Recommended European Breaks with an 8yr old

[KateyFi]

Hello
What's everyone's experience of single parent and 8yr old boy hols in Europe. I fancy something with culture that he can learn a bit but with the option for a day or two on the beach to relax. Short haul only, a week away in April half term. Any suggestions?
TVM

Barcelona!
My dc loved climbing La Sagrada, the Gaudi park and house, Mount Tibidabo amusement park, riding the cable car to Montjuic castle, and the tour of Camp Nou football stadium. The aquarium was a big hit, as was the surreal Dali museum. They also loved experiencing tapas, paella and churros!
Diagonal Mar is a 10 or 15 min. ride on the metro from the city centre. It's a good place to stay if you want easy access to the beach and the park has some decent playgrounds. Hotel Vincci is within walking distance to the beach and has various room options.

Fantastic, thanks for that, brilliant suggestion x

Venice will not be too busy at Easter. Most beautiful and unusual place in Europe!

We spent 5 days in Rome and my son loved it with the ruins and obviously v child friendly food!

Venice will be packed solid at Easter! As it is every day of the year. This year Italians have a 10 day Easter holiday as it runs into the next public holiday so more people will be on the move. It is also ferociously expensive. You can do it in a day from somewhere much cheaper to stay like Pisa or Verona.

Copenhagen

(Haven’t actually been but it’s supposed to be wonderful for children and single parent holidays!)

My DCs loved Rome. Hamburg is also really nice and might not be so heaving.

Finding places with a beach warm enough to enjoy at Easter will be a bit hit & miss! Without checking the weather, these are places we’ve liked with culture & the sea:

• Barcelona - what the PP said!
• Split - easy to get round, apartments to rent don’t cost a fortune & it’s got some really nice beaches. The old Roman palace right on the seafront was interesting & as a city it’s got a really relaxed vibe. You can fly direct from the U.K.
• Taormina, horribly crowded in summer, might be better at Easter - beautiful town square, Greek amphitheatre & an island you can wade out too just off the beach. Fly into Catania, take a taxi to the train station and Taormina is a 30 minute journey
• Lisbon & do the half an hour train journey to the pretty town of Estoril on the coast
• Nice - great restored old town & there’s a really child friendly beach a ten minute train ride away at Villefranche. Not sure what the weather would be like!
• Verona - beautiful city that’s not half as rammed as Venice. You can fly from the U.K. direct. Their are really regular buses outside the train station that go to the towns on Lake Garda or you can take a train to Venice which is about 1hr20.

I love both Venice & Rome but my DD is a country mouse & gets a bit stressed out by crowds & didn’t enjoy either city so much. Still, that’s just her & other kids will get more out of them!

Budapest lovely, especially if you both like swimming.

Copenhagen nice and fab public transport, delicious bakeries, but cold.

Lisbon!