Best European Country?!

[AlvinSimonTheo]

Which European country do you love and why? Thinking of travelling for the summer holidays via rail, air etc next year with the kids 8 and 10 but I don't know where!

Too much choice. I'm thinking of including de Efteling but then I'm a bit stuck. Switzerland? Northern Italy?

I absolutely loved Corsica and the parts of Italy I've seen but it'll be august and hot.

Turning to MN for inspiration

"UK
NI, Scotland, Wales, England. So much to see and do."

We've covered lots of it this past two years except NI but I'm ready to go somewhere different soon!

Switzerland is awesome but expensive. Germany / Austria instead maybe?

Spain, but I'm sure other countries are lovely too.

You could tour round for months and still not see everything or go anywhere near any of the stereotypical package holiday places that cause many people to write it off. Loads and loads of history, great food, mountains, beaches, watersports etc.

We had a week's tour of Andalucia, but only really saw a snapshot of the highlights, you could fill a month there alone.

Barcelona and Catalunya also has loads of interest, likewise Madrid, Segovia, Toledo and also the northern coast - Bilbao, San Sebastian, Guernica etc

I've heard Austria is great to visit with kids. Lots of outdoorsy type things to do there. My mum went with my sister a while ago and they had a blast.

You could do de Efteling and then take a night train to Vienna.

We have done

Plane to Paris, few days in Paris, sleeper train to Nice, week in south of France and then flew back to U.K. from Nice.

We also drove to Italy, stopped over in France, then Geneva, drove over the alps, stayed in Milan before spending a week in Caorle, near Venice. Driving back we drove through Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and France. Was a brill holiday and we got to see thing s we wouldn’t have seen if we had flown eg passed the battle of Waterloo site so stopped there, while in Geneva DS1 wanted to co to CERN so we popped into the visitors centre etc.

Croatia is wonderful, I’ve just got back. As beautiful as Italy but better value, and better quality accommodation than you tend to get in Greece. Lovely beaches with gorgeous clear, clean water, great food and lots to look at. It’s very hot and very busy in August, though.

I’ve lived in France and Italy and both are brill, lovely food, gorgeous scenery and beaches plus lots of culture.

I second southern Germany. Legoland, Europa Park, vineyards, (nearly) every village has their own outdoor pool, lakes to swim in, awesome and safe bike paths everywhere, good and relatively cheap food.

In addition to places mentioned already I would add South Tyrol which is in Italy but is German-speaking. It has a good train network connecting to the rest of Italy and Austria. Lots to see and do in beautiful scenery.

My heart will always be in Italy because it's my heritage, but I love love love Croatia. (just don't tell my family)

For those recommending europa park, do you need to stay in the on-site hotels or is there a nearby town as it's coming up expensive compared to de Efteling

I would stay near Freiburg, which is lovely

Germany

I can’t pick a country so I’ll pick a region: the Alps.

I live in Italy. I've lived in Spain and Belgium. There's a piece of my heart in Spain and it's the one I visit the most I suppose.
But I've loved everywhere. Each one offers something different.
I need to do Scandinavia though. Last few years I've had things booked then cancelled.
Italy this August has been great- tourists are here, but it's not been rammed. I've done the Rome-Florence-Siena area. Fabulous.

Lakes and mountains holidays (as the brochures used to say!) can be great for families - Black Forest/Austria/Italian Tyrol/Croatia. Lots of outdoor sports to try, lakes have beaches, not hugely hot in summer most of the time (surprised to see some of the recommendations on here as eg Naples and surrounds in August will be fiercely hot), decent food and affordable. Most of those areas have very high standards for hospitality so even cheap hotels will be decent.

I've stayed with teen in Switzerland in the summer which was the best holiday yet. Flew to Zurich, spent a few days there, then train to Wengen as a base. Great walking, cable cars up to mountain areas used as james bond locations and train up to top of jungfrau. Beautiful place. But, yes, £££.

Berlin also great for history/variety.

Ok I'm leaning towards a few days at de Efteling then sleeper train to Innsbruck.

After that either into south Germany or Italy. Maybe Verona and Bergamo/Milan?

We had a great trip pre-covid, with only slightly younger children, which involved flying into Croatia (Dubrovnik), travelling into Bosnia (Mostar & Sarajevo), up into Serbia (Belgrade & Subotica) and finishing up in Budapest. Had a mix of island/beach, and cities, and the kids adored Budapest. The wave machine at Gellert Baths still gets talked about to this very day. Sarajevo was my favourite place, just in terms of it being a beautiful city but also the recent history related to the conflict, which I was aware of from the news, as a young teen.

I went to Bergamo/Milan based on a Mumsnet recommendation and I loved it.
Bergamo has its own airport and it's only 20 mins into town. There's a walled city and the lower more modern city and both are lovely.
Then a day trip to Milan with a walking tour. Great mini-break

Finland.

Aw I'm liking all the Italy love - If you go to Northern Italy Gardaland (theme park) and Caneva (water park) are both great for DC that age.

Thank you @Camomila I've had a look at Gardaland and booked a trip!

I don’t think I could pick between Denmark, Italy or France

And there’s so many I haven’t been to that might be even better - Iceland maybe?

Summer months I'd stick north as not a fan of extreme heat. I'd like to go back to the Netherlands; I like the vibe.