I think 'anywhere' is not in your cards but someplace safe like Paris would be a great family vacation. A 14yo girl is going to love the culture, shops, fasion, restaurants, museums and so forth. Never a dull moment in Paris, only trouble squeezing it all in. The museums alone would take days and days. The educational value is beyond your wildest dreams; imagine not only learning about Napoleon Bonaparte but being able to walk through his home in the Louvre. Seeing the real Mona Lisa -wow! There's a museum there of just Picassos. Many other European cities are a day trip by train-Bruges, Brussels, Amsterdam to mention just a few.
Wherever you choose, be sure to do your homework. Know things like: Europeans dine for hours at night, slow restaurant service is expected and enjoyed. Know the days the museums are closed. Know about museum passes and how to use the city transportation. Know what discounts a student is entitled to. Learn some French/German/Dutch and try it out wherever you end up. Read about the culture, traditions, mores so things do not suprise you and perhaps you can blend a bit rather than sticking out as tourists. One of the most fun things I do when I travel is try to blend. I know I have accomplished this when people start asking me for directions or information.
Last-if I could take my 14yo anywhere; I have a 14yo son so this isn't exactly a stretch for me....I would take him somewhere that will be changing very radically in the next 10years. I'd take him to Africa on a safari before tha animals are gone, I'd take him to Angkor Wat before they build a McDonalds there, I'd take him to the Galapagos before man further destroys the fragile environment there. I'd consider Egypt or Greece because air pollution is destroying their ancient ruins and amazing natural wonders. You get the picture, go someplace you will not be able to go in the near future and find it close to what you have there now. Why? 17 years ago my husband and I were lucky to be able to take a safari in Botswana and Zimbabwe. The lion population while we were there was 250,000 in Africa. We saw several small prides, heard them hunting(roaring)at night from our tents, saw the evidence of their hunts in the morning and searched the ground for their paw prints in soft soil...the lions were the prize all the drivers were looking for. Now, the population of lions is 25,000 - 10% of what it was 17 years ago. Finding those majestic, proud and fierce animals in their natural habitat must be nearly impossible. I'm lucky, I was there and saw them but my son's generation will not have that ability. It's sad, very sad that humans are doing such damage to the earth but since we still have a chance to see some of the great wonders-the 'circles of life', we should do it.
