Where to go in Europe with an 8 & 10 year old who love history?

[Ladyofthemanor11]

A sort of city break type holiday. I'd like it to be very child friendly & interactive. Thanks in advance!

We did Florence earlier this year and I honestly would not recommend it for children.

It's very much based on art and churches rather than anything child friendly. I think we saw one child enjoying himself and he was Italian and clearly obsessed with history of art.

Rome is a lot more fun and has a lot of things geared up for children eg gladiator tours of the Colisseum.

Was replying to @Ladyofthemanor11

That's my fear with Amsterdam too. I've been twice but I'm just afraid we'd unwittingly stumble down the red light district or similar

That's what I was going to suggest. Easy train rides to other cities and historic places and loads more in Amsterdam to see too.

Rome was a huge success for us, we always get tour guides too which our kids loved.

Prague was the favourite. We stayed in an old monastery and the Museum of Communism is phenomenal.

Even Paris. We went to the Louvre and they had a downloadable guide where you toured it as a royal residence rather than a gallery. It was brilliant because we were doing something different to everyone else.

Istanbul was the best, but we have a child who is obsessed with the Ottomans. Otherwise, it’s actually very busy and mad.

@JanglyBeads @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g I didn't know about the board game but had a quick Google...that's another Christmas present sorted!

Athens, Rome, Vienna, Venice, Berlin & Madrid.

Walked my feet off in each one, so much to visit & good food as well.

As long as you miss out the Old Church, and the Hidden Church (which is a shame because it is awesome) which are bang in the middle of the Red Light district, you'll be fine.

If we went again, we'd stay in Den Haag and just go in every day on the train, as Den Haag was delightful and also had loads to do. And you could get to the beach on the tram.

Rome is amazing - their imaginations will run wild!

Mine did, at the Palatine Hill and just about everywhere else, and I was 51 at the time!

I’m going to throw a curveball in and say Tarragona, honestly one of the best places to visit Roman ruins only most of them aren’t really ruins but huge structures! The amphitheater is one of the most impressive I think it’s due to the background of the beautiful sea but certainly worth a visit. You can also have a sneaky day at Portaventura as something different.

My DC LOVED Rome. Colisseum. Forum. Pizza and ice cream. Vatican City.

Amsterdam could be good. Anne Frank's house is a bit upsetting but also fascinating. There is also the hidden church (used to be above a teddy bear shop if that shop is still there) and they could see some very famous paintings by Van Gogh as well as having boat and cycle rides along the canals.

Mine also enjoyed Paris. I find it a bit of a gruelling city and too packed with tourists but they climbed the Eiffel Tower, had boat rides on the Seine, saw Notre Dame, went to Musee D'Orsay. You could always go on a day trip to Versailles too which is fabulous.

I was going to suggest Normandy till you said city break.

All the WW2 sites, beaches, museums etc.
Bayeux tapestry.
Rouen
Etc.

There are so many places you could go OP - you could more or less stick a pin in the map and go there! What history have they done or are they doing at school? Y6 often do WWII, so Anne Frank's house is probably something your older one has learned about at school and it's always good to take them somewhere they've expressed a desire to visit. Amsterdam is a lovely city. I went there for the first time when I was 10 and did the canal tour, AF's house, plus if they like art (I know they're a bit young), the Van Gogh Museum is wonderful and not that big. Personally, with DC that age, I'd probably give the Rijksmuseum a pass, but you know your DC. There's a lovely big park too where you can rent bikes or those Surrey 4-person bike/car things, which are good fun with DC.

We went to Amsterdam with 11 and 6 year olds in June. It was great. Lots to see/do. Managed to swerve the tacky bit. I'd recommend.

DH has pointed out the bigger issue with Amsterdam is not Anne Frank's House which is small (although the queue is enormous) but avoiding all the sex shops and mass displays of gimp masks.

I took my teenagers to Amsterdam recently and the sex shops were a lot less visible than I'd remembered the previous time I'd gone to Amsterdam with work. They're quite concentrated street-wise so it's easy to swerve them.

We had a nice trip, took the Eurostar, went to the Rijksmuseum (do not do the escape room experience there!) and Anne Frank's house. Also went on a boat trip and hired our own boat to pootle round the canals.

And the arcade place across on the ferry which my kids loved - you pay by the hour and it's stuffed with all the old arcade games - donkey kong, Pac-Man etc,

Everywhere in Europe has history, so pick somewhere you want to go and research the history angle once you've got a shortlist of placed you'd like. Stay realistic about what can be done in a few days. When my nephew was that age we took him to London for the day the list of places he wanted to see/go in would have taken a fortnight!

Rome
Brussels
Barcelona
Budapest

I would save Amsterdam and Paris for older age

Ohh Prague too!

We also visited various European cities on a cruise this summer. We stayed in Rome first which was fun but tiring. Was very impressed by Pompeii as the city is so well-preserved compared to the forum etc.

My favourite was Dubrovnik which was beautiful but perhaps a bit far for a city break.

Side in Turkey is fabulous for the ancient history , the colosseums and bath houses that are still standing are amazing also the museums . they are also revealing the streets and shops underneath the current day buildings leaving them open with glass covers for viewing .
It's a beautiful place too 😁

Rome

Krakow - beautiful, small and an interesting place geographically and historically

Venice - my kids were blown away by its specialness

Talinn- quirky and small and interesting in terms of political history

I've never been to Rome. I should do something about that! They loved it at that age when they went with their dad.

I'd save Berlin for when they are a little older.

What about Stockholm? I can recommend the Viking museum, Vasa museum and a trip to Birka. The old town is also wonderful and you can do all types of tours there.

Valletta, so many layers of history! Prehistoric temples, loads of ww2 history including the underground shelters to visit, the knights Templar from 1530, and it's so easy to walk around Valletta as it's so small, or get one of the famous buses. We spent a week in Valletta and there is so much to do and just so interesting

Pretty much any city in Europe will cover what you want, as well as places such as Carcasonne, Normandy or the Alhambra.

What are they familiar with or interested in? I'd start with the time or era for which they have some knowledge or have an interest and work from there.