City break in Europe for July

[EatSprayGlove]

We are thinking of doing a city break at the start of the summer hols. I had in mind Paris because thats where the kids want but it will be too busy and my other thought was Seville but it will be too hot for us, same for Rome and I'd rather try those at a cooler time of year. We have a 9 and 11 year old who just want to "see things!" We last went to Budapest and loved it, lots of parks which really suited our youngest as he's a young 9yo. They're not much into art or culture and we like to use public transport and walk around rather than do activities. Ideally looking for somewhere warm but not too hot and I'm not sure where to look at, bonus if its somewhere I haven't been either! I wondered about somewhere more Eastern Europe but I'm not sure if they will also be roasting! I would like to go to Berlin but thinking will wait until the youngest is a bit older. I've said Europe but we have 2 weeks so would go further. Does anyone have any suggestions to help narrow my search down?

Hi, we were in Paris last week. Love love Paris. My two are 16&17 and love museums, art and culture though. Would recommend Paris but maybe not in July. It’ll be so busy
with the Olympics and very warm in July (obviously not guaranteed , but it’s always warmer than uk).
We are going to Barcelona in December and next on list is Amsterdam. What about Dublin? Or the countryside in Ireland?

Warsaw / Krakow might work.

Vienna / Bratislava is a good combo for a multi-centre too - can use the ferry to move between the two which is nice.

It might be too hot for you, but one of my fave slightly odd 4 city trips which covers three countries is Ljubljana - Trieste - Rovinj/Pula - Venice. The bus from Ljubljana to Trieste is about 1hr30, then you can get a ferry from Trieste to Rovinj in a couple of hours, then a bus from Rovinj to Pula is 40 mins. Finally the ferry from Pula to Venice is about 3h30. If Venice is just too crowded and busy, there are plenty of flights back from Pula to the UK.

Porto is my suggestion, it was 24/25 degrees when we went July 2022, that's typical weather. Lows of around 15 degrees in July, so first thing in a morning it's actually quite cool. Otherwise Amsterdam/ Copenhagen/ Stockholm would be pleasant, or Poland's cities which would be cheaper.

Copenhagen is really great for kids and July will be warm but not hot (although is £££)

I would probably avoid Paris this summer but perhaps take them later in the year? I love it in the autumn

Munich.

Sorry to have not returned for so long I just found this thread! There are some great suggestions thank you! We love Paris so that's now on the list for next spring as we have something else booked for October half term but there are lots here that wasn't on my radar. We're leaning towards Copenhagen or Amsterdam this year but definitely going to look at @cherryassam suggestion as thinking of doing a 4 week tour around Europe next summer and I now have a long wish list!

Went to Copenhagen with the kids a few years ago and have just been trying to come up with another city that’s as fun and family friendly as there. You won’t regret it!

Stockholm (DH got a sunstroke though in Summer)
Vienna
Munich
Hamburg and trips to the Baltic coast for a day or two by train

We are looking to do Venice soon - seems people either really love it or hate it!

Prague? Vienna? Bosnia?

it will be hot but Istanbul is great for kids that age.... amazing museums and history and gorgeous food

What about Helsinki. It will be a nice temperature, there's a great zoo, cool things to see in the city, linnenamaki theme park, aquarium, suomenlinna military fortress, moomins, a couple of cool churches (uspenski cathedral being very wow but not too massive to bore children) and plenty of green spaces. Lots of swimming as well and you can take a day trip to Tallinn

I'd avoid the big cities in July, because they are so busy, hot and touristy. July is the peak of peak season and there are millions of Americans in Europe in July. We went to Bilbao one year in July, that was great and our DC loved it.

We're looking at Munich with some time in the Bavarian Alps. Lots to do in the city and there's also Neuschwanstein Castle, Lake Constance and Legoland Germany nearby. Munich is also close enough to Salzburg and Innsbruck for day trips.

If you go to Copenhagen be sure to have brunch in Mad & Kaffe - you won’t be disappointed.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g189541-d10541130-Reviews-Mad_Kaffe-Copenhagen_Zealand.html

Good suggestions! Love the idea of Helsinki as well. I have a friend going to Stockholm next week so also waiting for feedback from there although put off by the heatstroke @reluctantbrit! Istanbul is too hot for me in July (honestly you don't want to see me in the heat) and we go there a lot so that's the only place that hasn't gone on my list. Thanks for the tip @FormerlySpeckledyHen

I've got a friend who is Bosnian, I was looking at going in July and asked her how hot it would be.

usually around 40 degrees was her response so that destination went in the bin as a summer holiday lol

Good to know! I stupidly thought it would be quite cool lol