We're considering a week in Europe with 4 kids: ages 13, 10, 8 and 5 (yes we're crazy).

We're open to different cities/countries, we don't really have a strong preference over any one spot nor do we have any "must sees" on this trip. The wife spent a summer in Spain in college, as well as a few days in London and Copenhagen on a work trip a few years back. I've never been on the continent.

If you were planning this with those dynamics, what would your top choices be?

What time of year? Did this with a 4 and 6 year old recently and it was a blast.

Since your wife has familiarity with it, Spain may be a good starting point. Plus it's a very kid friendly country.

Dublin, Budapest, Rome, London- All have a lot of things that kids will like

We've traveled to Europe with the kids ever since they could walk and have been to England, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Spain, and Portugal. All were very easy with young kids with plenty to do and we adjusted itineraries as they got older and they still talk about the more recent trips. My daughter (the youngest) doesn't remember the trip to Strasbourg, but she had a blast and the locals really treated both her and her brother incredibly well. She does remember the trip to Paris a few years later and we did get a private guide for the Louvre and a couple of other spots that allowed us to go through at a pace and level the kids were comfortable with including breaks and whatnot. As long as you can get around without too much difficulty and trek-like marching from place to place it should be an incredibly fun trip.

I'm guessing you'll be going in the summer time? If so you might want to stick with northern Europe to give yourself a better shot at having pleasant temperatures.

In 2018 we traveled across Europe with a 5, 7 and 9 year old. Our kids favorite place was Denmark; we took them to Legoland / Lego House and they also liked Copenhagen.

http://theintrepidfamily.com/category/destinations/denmark/

End of July or early August. Wife has a meeting in Copenhagen the first week of August so we're thinking of all going over the last week of July then I'd fly back with the kids or I bring the kids and meet up with her when we're done.

We can go somewhere other than Copenhagen and then the wife can head there when we're done or she could meet us anywhere she needs to after her meeting and fly back from there.

I think Rome would be awesome for kids that age....of course the weather would be very hot at that time of year. Maybe split the week between Rome and somewhere on the coast to enjoy some beach time?

If you take them to Paris and let them stand in front of the Eiffel Tower they will never forget it. My 6 year old daughter still talks about it. It's an iconic (and impressive) world landmark. Paris also offers other famous landmarks such as the Louvre (Mona Lisa), Champs de Elysee and Arc de Triomphe. Beyond that if you truly wanted a "kid only" day there is always Disneyland Paris.

In Paris, they also have an army museum that I think kids will like. Before we went in, they said it takes men 4 hours to see everything and women...2. They were right! It took us exactly 2. I am not really into that stuff, but I really enjoyed it. The catacombs too. They were closed when we went.

My wife and I were in Italy two summers ago and met a couple from New York there with their three kids. We met them in Florence. They made sure to mix up activities. We were in a group with the at the Accademia, and they were going from there to a pizza cooking class one of their kids picked out. I can't remember all of the cities they went to, but they arranged their daily activities similar to that, and at the end they spent a few days in Amalfi Coast as sort of a reward for the kids. Seemed like a decent way to do it.

The flight will suck but Europe is way easier than the big u.s. cities with kids. UK, France, and Spain are all good choices.

I assume you want to introduce them to the history of the area. I would suggest Italy because if it's obvious Renaissance and Roman history

I know I suggest Croatia a lot on here but one benefit is they have a lot of old castles (they weren't destroyed in WWI and II) and they don't rope them off like they do in Western Europe. It's great for kids to crawl all over the place.

I would also recommend staying in Airbnb and driving yourself. With a family that size it's much cheaper to rent an apartment and cook on your own. Also, going to the grocery store and having the kids try and figure out what they are buying in a foreign language can be quite the adventure.

If you end up in Copenhagen, Tivoli Gardens is fun. I was Walt Disney's inspiration for Disney Land

The zoo has a polar bear that my wife was excited about seeing.