Loire Valley

You'd think your kids will get Chateau'ed out, but they won't -- trust me -- if you do the proper preparation. Each Chateau has a great story, so help bring it alive for them. They're old enough to understand palace intrigue, and the Loire Chateau are chock full of all that. And a lot of the Chateau have plenty of kid-friendly activities.  

Activities? Loire has a ton of them for an energetic tween. Ride a horse, cruise the river, tour a tunnel, catch a Son & Lumiere show, visit an awesome tank museum. Or put down a house payment and take a balloon ride of a lifetime.     

Loire -- Amboise, specifically -- has one of our favorite places to stay, an AirBnB house just outside of town. Great central location to many sites. Check it out here. Perfect for 4-6 people. But there are many other charming and very reasonably priced places.

As usual, you'll probably fly into Paris, which is an hour away. Brittany and Normandy can be added to make a nice loop through central/western France.