Things You'll Need:
- A Paris map
- French phrase book
- Comfortable shoes (Paris is a strolling city)
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Step 1
Jardin des TuileriesThe Jardin des Tuileries is a beautiful garden situated right next to the Louvre. There’s a pond where you rent a little wooden boat and stick, and kids run around the edge of the basin, guiding their boats. They can also ride a real donkey or pony, enjoy the carousel, see a marionette show, buy some ice cream or jump on a huge trampoline. Parents will be pleased with the striking photo backdrops (the gardens were designed when Louis IVX was in residence at the palace, and the Eiffel Tower is visible in the distance). We always head for the garden on our first afternoon, when everyone is feeling jet lagged and tired. An instant reviver.
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Step 2
Speaking of Musée du Louvre, most families will find it best to pick a small section, or some specific paintings to focus on--it is too huge to try to see comprehensively. The plaza surrounding the glass pyramid built by American architect I.M. Pei at the main entrance to the museum will be of particular interest to older kids. Skateboarders abound in this primo space outside the Louvre. Try to visit in the late afternoon, when the entire plaza is bathed in the orange tones of the setting sun.
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Step 3
Resting at the Musée d'OrsayMusee d’Orsay. This museum, housed in a vast former train station, is much more manageable than the Louvre, and houses an extraordinary collection of 19th Century Impressionists--Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Van Gogh and Renoir. The corridors and exhibition rooms are large and open, and there are plenty of benches to rest little feet (while you ogle the extraordinary collection). Strollers are available for free at the coat check. The Eiffel Tower is also in this neighborhood, but you’ll have to wait in very long lines for a minimal payoff.
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Step 4
Notre Dame Cathedral, on Île de la Cité, is a spectacular example of French Gothic Architecture. Of particular interest to your children will be the numerous street performers who fill the square surrounding the cathedral, with plenty of ledges and benches to sit and watch. The nearby fresh air Flower Market becomes a Bird Market on Sundays, with every exotic species you could ever imagine.
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Step 5
Where to eat with kids in Paris? A good place to try bistro food is Crémerie-Restaurant Polidor on the Left Bank (6e). Their menu, designed for families, is called “Cuisine familiale.” If your family likes Chinese food, plan a familiar “comfort meal” in Paris’s Chinatown (13ème). Or to keep it casual, stop into a shop and buy loaves of bread, cheese and fruit, and join the scores of Parisians who picnic on the Pont de la Concorde, one of the city’s famous bridges. Jugglers and musicians entertain the casual crowd at sunset (7e and 8e).
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Step 6
Jules photographs from Sacre CoureGive your older kids an inexpensive digital camera and encourage them to shoot their own photos. Their perspective on Paris is certain to be quite different than yours, and the city is full of interesting sites to photograph.
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Step 7
In the outskirts of Paris is a little amusement park called the Jardin de Acclimation, a very quick trip (15 or 20 minutes) on the Metro. It was just lovely on a weekday afternoon, uncrowded and relaxed. There is a traditional French puppet show in addition to amusement park rides, trampolines, interactive exhibits and a zoo. The go-carts were awesome, and there are none of our cautious American insurance restrictions--the kids were really driving! A fun, family amusement park experience, with a totally French flair.
Comments
cchua said
on 5/22/2008 There are quite a few destination tips for Paris, France in www.myfamilybreak.com - an independent network of liked minded parents to share experiences about unique and exciting holiday destinations that cater to the needs of your little ones.