Easter family holiday by train help!

[Sprinklechops]

We want to go away at Easter with a 4yr old and a 18mnth old, never been abroad before with them.
We prefer trains to planes if possible, but think the little one will be too small for a sleeper train right now.
Where can we go that's maybe not France but will be great for the kids once we're there, but also interesting for us.
Maybe bear a beach / lake for swimming, somewhere interesting to go for a walk and definitely nice food!
Haven't been abroad for so long, my mind is a total blank!
Tia

Netherlands? Eurostar goes to Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Rotterdam is an interesting city for a couple of days and obviously Amsterdam has lots to offer. The Hague has seaside and you could be based there and travel to Amsterdam and other places from there. Madurodam is good for children and the beach has a pier plus a sculpture museum, beach restaurants and trams.

The Belgian coast can be reached via Brussels with Ostend being a good base but also smaller places like De Haan and Knokke accessible by train plus the coast tram runs all along the coast.

We went to the Belgium coast when our children were a little older than yours and had a lovely time.

We went by ferry to Calais and drove there but you could travel on the Eurostar to Brussels, followed by a local train to Ostend. Along the Belgium coast is a tram and 15 different resort towns. We visited each one. We stayed in a self catering bungalow, very near the beach and some great sand dunes.

The plus side of Belgium is the beer and the chocolate, the negative side is that the coast is on the North Sea (so sunshine is definitely not guaranteed). We went in the summer and were lucky with the weather.

Remember that Easter weather in the Netherlands probably averages 15 degrees. The further south you head the warmer it will be, but it's not really swimming weather that early unless it's indoors. Easter is tulip season in the Netherlands, so it's a good time to go to that region.

There are various direct OuiGo trains from Lille to Marseille (4.5 hours) if you want a chance of slightly better weather. They stop at Avignon and Aix en Provence. Or you could change to go to Nice or French Riviera. This avoids changing trains in Paris which is a PITA. I know you said maybe not France. Or change at Lyon and go on to Milan - and the Lakes - Maggiore or Como are closest. or Garda. Much longer trip but you could break it up. Or from Brussels via Munich to Innsbruck or on to Bologna/Verona/Venice?

South of France or Barcelona is achievable in a day from London but it's a long day for the children.

We took our kids on lots of sleepers when they were your kids' ages and found them ideal because they can potter about the cabin without annoying other passengers and they can go to bed when tired instead of having to stay up late on a day train. It helps if you are used to co-sleeping because they can just tuck in bed with you. The four year old I'd just build up suitcases next to the bed to stop them falling out. So long as they are in a bottom bunk in a private cabin you can do it.

The tricky part will be booking a sleeper over the Easter holidays though as they sell out fast.

If you do want day trains, then anywhere along the north sea/baltic coast would be wonderful but pretty cold for swimming at Easter. Cologne, Antwerp, Amsterdam all make good kids destinations with parks and zoos (Cologne zoo is phenomenal and we are not animal people really).

Ooh thank you for the suggestions this is so helpful. Great point about weather and swimming! Whenever I'm planning holidays it's always beautiful and sunny in my mind and I forget the realities!
Maybe I need to rethink sleepers as it will open up some possibilities. We don't usually Co sleep, so I'm worried it will be a challenging experience

Netherland and Belgium are easy to access and child friendly but can be difficult if you have bad weather and outdoors is not possible all the time for the whole day.

The Netherlands are also quite expensive in April as it's tulip season.

Saying that, I would look into Amsterdam, there is plenty to do and if the weather is nice, Zandvoort is only a short train ride away and has a lovely beach.