Europe Itinerary (with 2 Toddlers): France

We really enjoyed our time in London, but before we knew it, it was time to head to France! Our first stop would be Normandy, which is what we planned this whole trip around. Chris really wanted to see where the forces stormed the beach. And I’m so glad we planned the trip this way!

Day 6: Traveling to Normandy

When we were leaving London, the original plan was to take a train to Portsmouth Harbor, and that was how we would get to the ferry. But we quickly realized that with all of our luggage and equipment for the kids, getting a Mercedes van would be much more efficient. Getting to the ferry was about a 2.5 hour drive, and it was a little bit stressful, because we almost missed boarding for the ferry. We did use our WAYB Pico car seats in the van, because you are required to have car seats in London. They were a life (and space) saver during all of our transportation!

We decided to take the ferry from London to Normandy, because it would have been about 5 hours between the train and driving to our destination in Normandy. Taking the ferry would mean 2 hours in the car, and 6 hours on the ferry. The trade off of time was great though, because the ferry was set up similar to a cruise ship. It had a play area for the kids (which was amazing), eateries, and places to sit and watch the water. Seeing the Beaches of Normandy from English Channel was incredible, because that is how the forces entered on D-Day. So it really hit home for our family, and Chris loved it!

The ferry also had suites that you could add onto your ticket, which we chose to do. The suite was very cute and comfortable. It had 2 beds, a couch, bathroom and shower. We chose to book the suite, because we wanted to be able to put the kids down for naps and relax on the way. And since we were on the ferry for several hours, this was totally ideal for us! If you have a larger party, especially with kids, I strongly recommend getting the suite so everyone can rest!

We didn’t arrive at the Beaches of Normandy until about 10pm, and we were so thrown off, because the sun doesn’t set there until about 11:30. Which actually worked in our favor, because after we arrived, were able to go down to the beach near our Air BnB to watch the sunset.

Day 7: Site Seeing and Relaxing

The day after we arrived in Normandy, we decided to have a slow morning. Our Air BnB was great because it had a lot of stuff there for the kids, like a play kitchen and swings outside! So they were able to get up and play for a while and we were able to get ready for the day without having to occupy them too much!

We decided to visit Mont St. Michel that day, which was beautiful! I would recommend not bringing strollers, though. This was another situation where I needed to sit with the strollers while everyone else did the tour because there were so many stairs. This is a great place to visit, but if you have small kids or elderly people in your party, you need to be mindful about how many stairs and how much they will have to walk. You could probably skip it, if these will be issues for some people you are traveling with. You cannot drive up to it, but they do have shuttles that run about every 15 minutes to get there.

After the tour, we ate at a local restaurant and went back to the air bnb. Again, the sun sets very late there, so we were able to go back to the beach and watch it. This ended up being one of my very favorite parts of the entire trip!

Day 8: D-Day Band of Brothers Tour

On day 8 we planned to do the D-Day Band of Brothers tour, which is typically a 9-hour tour. We decided to do a private tour instead, to save on time. And this tour included places to eat, which was fantastic! It took some of the guess work out for us. This tour was also very important because it was a bucket list item, especially for Chris. When I say we basically planned our entire European excursion around this, I really mean that. If we didn’t get to do anything else for the entire trip, we were going to do this tour. It meant so much to me just to be able to watch Chris on it. It was very emotional for us. 

The tour included visits to Pointe Du Hoc, Omaha Beach, and the Cemetery. The Cemetery was absolutely breathtaking, and manicured perfectly. It was such a beautiful tribute to the men that fought there. If you love history, this tour would be great for you! The kids even enjoyed it, and I could take the strollers, which is always a plus! 

We did get a rental car that day, and we used the car seats again for this. After the tour, we went back to the air bnd, and decided to visit the boardwalk that was near the house. The boardwalk had a play area with a slide, jungle gym, and merry-go-round, which was fantastic for the kids to get some of their energy out! The boardwalk also had my favorite restaurant of the entire trip, La Fabrique! And a huge bonus to eating here is that it is on the beach. So we had great food, and great views!

Day 9: Traveling to Paris

We left Normandy on day 9, which was sad for me. I really could have spent the entire 2 weeks there! I feel like it was the place my family was able to relax the most. It felt more like a vacation than anywhere else. It was just so peaceful. I also need to shout out the hostess, Aline, for our air bnb, because she was amazing! She even booked our transportation to Paris for us! We were going to take a train, but private transportation just seemed to always make more sense.

