The Women’s Travel Group has arranged group tours all over the world. Here is a big challenge; an opportunity to take my 16-year-old granddaughter to Europe. Below is how a professional tour operator approached the teen trip. The rhythm is learn, have fun, shop, be interactive.

The background is she likes to draw and is open to learning. She has been to Europe; some sights were therefore not included or not open during our dates.

We have a direct flight to Amsterdam. Less exhausting, less stress for Grandma. The city is exciting to American eyes (canals, flower markets, tiny, squashed houses, artists a 16 might know, and a whiff of the indecent. People speak English. We arrive before hotel checkin; most East bound flights arrive in the morning. Booked is a one hour canal ride to use up time.

During the trip we avoid early starts. One must pre book every event/museum this Summer. Europeans are traveling in droves; tour operators hogging tickets. Our first morning is a learning but fanciful: the Van Gogh Museum. The visit is followed by a walk along a major canal to a pancake house.

We add a self-guided walking tour.  A self-guided tour is flexible for a tired teen and more tired Grandma.  Pop into the cute shop? Sit on a bench with a waffle? Email Mom and Dad to assure them Grandma is hanging in?  7:15PM we visit Anne Frank House. Tickets sold out time slots immediately. Dinner might include serious WW2 conversations.  Here get parents’ input.

Our next day is heavier. AM tour of Jewish Amsterdam. (Share with the guide you are traveling with a teen). Whatever your heritage, include it in your trip. We grandparents can share our backgrounds so teens ponder theirs. In the afternoon, off the Albert Cuyp Street Market.

Last day is the ‘big deal’ museum: Rijksmuseum with Rembrandt. Beforehand watch a short video together about Rembrandt. Lunch in the museum garden restaurant. Many museums, including Rijksmuseum, have drawing classes. No pressure just a fun experience.  Late afternoon train to Paris.

Arrival Paris, walk around the neighborhood. Study the map together.  Day 1 in Paris is a blockbuster exhibit at the Orsay Museum- a former rail station; we see at 11:30AM. Tickets are pre-booked. In the afternoon, fashion show at elegant 19c department store, Galeries Lafayettes and a macaroon cooking class also in the store.All pre booked.  Go to the roof of the store or Printemps, a few blocks away, for fabulous views of Paris  Your teen will definitely tikto again.

Day 2 we take the Metro to  Fondation Louis Vuitton. Use public transportation to show teens a greener way to travel. Why this museum? Startling Frank Gehry architecture with “lets talk about it type modern art”. Afternoon free for shopping or looking.  Looking: walk down the Rue St. Honore. Shopping: walk down the Rue de Bac on the Left Bank, with pastry nibbles along the way or a scoop of Bethillon ice cream. A last ‘maybe’ is visit to Le Marais, the medieval Jewish quarter and home to Picasso Museum.  Being indulgent with shopping on a Grandmother trip is allowed.

Train to London-very cool entering the Channel Tunnel. Now we are in my second home.  Theater is a must; the British accent is hard for Americans, so choose a comedy or musical. Consider the National Theater. The National Theater Complex shows your teen what a government can accomplish for its citizens. The complex faces the Thames River. Walk across what the Brits call the wobbly bridge to St. Paul’s.  It is a fun walk even if no longer wobbling. The surroundings of St. Pauls are modern office buildings.  WW2 bombs fell around St. Paul’s. They mostly missed but surrounding buildings were destroyed. Here is a chance to talk about WW2, if so inclined. A freebie nearby is Bloomberg’s Mithraeum Museum, the site of a Roman temple; here remind your teen she/he is walking on history.  On the entrance wall is a collection of fantastic Roman things, like a Ripley’s Believe it or Not Collection. Again pre book.

Other visits will be Tate Modern, a museum created from a power station,with nearby Borough Street Market for lunch. From the museum are Tik Tokable  views of London Bridge. We’ll include Portobello Road, a walk down Henry VIII’s main street: Whitehall.

A final Grandma choice is a hike from Time Out Book of Country Walks. Walks are seasonal and begin and end at train stations. You ramble through rural scenery, places to eat and usually include a palace or castle, in our case Hampton Court. Warning these are 5-8 miles but include route short cuts.

Pre tour I had suggested a book list, it was nixed; then a film list, it got a yes. Short videos before visits might be useful. Some museum or tourist area apps might be also.

Travel Tips from The Women’s Travel Group award winning tours for women.

Some links in this article

Canal Tour  https://flagshipamsterdam.com/cruise/amsterdam-luxury-cruise/

Van Gogh Museum  https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en

Anne Frank House  https://www.annefrank.org/en/

Jewish Tour with Naomi Koopmans  https://jewishamsterdamtour.com/about/

Rijksmuseum daily drawing class  https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/families-children/drawing-outdoors

Orsay Museum https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en

Fashion Show   https://haussmann.galerieslafayette.com/en/events/original-fashion-shows/ Macaroon Cooking  https://haussmann.galerieslafayette.com/en/events/french-macaron-bakery-class-in-the-heart-of-paris/

Tate Museum  https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern

Bloomberg Museum  https://www.londonmithraeum.com/

National Theatre  https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/

Time Out Book of Country Walks   https://www.amazon.com/Time-Out-Country-Walks-London/dp/1846702216