Hard to say without knowing anything but the ages of your kids. So we have a clue as to your interests…. Why did you pick these 3 cities in the first place?

I’ll also add:

Anyone can pick up a guide book and find out what are the “must see” sights in a given city. Aside from museums, palaces, historical sites, et al, there’s also the experience of just enjoying a given city, so try not to spend too much time in, say, the Louvre while you’re in Paris, and lose sight of the city itself.

What I am more interested in helping you out with, is finding some great places to visit as side trips from one of these cities. You don’t have that much time, but visiting maybe some neat seaside villages or mountain medieval town or a bit of countryside from Florence could be a rewarding experience.

Thank your for your help. You are correct in that we do not have much time in each city but there was no way to manage this trip otherwise. My preference is to explore 1 or 2 cities in greater detail and less rushed but I have 4 other people I had to work with in arranging this trip. I think I am all set relative to Paris and Rome. We will probably only spend a few hrs at the louvre and do a half day at Versailles. Rest of time will be at Eiffel tower, arch de triumph, champs elyses, Norte dame, Latin qtr and Montmartre. I know this sounds like a lot for Paris but we have 3 full days in Paris and we hit the ground running and are active into the nite so I think we can accomplish this. We may see if we can squeeze a cruise down for seine, what do you think on that. As far as Rome tons to see, focus hear is to provide the kids and ourselves with a historical tour. Florence is where I could really use some help and I was thinking day trips to the countryside would be nice. We are not that much interested in Pisa but any cool, medicinal, out of the way or seaside towns would be nice to see. Again we have 3 full days in Florence. Thank you in advance for your help. I have seen your posts on this forum and you are very insightful and selfless with your time.

Thank you,
Terry

My usual recommendation for Paris is to let kids this age (your 11 year old is a little young for solo, but will be fine with the other 2) explore on their own. Arm them with map, subway map, transit passes, cell phone or phone card (and knowledge of how to use it) name, address and phone of your hotel (and hotel marked on map) and give them a day to explore. The metro, the parks, the cafes, the various unique neighborhoods, and the experience of navigating the city are a whole lot more memorable for teens than the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Maybe you could give them a 1/2 day and have them meet you at the Arc.

We’re whirlwind travelers in North America and we still sometimes try to cover too much in Europe, but I am very, very sorry that my son’s first experience in Europe at age 14 was a whirlwind like you’ve described.

Have you talked to the kids about what they themselves might like to see? Have they done any research themselves? I like Oldlady’s idea about turning the older ones loose if they can handle it.
Coming from southern Florida, they probably have an awareness of other cultures and languages.

One thing I always remember about taking our kids to Italy:

La Passeggiata
As evening falls and the harsh sun inches out of the your favorite piazza, an evening ritual is bound to begin, the Italian tradition of passeggiata, a gentle stroll (slow! think slow!) through the main streets of the old town, usually in the pedestrian zones in the centro storico, the historic center.
We would roam about and then pick a likely piazza. Our older son pretty much did his own thing, especially during this time, and we would sit at an outdoor cafe on the piazza and our younger son would join the local kids in a soccer game. Eventually we would gather for dinner. Town after town, night after night we would do this same thing, it was so relaxing and enjoyable.