Favorite place for a relaxing week in Europe

[poppet]

I will be going to Europe in Sept with DD and my BFF. We are spending 5 nights in Paris and 5 nights in the Rhine/Mosel region of Germany. After that my BFF is heading back to the states but I have another 7-10 days to play with DD.

I will be 26wks pg and alone with a 2yr old so I want to go somewhere that I can relax, enjoy good food, let my daughter play and run around with local kids....basically just enjoy the culture. I do not want to run around trying to see a bunch of sites!

My first thought was Tuscany but that would really need a car to get the most out of it....and I would rather not rent a car! No beaches since that is too stressful with DD and needs to be somewhat close to a large city for medical care (just in case!). I've been to: Paris, Rome, Ireland, Turkey, London, Prague, and Munich so I would prefer something new!

Where would you go?! My head is starting to spin from google

[atouchofklasse]

So you will be in the Rhine region and traveling from there? Do you care which airport you depart from?

Verona is a very nice mid-size town in Italy. Maybe Bologna?

[poppet]

I will be leaving from Frankfurt and I'm open to flight or train to get to the new area

[litasail]

Southern Spain - somewhere like Seville or Granada.

[travelingjen]

I think that Florence, Seville, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Vienna, Salzburg, and Amsterdam would all be great cities to base yourself out of for a week. This would also enable you to take day-trips if you wanted since they are all large transportation hubs.

[ktkl09]

I'm voting Switzerland, fly into Zurich or Geneva, and take the train around the country. Summer is a beautiful time to visit!

[allibally]

Jul 5, 2012 0:16:30 GMT -5 @ktkl09 said:

I'm voting Switzerland, fly into Zurich or Geneva, and take the train around the country. Summer is a beautiful time to visit!

I vote Switzerland. Zurich is lovely in September. Tons of open areas and parks to take your DD to. Zurich has the most excellent transport you could explore a bit outside of the city too. Did I mention they have a really lovely zoo. You could take boat tours on the lake. Walk around it... Botanic Gardens. They also have some really nice pools that even have kid friendly wading pools.

Locals were definitely more friendly with me when I was nannying. So you shouldn't have too much trouble at parks.

Cost might be the issue as Switzerland is expensive. But for a week you could look for a apartment rental. Cook dinners at home and have picnic lunches at the park.

[pittpurple]

Switzerland is beautiful and not too hot - I know I'm struggling with any sort of heat right now! I would think Venice would be stressful with all the stairs and chasing around a child with the canals. Where are you flying home from after the trip?

[poppet]

We will be flying back from Ramstein, Germany (military flight). I've never looked into Switzerland but it is getting good reviews here so I'm going to research a bit once DD goes down for the night!

I definitely want a place that I can spend a week or so in without getting bored but also some place where if I spend a few days relaxing and not doing much I won't feel like I missed out on a ton! (if that makes sense!).

[ktkl09]

poppet, send me a msg if you want some more info on Switzerland. I live in Neuchâtel (french speaking) and would love to give you tips on where to go.

[ktkl09]

and switz is only about 2-4 (depending on where you are) from Ramstein (my B lives there).

[ktkl09]

2-4 hours*

[swissmama]

Jul 5, 2012 2:03:02 GMT -5 allibally said:

Jul 5, 2012 0:16:30 GMT -5 @ktkl09 said:

I'm voting Switzerland, fly into Zurich or Geneva, and take the train around the country. Summer is a beautiful time to visit!

I vote Switzerland. Zurich is lovely in September. Tons of open areas and parks to take your DD to. Zurich has the most excellent transport you could explore a bit outside of the city too. Did I mention they have a really lovely zoo. You could take boat tours on the lake. Walk around it... Botanic Gardens. They also have some really nice pools that even have kid friendly wading pools.

Locals were definitely more friendly with me when I was nannying. So you shouldn't have too much trouble at parks.

Cost might be the issue as Switzerland is expensive. But for a week you could look for a apartment rental. Cook dinners at home and have picnic lunches at the park.

Another vote for Switzerland. I live in Zurich and there are lots of things to do with kids.

[pittpurple]

Switzerland is very, very expensive which is my only concern depending on what your budget is for this trip. I spent a week in Strasbourg several years ago and it's pretty and really close to where you're flying home from - I imagine you'd like to limit the travelling around at this point. (As an aside - I totally recommend looking for apartment rentals instead of hotel rentals for this trip.) Italy is my absolute favourite place in the world so depending on how much travel time you're willing to do, you could look at Northern Italy. I've heard from friends that Italy in general is a lovely place to travel with children.

If your budget will stretch to Switzerland though, that's definitely my first pick.

[allibally]

Switzerland can be affordable if you stay away from eating out at restaurants. That will literally eat up your budget. Get any sodas and waters at the grocery store. Those are double if you buy at take away stands for kiosks. I suggest a rental apartment because then you can cook dinners there.

Constance, Germany is nice to. It's in the lake and boarders CH and Austria too. The cost would be much cheaper then Switzerland.

[Deleted]

I highly recommend looking into a KinderHotel.
We stayed in a few in Europe and they were relaxing and lovely.
The ones we stayed at were in Remote locations so I won't recommend them if you want a city but the general idea of them is perfect for children.

I loved loved loved Salzburg and Vienna with a kid. They were incredibly easy to navigate and very family friendly.

We did Rome, Barcelona, Venice, Salzburg, Vienna, Amsterdam, Istanbul, Munich, Normandy Dublin, Brussels, Brugge and Santorini with a toddler and I thought Rome was the easiest with him. Is that an option?
Sorry if my reading comprehension failed!