Family of four, spending 1 month in one place in Europe - but where?!

May 31, 2022 7:46 AM

We're planning out a year ahead, to Summer 2023 - ideally, we're looking for a beautiful location in a town or small city (or a nice, safe neighborhood in a larger city) where the food is good and people are friendly. We want to be charmed and want to create memories that make us want to come back some day.

Language is not an issue, but having a school or some activities/camps for our middle schoolers would be helpful. Relatively close to proximity to the train or airport for side trips is a must. There will still be remote work, so good, reliable internet is important.

Where have you been more long term that you would love to go back to, even if just for a month?

posted by steve.wdc to Travel & Transportation (9 answers total)

I spent a month in Grenoble in 2016 and have been itching to go back! I don't have kids and can't speak to that angle, but it is a tech/education hub, so I suspect there would be lots of kid-friendly activities? The archeology museum is impressive, kid-friendly, and free. Foothills of the Alps, so lots of hiking as well. Train connections across France and is relatively close to the airport in Lyon (though I found it easier to fly in/out of CDG and take the TGV).
posted by basalganglia at 7:58 AM on May 31, 2022

Portugal is all the rage right now, and we are considering spending some time in/around Porto next year.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:11 AM on May 31, 2022 [2 favorites]

I was going to suggest Porto as well. I was only there for a week, but I thought it was charming, livable and affordable.
posted by mjcon at 8:58 AM on May 31, 2022

Came to say somewhere in Portugal too!
posted by Bebo at 9:31 AM on May 31, 2022 [1 favorite]

What a great prospect! We just did that with South Africa, coming from Europe, and it was fantastic.

Summers anywhere along the Mediterranean can be scorching hot and beaches will be very full. Anywhere along the Atlantic will be more refreshing, even on hot days.

Porto could be a great pick and so could be Bilbao or San Sebastian. All cities with a chill vibe and lots to do and see and eat, with the sea close by but not the primary draw.

The upper Italian lakes and their cities are great but will be busy as well. I adore South Tyrol with Merano and Bozen. Austria can be beautiful as well.

More central or Norther European cities can be a bit more on-off with the summer weather but will still get lots of sunshine. Berlin is great during summer with so much to do and really chill neighbourhoods and many lakes close by to take a dip as well as 2-3 hours by car or train to the beautiful Baltic sea.

I'd discourage you from large cities with little nature or bodies of water around such as Paris or London or Rome. And while the Scandinavian cities can be great, I don#t love the mosquito plague you have around their lakes in summer.

Let us know if any of this sounds interesting and we can help you explore further down that road.
posted by Fallbala at 10:30 AM on May 31, 2022 [1 favorite]

Seconding Grenoble. Also, nearby, smaller, and unbelievably charming is Annecy. (I'm a big city person myself, but a month in the French alps would be high on my list.)

Lots of the Netherlands might fit the bill too. Delft, for example. The natural scenery isn't quite as impressive, but the human-built parts are lovely, and it's only a couple of hours to lots of places.
posted by eotvos at 12:29 PM on May 31, 2022 [2 favorites]

We spent a few weeks in Croatia last year and liked it enough that we intend to move there at some point. I commented at some length on Croatia in a previous AskMe, which also features other folks singing the country's praises.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:59 PM on May 31, 2022

My youngest and I did a trip when she was 13 to spend a week in Amsterdam visiting their (absolutely ridiculous and wonderful) network of playgrounds. There's even a guide book in English, though I'm not sure how well it is being maintained. The good news is that the sites that were out of date had usually been updated with even better playgrounds.

Amsterdam is VERY kid friendly outside of the touristy area. Transport connections to the region and the rest of Europe are great, weather is pretty nice in the summer if your family leans a little cooler in their preferences. Scheveningen up near The Hague is an easy and fun day trip for a beach excursion, and they build tons of summer-only restaurants and bars out on the beach itself.
posted by sockshaveholes at 4:55 PM on May 31, 2022 [6 favorites]

I'll second Amsterdam. You don't say how old your kids are, but Amsterdam is a good choice for any age. It's flat and very easy to get around on foot or by bike. No matter what reputation you think the city has, it's more accomodating and calm and appropriate than you potentially imagine. The culture is open, educated, international, cosmopolitan, and very modern-minded in terms of sustainability and everything that entails. I had all three of my kids come over for a two week vacation when I was there for a long work thing (and at the time the kids would have been 21, 16, and 13). We had a blast every day using a lovely family's flat right on the Prinsengracht as our home base (I met up with them the day before our booking and they were awesome--they were biking their own family out for a long stay in their county cottage, a common thing for people in the city to have). The bike culture is amazing. We all biked out to Monnickendam on rental bikes, at the recommendation of a neighbor, and made a wonderful day of it (the trip gets you quickly out of the city via very well-maintained bike lanes, so most of the trip is along a paved route through fields and along canals). THe food, of course, is spectacular (you'll be spoiled for choice and I have asoft spot for Soup en Zo).
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 3:58 AM on June 1, 2022 [3 favorites]