Abbey and though the initial fee was slightly
higher, everything you needed (eraser, etc.) was included instead of charging
for each item separately. They also mentioned (I'm only reporting!) that
brass-rubbing "snobs" consider St. Martin's brasses to be more
authentic."
Lillian Souers, 1996. Kids 10 and 14.
"One of our favorite days in the Paris area was our trip to Giverny.
But please warn families NOT to rent bikes for the ride. We didn't know
the back roads (no maps were available with bike rentals) and found ourselves
on narrow roads, with no helmets and cars whizzing by at 60+ mph. Frightening!
It would be better to take the shuttle bus and enjoy your time strolling
the gardens."
Debra Jangraw, 1996. Kids 11 and 14.
"There is an interesting new freshwater Aquarium de Touraine in
Lussault-sur-Loire a few kilometers west of Amboise in the Loire. We had
no idea of the variety and size of the freshwater creatures in the river
before visiting the aquarium."
Steven Roth, 1994. Kids 8 and 11.
"The book Paris Est un Jeu d'Enfant has excellent recommendations
about HOW to see places as diverse as Versailles and Parc Astérix.
At Versailles, the audio tour of the Royal Chambers was great. We found
arriving early meant no lines, empty exhibit halls and plenty of time for
the cafés."
Barbara Brown, 1996. Kids 7 and 14.
"We went to Belle Isle off the Brittany coast with our French cousins.
We stayed in the village of Sauzon, went to a different beach every day
and felt like we had walked into a picture postcard. We saw no other Americans
there. Much of the food was grown on the island and it was all incredibly
fresh and delicious--a truly superb experience."
Dee and Gerald Kline, 1996. Kids 6 and 11.
"I have a tidbit to add: After visiting cathedrals in the aforementioned cities, you can imagine that the kids (okay, me, too) were pretty much churched out. However, in Rome, we stopped at Santa Maria Della Concezione, a church located near the Barberini subway stop. That church is like none other. A museum, really, it contains bones of the long departed monks. Seems that the monastery was running out of burial spots, so the monks unearthed the previous tenants, and hung their bones in various artistic arrangements. We saw skulls, tibias, spines... of these fellows-4,000 of them- used as wall and ceiling and wall decorations. Not macabre as it sounds-and not silly. The monk at the door reminds you to be silent. The warning from the bones is: What you are we once were. What we are, you will soon be. It is a small place, and can be visited in fifteen to thirty minutes. No charge, but a donation is collected. Open daily, 9:00am-noon, and 3:00-6:00 pm. Certainly a hit with our kids!"
Maureen Parmar, 2000. Kids 10, 12 and 17.
"The kids loved the ice cream in Tuscany. In San Gemignano they
were fascinated by going up the towers and seeing the countryside. In the
square where Dante gave speeches, a local artisan was playing a harpsichord.
The kids were enthralled at the way the music echoed under the palisades,
and we stayed almost an hour. In fact, street musicians, marionettes, acrobats
everywhere mesmerized our family."
Dave Fittante, 1992. Kids 13, 11 and 8.
"Kids loved the fairy tale castle in Segovia (Disney based Cinderella's
castle on it) and really enjoyed the castle at Manzanares el Real we saw
on the way, north of Madrid at the base of the Sierra Nevada. We also stopped
along the way at La Pedriza, a wilderness area with a beautiful river and
glorious hiking close to Manzanares. A theme emerged: castles and nature,
with the occasional cathedral thrown in. Your book allowed us not to feel
guilty about avoiding museums. Las Linajes was a beautiful, ancient quite
kid-friendly hotel in Segovia that I'd stay at again.
"After Segovia, we drove north to Los Picos de Europa, a startlingly
gorgeous mountain range that is NOT connected to the Pyrenees (several hundred
miles west of them). We stayed in the mountains at Hotetl del Oso Pardo
about 7 miles east of Fuente De (where the road dead-ends into one of the
most beautiful canyons on earth). One can take a cable car almost straight
up about 4000 feet from the base of the canyon to the top of an escarpment,
then hike 7 miles downhill. Alpine meadows, the whole nine yards. There's
no prettier place in Europe.
"The food in Spain is wonderful and very kid friendly. My kids like
everything, especially the wind-dried Jamon Serrano (ham), queso manchego
(cheese), boquerones fritos (fried anchovies), trout and chicken prepared
in various manners, lamb, churros con chocolate and escalope de pollo. My
youngest daughter fell in love with cuajada (sheep's milk yogurt)--add sugar!"
Paul Heald, 1996. Kids 11, 8 and 5.
"There are some great playgrounds here. One is next to the Open
Air Museum in Bokrijk. This playground is huge. Three-story high tube slides,
all kinds of swings, deer enclosure, small children's play area with child-sized
construction equipment. Price is just the cost of parking.
