My family of four (parents, 16 yr old girl & 18 yr old boy) are planning a European summer vacation…. our main options are:
1. Munich & Salzburg: Spend a few days in and around Munich, Germany (visit Dachau, see some other cool German stuff!) and then a few days in Salzburg, Austria… (maybe go see Switzerland too). This option is very affordable (hotel/flight-wise).
2. London: Spend a few days touring London (castles, huge ferris wheel, the “tube”, historic stuff, palaces & such)… maybe (if it works with $$$ and time) take the Chunnel to France and explore Paris and stuff! This option is a tad more expensive but not horrible.
Which option sounds like a better idea, and why? (considering money, travel, sites, culture, etc.)
I’m wondering what everyone has to say about these options! If you’ve traveled to either or both of these places, your input would be very much appreciated!
ALSO: if you know of any other interesting, fun, *affordable* European vacation ideas, PLEASE share! 
Honestly, I went to both places on a vacation once and they were both amazing! You really can’t go wrong – and I’m totally jealous.
Munich is an amazing, beautiful city, lots of beer halls, very nice to walk around in. Dachau will stay with you. Austria & Switzerland are absolutely breathtaking. We went up Mt. Pilatus in Switzerland – it’s near the city of Lucerne, which has the bluest-blue lake I’ve *ever* seen underneath snow capped mountains. It was lovely.
London is of course fascinating. You will never get to see everything there unless you stay for weeks, so you’ll probably have to pick quantity or quality. Both have their benefits; on our trip we moved really fast and saw everything (we had a lot of group passes though because we were on a tour so we saved a lot of time), but taking your time is fun too. I also love the London culture – British people are awesome. We also took the Chunnel to Paris, really fun (except I hadn’t mastered the art of walking on a train so I annoyed all the nearby Europeans by falling into them, haha). Paris is a wonderful city as well, the people aren’t *quite* as warm (as England or Germany) but it’s lovely – just watch out for pickpockets. Especially in the subway and in crowds.
So, it’s hard to pick one place over the other. My advice is to just look at lots of pictures & read travel reviews, and sit down as a family and decide which part of Europe sounds more interesting. Have fun!
edit. I forgot to say too, if money is a consideration, I did find things were much more expensive in England because of how much the pound is worth. It’s a good time, but Britain can be pricey, depending how much the pound is worth against the US dollar.
Too, if you do decide to go to Paris, they run trains to go and see Versailles – a gigantic palace outside of the city. The gardens go on and on and the palace itself is *huge*. Very beautiful area.
History -
Pictures (and they really don’t do it justice)-=&h=300&w=349&sz=76&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=xRbPlWi2UJwzqM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=120&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpalace%2Bof%2Bversailles%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1
Well I am American, lived in Germany for over 9 years, and been to London a couple times. Even with all my friends from England, they dislike London. Just because everything there is so expensive, but hey if you got money go ahead. But for the same price you could see so much more in Bavaria! Plus a lot of shopping. I would avoid Switzerland, it is also a bit expensive. Lived 1+ plus in Austria, great place to be. Summer in these countries are beautiful. There are CASTLES in every European country. Plenty of them, and very nice palace in Vienna (Wien), Austria. Dachau always gave people the ibby geebies. But for the money, sites, culture, would be Germany, because there is not much of a cultural difference from England and the United States. Besides as my english friends put it, our poor english, and pronunciation. Both places have great food, I am now living in Romania, and I love the variety of cultures far from my american back ground. So if its variety you search for, don’t go to England. I would say 80% of the Germans speak a understandable english. Although it would impress them if you were showing an effort to speak some german while you are there. Such as “Guten Tag” good day, “Danke” thanks, try to remember as many numbers as possible, so if you are trying to order an amount of train tickets or whatever. Just to show them you are trying. They will be more pleased to help you. My experiences in France were very different and they were very rude about it. You will not find Ranch dressing at a restaurant, diet coke is called cola light. If you smoke, there is no such thing as a “light” cigarette there, so say the color of the pack. If you need help feel free to ask more if you choose package 1.
If you are about choosing one of those two options,then you defenately have to choose Munich/Salzburg
Salzburg is so piqturesque and beautiful city and Munich has lots to do (must visit:Königssee)
If you want an alternative, a tour over meditteranean is also a great idea, or a trip tp Greece.
Great beaches,historical sightseeings,great weather,lots of choices to choose from…