Where to holiday in Northern Europe? Advice please...

[peachcake]

Hi,

I am looking for some advice as to where to holiday this summer in Northern Europe?

We would really like to go further South but cannot afford the cost of flights for our family of 6 (4 of which would be classed as adults) so it needs to be a ferry across to France then driving the rest of the way.

The problem is we don't know where to start with choosing a destination, we could go to France, Belgium, Holland or Germany!

The question is can anyone recommend a destination that is quite lively for the older kids, that is coastal with somewhere nice to take a stroll in the evening for a touch of shopping, eating out and watching the world go by! Kind of like the atmosphere you get in Spain, Italy and Greece I suppose! We want to feel like we are abroad. We have been to northern France before but other than Paris it somehow felt a bit too rural and quiet.

Any advice would be most welcome.

You're limiting your choices if you want coastal tbh, although we went to Normandy and it felt very continental with all the cafes and bars.
Cities obviously will seem less rural - Bruges was lovely and we did this as a stopover to Luxembourg.
There's lots of French sites with lakes as an alternative to coastal resorts?

Lots of campsites all along the west coast of France which don't require too much driving.
Brittany is very pretty but fairly rural with lots of little French towns here and there which aren't over touristy, or further south in the vendee region - better weather, lovely seaside towns etc but lots of tourists (both French & English).

Have you thought about Holland? They have loads of nice holiday villages with various levels of accommodation and the kids would be able to chat easily with no real language barrier.

Would recommend Netherlands, in particular Noord Holland - sandvoort, egemond aan zee etc. Amsterdam is nearby for city, sight seeing, shopping and there are loads of holiday parks both mobile homes and tents etc.