Family city break - help me choose where to?

[gerbo]

We have a (very lucky) choice to make... Two DC, 7 and 10, and the chance of a 3 night city break in Europe.

Can`t decide between Copenhagen, Lisbon and Rome.

Flights and accomodation added together seem to total roughly the same...

Thanks for any ideas!

Not tried the other two but would definitely recommend Rome or two loved all the sites and DS enjoyed helping navigate around all the attractions. We saw all the sights and had a lovely morning in the gardens on an electric bike for the 4 of us.
Barcelona is very nice too but avoid high summer for both places.

Having been to all three (although not with kids), baring any particular preferences on your families part, I would say Lisbon. It's a lovely and fascinating city, and the food is better than the others IMHO.

What time of year? Been to (and loved) both Rome and Lisbon but they are HOT in the summer.

Lisbon is heavenly

All fantastic cities. What mont( are you thinking of?

I've been to all 3 and Lisbon was my favourite by far.

But a lot depends on the time of year, I'd avoid Copenhagen in the winter (went for NYE and it was arctic) and avoid Rome and Lisbon in high summer.

*month

Peas went to Copenhagen in February and still remember the cold walking to the little mermaid!

I've not been to Copenhagen but out of Rome and Lisbon I would go for Rome without hesitation. An awesome city with millions of things to do.

Thanks everyone for your ideas! We are going to gofirst week of June, so all three should be ok weather wise....

It's a really difficult choice as all three offer something very different.

Appreciate your input, all....still mulling....!

Copenhagen! Tivoli gardens would be perfect for that age group.

Rome will be fairly hot then for sightseeing with young children.
We visited in April with our two and I wouldn’t have liked it to be much hotter with the kids.

I can't comment on Lisbon and Copenhague but I lived very close to Rome for 7 years when DS was 4 -11.

It can be very hot in June, not unbearably so by Rome standards , but still hot (30-35). If you are looking for things for the DCs such as science museums, art museums that are suitable for young children, interesting playgrounds, then Rome isn't what you want. However Rome can be a great city for children, my DS loved Rome.

I think if you go to Rome with children of that age you really have to prepare them for it and plan well, especially if you only have 3 nights, because the wonderful sights they can see are a bit meaningless without it. You have to explain to them, or show them a couple of films about Roman history and the Roman Empire. If they know what they are seeing it is a fantastic city for kids. When they are there you can say you are walking where the emperors walked. You can go into the Colosseum and say this is where the gladiators fought. After showing them Ben Hur you can visit where the real chariot races were. You can explain to them the legend of the Mouth of Truth and dare them to put there hand in. That only slightly touches the surface of everything there is.

Rome is an absolutely wonderful and beautiful city but it takes a bit of effort for young children to enjoy and appreciate it. If all else fails though, they will love the ice cream and pizzas 😊

Did you decide OP?

I've not been to Lisbon but have been to Rome and Copenhagen (albeit Copenhagen was a work trip but there was some social time).

I adored Rome but I went solo so not sure how much kids will enjoy it. If you haven't decided yet then I would look at 'things to do' in each city and see what your family would enjoy the most.

Rome is amazing, but hot in June.

Copenhagen would be a good temp and has Tivoli, big aquarium, nice walks, good shopping, nice food, everyone speaks English.

I haven't been to Lisbon and I've heard it's lovely, so this would probably be my choice. Yes, it's far south, but Portugal usually gets nice breezes off the Atlantic (and it wasn't too hot in Porto in June).