"The Brussels-area zoo at Mechelen also has a lot of great playgrounds
scattered about. Across from the monkey island is an area with similar contraptions
for kids to climb. There's a raft and a dugout to 'ford' a stream.There
area large number of nesting storks at this zoo."
"Zoos are expensive here, but as we were on an extended stay, we bought
an annual pass which allows us entry to zoos in Mechelen, Antwerp, Rotterdam,
Amsterdam, Cologne and London. Maybe more."
Lee Loewenstein, 1996.
"The places our kids rated 'excellent' included: Poosen Boote in
Amsterdam--a canal boat dedicated to the care of homeless street cats. Sealife
Center in Scheveningen--a medium to small aquarium but has neat attractions,
like a walkthrough underwater tunnel for the main tank, and tanks of rays
that you can 'pet'. Haderwijk aquarium--more of a theme park where the excellent
dolphin show was the highlight. Waterslide park of Duinrell in den Hague--you
can camp on the premises. Cheese market in Alkmeer is exceptional, but is
limited to certain days. It is usually very crowded, so get there early.
Muiden Castle was neat with moat, coats of armor and history. Keukenhoff
was beautiful but very long, tiring for the girls. Of course we visited
Madurodam and found it amazing!"
Saundra Middleton, 1996. Kids 6 and 9.
"Our 6-yr-old girl was particularly keen on anything to do with
Pippi Longstocking and was thrilled with our visit to Astrid Lindgren's
World in Vimmerby, Sweden. A real theme park for kids (no rides, thank goodness),
it's based on the books written by Lindgren, including Pippi Longstocking,
Noisy Village and Ronja. There were many actors playing roles from the books
and book setting were scattered in the woods. We had fun there all day,
despite some rain.
"In Oslo Norway, we enjoyed the Norwegian Folk Museum, Akerhus Fortress
(kids could climb on the cannons) and Holmenkollen Ski Jump (you can climb
all the way to the top).
"We used the train a fair amount in Sweden and Norway. The children
found it fun to walk around in, the bathroom was always accessible, and
they could often stretch out and sleep on extra seats. Request the "Children's
Car"--one end has a play area suitable for children up to age 9 or
10."
Timothy Moody, 1996. Kids 6 and 11.
"In Wengen, we stayed at the Alpine Rose, an incredibly friendly
small hotel. This was not a budget hotel but the experiece was wonderful.
Wengen is a 'family-friendly' town perched on the side of a breathtaking
mountain. In the town center is a HUGE chessboard. Our kids spent hours
here trying to beat their father at chess. From Wengen, it's easy to visit
the Junfraujoch and hiking is terrific: take the train or cable car up,
the walk down. Sometimes the added expense of one special stop on a trip
is worth it. Wengen was worth it for us."
Debra Jangraw, 1996. Kids 11 and 14.
"Kids loved Bern and the bear pits. Laura drew a picture that we
framed! Grindelwald was like the Sound of Music, according to the kids.
Chalet Capric is a great hotel there. Our suite had two rooms and a kitchen."
Doug Alexander and Lisa Geibel, 1992. Kids 6 and 9.
"We used an organization located in PA: Idyll Ltd and were very pleased. Idyll for a set fee arranges airfare, railpass or car rental, and 2-week apartment rental in several European countries, but specializes in Switzerland. The itinerary is up to you. Our family stayed in a small town, Lungern, a railstop between Lucerne and Interlaken in Central Switzerland. We had Swiss rail passes, and used trains, boats and buses to go to other towns and into mountainous regions to hike. Our 8 + 12 yr-old kids hiked 6-10 miles/day and learned lots about local culture. We returned every evening to our 'home' and neighborhood, very comfortable for all. We had such a positive experience we are using Idyll to go to another area of Switzerland this year." Linda Schaffer, 1996
"The castle in Glucksburg is small as castles go, but it was our
first one and perfect size for the kids. They loved the second floor where
everyone had to put on special slippers over their shoes so as not to scuff
up the floors. We all enjoyed it and bought a 1000 pc puzzle of it that
we are all working on together."
"The Frankfurt Zoo was great. We spent about 3+ hours there. The nocturnal
exhibit and aquarium were excellent. It was very pretty and not very crowded."
Sandy Perez, 1994. Kids 6 and 9.
"We took our children on a fabulous Sound of Music bike tour in Salzburg, Austria. My kids were 8 and 14, but it was easy — probably a 6 or 7 year old could do it. All flat cycling except for one hill. The fraulein who took us was dressed as a young Maria... she had three kids and was a delight to talk to. We stopped at each of several sites where they filmed the movie. It was a pleasant diversion from walking or bus tours. I would recommend it highly!! You can email the tour company at rupo_bridge@hotmail.com."
Colleen Krause, 2002. Kids 8 and 14.
Email us with YOUR experiences and we'll add them here.