The ride to Paris was about 3 hours, but we paid a little extra to stop at the 2 hour mark for a break at Mont Giverny. We were able to purchase tickets to see Monet’s garden and house when we stopped, which is a must see if you’re making this journey! It was crowded, but totally worth it! And it was a great spot for photos! (Pics, or it didn’t happen, amirite?)

When we were done in Mont Giverny, we still had about an hour to Paris. When we arrived, our flat didn’t have air (which is apparently normal over there). It was SO HOT! We got there around 5pm and got a pizza. Then we just explored the area were staying in, and went to bed. I will say, the kids did not do well that night. I think because of the heat. But it was honestly the only night they didn’t sleep well. So no complaints, just not ideal.

Day 10: Disney Day!

Because the kids were up all night, we got a slower start to the day than we planned. We wanted to see the parade that morning, but we missed it. We were going to take an Uber to Disneyland, but it was going to be about $220 (yikes). So, we decided on the train, which was only about $10! This is another place that I would highly recommend bringing your strollers, because naps! There were some stairs, but nothing we couldn’t handle!

Jordan, our travel agent, handled the entire itinerary. Which was so great for me. I felt like I could just enjoy all of it without having to think too much about it! We also purchased fast passes for our whole crew, and it was totally worth it! You don’t have to wait in all the lines, and you can fit more into your day. It was almost 90 degrees that day, so the not waiting was great!

Disney in Paris is so cool! We rode Spider Man, which the kids LOVED! Ratatouille, It’s a Small World After All, Tea Cups and Pirates of the Caribbean. I will say the Pirates ride was a little scary for my kids. So you might want to skip it if you have little ones. It’s just a little dark and there are some scarier images. We also got to meet Jessie and Spider Man, and we wanted to meet Mickey and Minnie, but the wait was really long. It actually didn’t matter though, because we saw the parade at the end of the day with Mickey and Minnie (plus all the classic characters), so my kids were still very happy about it!

When we were done in the park, we ate at the Disney Village area outside and got souvenirs. We got home super late though, we didn’t even board the train to go back until about 9pm. You kind of lose track of time because the sun sets so late over there. We did realize that our phones had stopped working though. Thankfully my brilliant husband was able to navigate us back to the flat from memory after we got off the train. We didn’t get to bed until about 1am, which wasn’t ideal because…

Day 11: Family Photos

Yes, we had family photos the day after Disney. Which probably wasn’t the best idea, but you live and you learn, right? We took an Uber to our photo location, because traffic was terrible and we only had a 1.5 hour session. So we obviously didn’t want to be late and eat up any of our session time. 

Our photographer, Gabi, was fantastic! She had us meet her near the Eiffel Tower, so we could get it in the background. And she was so good with our kids! Family photos can be stressful, but she definitely lifted a lot of the stress for me. I found her on IG and I’m so glad I chose her! If you’re visiting Paris, and want photos, I could not recommend her enough!

This was our last day with Chris, so after our photos we went back to the flat and took a long nap. When we got up, we found another carousel for the kids to ride, which they did like 5 times haha. Then we got them some McDonald’s, because comfort food. Chris and I found a local restaurant to eat at, and we ordered the kids ice cream while we ate. (See my genius mom hack reel on this, it’s incredible!)

When we got the kids home and in bed, we left them with their grandparents, and we went out to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle! It was truly so beautiful, and worth staying up for! I just wanted to end the night in a special way, because Chris was leaving at 3 the next morning, and I wanted to soak up every minute with him. 

The next day was traveling back home, so if you want to check out my tips + tricks for long plane rides, you can see that blog post here!

I am so thankful for this experience with my family! It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us. I’m so sad Chris didn’t get to come home with us, but I was glad to get back home. There are some things I would have done differently, if I had known:

  1. Just visit two cities. Like I said, I would have stayed in Normandy the entire trip, but you don’t know until you try something. 3 cities was a lot, and the travel days ate up a lot of time. 
  2. Private transportation costs a lot. So pack lighter, and try to being less to cut down on that. Also, the places you stay are smaller. So there isn’t a lot of storage for luggage and equipment. I thought I did really well with packing light, but we still had too much.
  3. Check on weather constantly before you go. I thought it would be cold, but there it ended up being a heat wave. If you have someone you can check in with about the weather, I would advise that! It’s hard to know, either way. But I would try to watch it closely.