Best European cities for early teens?

[cobblers00]

Just that... they're not particularly into culture & we only want a short city break for Easter. Where would you go??

we took our sons to Paris when they were 10 and 13 and they have been asking to go back. The Eiffel Tower left them dumbstruck, they loved the food and restaurants, they loved the Metro and Montmartre and the patisseries. It was my favourite ever family break.

Paris is incredibly expensive though.

I’ve been looking at Munich, but not sure if I want to save it for a Christmas trip.

Bruges is Ely.

Ely?
lovely

I think for young teens and an introduction to city breaks, I would go with one of the big iconic landmarks. The Coliseum, Eiffel Tower or similar. Save the more heavy culture type places for later.

Berlin has a very hipstery scene - they have these vintage bowling alleys dotted around in the basements of pubs. Old photo booths scattered around, a big department store of second hand clothes called Human. Obviously parts of the Berlin Wall still exist with graffiti art. That’s before you do any of the Cold War stuff. I arranged for a 2 hour walking tour through With Locals that took us to some interesting street art in the former East Berlin but you can get them for any interest - music for example.

Have a look for Richard Ayoades series Travel Man because they give you a whistle stop tour of lots of European cities.

I think a lot of cities are expensive. You just have to suck it up!

We introduced our DC to culture way before they were teens. DD1 had done art at school and they looked at Van Gogh in y1. So when she was 6 we went to the Musee D’Orsay to look at the Van Gogh paintings. DD stood looking at a self portrait and told everyone “He’s still got his ear in that one!”. So children really can look and learn. She continued to love art. We always went to museums. If we had not bothered, her life would be less rich and varied.

Amsterdam, Venice, Rome, Paris.
My kids have been to Paris and Venice, and enjoyed both.
I would like to take them to Rome and Amsterdam, maybe Berlin...

@RampantIvy

Bruges is Ely.

We did a quick stop in Bruges with pre teens a couple of years ago. They enjoyed the cafes (waffles) and its very pretty. We felt we had seen it after a quick stroll, but maybe there's a lot more we didn't see.

There is far more to see and do in Bruges than you can do in a quick stroll. I guess it depends if you enjoy art, history and culture (and beer, chocolate and food )

There are trips from Bruges to the WW1 battle sites and museums. Maybe go to Bruges and do a day trip? There are other cities to visit too: Ghent is close. Bruges is a good base and it’s pretty.

Also I find it amazing that anyone can think they have seen everything in a quick stroll around! It’s obvious when you go to any town or city what you might do when there. It just takes a quick Google. I don’t understand why anyone comes on a thread like this and says they didn’t even bother to find out what there was to see. What is the point of travel in that case?

Budapest

Stockholm is great with the Vasa museum and loads of cafes. It's a nice place to potter about. Also good boat tours and plenty of sights.

But Rome is a great place to start as it can set the imagination running wild seeing the sights, just there in an otherwise modern city. Plus it's easy to feed teens cheaply with all the pizza and gelato places.

Lots of great ideas & insights here. Thanks everyone.

Blow their minds with Venice? I think it's great for early teens. Italian food is always a winner, ditto going on the vaporetto, weather's likely to be nice. Lots of flights and accommodation. Very safe.

Copenhagen - nice to walk around, loads of amazing ice cream places, Tivoli Gardens theme park is compact, lovely to wander around and has a few proper rides for thrill-seeking teens.
Lisbon - again, really lovely to walk around, views in all directions, loads of museums & art galleries. Great little outdoor cafes at certain viewpoints for a coffee or a beer. Incredible food at really reasonable prices.
Paris - teen DD loved the 24 hours we spent there, it was enough for the Eiffel Tower & a wander through some of the central districts. Going back later this year for a proper explore.

Took my teen DD to Seville a couple of weeks ago

Fab place for walking about

Lots on there at Easter

Very reasonably priced everywhere

Setas de Sevilla (the mushrooms) fab at sunset/dark for light show

Also recommend Barcelona and Valencia

Easter big in Spain so may be busy

@SFisnotsimple

Took my teen DD to Seville a couple of weeks ago

Fab place for walking about

Lots on there at Easter

Very reasonably priced everywhere

Setas de Sevilla (the mushrooms) fab at sunset/dark for light show

Also recommend Barcelona and Valencia

Easter big in Spain so may be busy

Love Seville but I believe there's a traditional Easter pilgrimage there which means half the town's shut and accommodation is £££?

My young teens loved Seville, Cadiz, Munich, Nuremberg, Paris

Yes, Seville’s not the best at Easter as it gets too busy

When we had a young teen, they enjoyed Barcelona; Valencia; Paris; Malaga; Gibraltar. They also loved Copenhagen.

Rotterdam was quite fun too if you want somewhere less busy than Amsterdam.

I went to Amsterdam with DD when she was 12. Great time, no hen or stag in sight if you research where you stay. The red light district is easy to avoid despite being bang in the middle.

Great public transport, easy to go around and lots of things to do.