In the late 1840s, Mina travelled through Europe with her family so that they might "learn languages and finish [their] education". The trip started in 1847, when Mina journeyed to Dresden due to her mother's desire for her daughters to learn German. From 1847 to 1849, she and her family lived in Paris near the Arc de Triomphe, and were kindly received by the French Royal Family headed by Louis Philippe I and Queen Marie Amelie. They left soon after the king and queen's fall from power, as the city had suddenly become unsafe for those of their rank. In 1850, they visited the court of Hanover and were received by Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover and his family; later that year, they returned to Kensington Palace and Mina and Millicent came out in society.