April vacation in Europe?

[lil_acorn]

We're considering an april vacation to europe - pondering Paris or London with 13, 10 and 7 year olds. Thoughts on which would be better for kids of this age set? Or other location recommendation?

[marinkitty]

What types of things would your kids be most interested in? Do they like museums? Castles? Theatre? Are they foodies? Do the older ones have things they have studied in school that they'd like to explore in person?

[jgenie]

We went to London last March with our 9 yo and 7 yo. We all loved it! DC and I have never been to Paris but it’s on our someday list.

[hillview]

Both are awesome Id look at airfare.

[jgenie]

Both are awesome Id look at airfare.

We ended up going to London because I found direct flights for $450 each.

[HannaAddict]

Either or both. Love Paris and London and the Chunnel makes both doable. Our kids love both! And mine are the same age and have had great trips. London is easier in some ways because of language but Paris is one of my favorite cities and we have been fine without speaking French well.


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[AbbysMom]

We did 6 days in London last April and then planned to stay 6 days in Paris the following week. We had been to Paris before and loved it. We rented an apartment in Paris. It had been under a "state of emergency" since 2015 which I guess which just lifted last month. Military patrolled all the lines at Notre Dame and all the other attractions. It really felt very unsafe to us at the time and there was a shooting on the Champs-Elysees soon after we left the area. The following day, we went to the train station and took an impromptu weekend trip to Amsterdam to get out of town. (Soon after we left the station, there was an incident with a man with a knife that cleared the station right where we were standing). I don't know if it is different now but it was very sad how different it felt from the last time we were there. The kids didn't like Paris at all. The highlight for them was the Paris zoo.

I will say when we went it was the first half of a two part election so that may have affected the atmosphere as well. Hopefully now that the state of emergency has been lifted, it is better. Amsterdam, by the way, was wonderful and it's tulip season there in April. We rented bikes there and rode around. Kids loved it more than London.

[almostmom]

We went to France last April with our kids (13 and 11) and it was awesome. Our tirp consisted of 4 days in Paris, 2 days in the Loure Valley, visiting castles and seeing the countryside (it was awesome - took a speed train from Paris and rented a car and stayed at a great b&B/air bnb place) and then on our way home spent 2 days in Iceland. Great trip for all! My kids who can definitely complain about too much walking loved exploring Paris. Amazing cheap pastries go a long way...

[lizzywednesday]

LondonLondonLondonLondon.

But, of course, I'm partial - I visited London in April/May in 1995 and it was a wonderful time of year to visit. My 7-year-old wants to visit London; I promised her we'd go when we could. It's a very walkable city with all kinds of great things to see.

Then again, I've never been to Paris, so it isn't on my radar.

[94bruin]

I think both are great. We did 2 weeks in June, split between Paris and London. My kids loved the iconic sights in Paris, but really disliked the smokers and the grittiness of the city/metro. DD1 loved the efficiency of the London Tube. We all loved the Harry Potter Studios, a must if there are any HP fans in the family. The bullet train between the two cities is really easy to take. If you have enough time, you could do both cities.