Hi everyone-
Spent an exciting week in Paris last week with the family (me, the wife and our 7, 4 and 1 year old). Here’s a quick summary:
Oct. 3 – Flew in from Berlin, Germany. Arrived at 6:15 p.m. Grey shuttle (€142 round-trip) picked us up and took us directly to our apartment in the 17th. Landlord welcomed us and explained the necessities. Got situated and turned in early.
Oct. 4 – Walked to Montmartre in the afternoon. Spent time in front of Sacre Coeur and walked around Place du Tetre.
Oct. 5 – Rode the escalators at Centre Pompidou (not free! adults have to pay €8 euro admission for the exhibits). Walked to Notre Dame and fed the pigeons. Cruised around the Seine with the Batobus (adults €11, kids €6).
Oct. 6 – Spent the morning around the Eiffel Tower. Rode the elevator to the top (adults €11, kids €6). Our landlord babysat for us in the evening. Went to the Latin Quarter to walk around and had a coffee and dessert.
Oct. 7 – Walked to the top of Arc de Triomphe (adults €8, kids free). Visited the Rodin Museum and spent time in the lovely gardens.
Oct. 8 – Spent the morning at Jardin des Tuileries. Kids rode the ponies (€10 for 5 rounds!). Played in front of the Glass Pyramid. Had a picnic in front of St. Eustache. Walked to the Centre Pompidou and watched the street performers. Our landlord babysat for us again. Had a nice romantic dinner in a restaurant which she recommended.
Oct. 9 – Went to the Picasso Museum. Spent the rest of the day watching the street performers in front of the Centre Pompidou (kids wish).
Oct. 10 – Grey shuttle picked us up at 10:00. Our flight left at 13:15 and we were back home at 15:30.
Kids enjoyed: riding up and down the Pompidou escalators…(loved) watching the street performers there…feeding the pigeons at Notre Dame… spending time on top of the Arc de Triomphe…pony riding in the Tuileries…running around the Glass Pyramids…eating ice cream everywhere!
Kids didn’t enjoy: top of Eiffel Tower (we stayed a whole 2 minutes)…the Batobus cruise…having to walk so much.
Suggestions:
- Big families, especially with babies, should rent apartments (everyone has there own space if need be)
- Buy the carte orange metro pass (€15,80 for 1 week for zones 1-2, beginning Mondays)
- If you ride with the Batobus, buy a 2 or 3 day ticket. They only cost a couple euros more and it is a very good alternative to riding the metro.
- The metro system is not kid friendly. Elevators are non-existent, escalators are few and far between. Bring a lightweight buggy that can easily fold up. There are many stairs to climb. NEVER ride the metro after 5 pm. Very stressful (and full) with buggy and kids.
- Try to arrange a babysitter so you and your loved one can enjoy a night out alone (and regain your sanity).
- Families with small children should definitely spend the extra money for a shuttle (or taxi) from the airport to city centre. It is much easier on everyone (after a long flight) if you get to where you’re staying as quickly as possible.
- This was our 5th trip to Paris. We have enjoyed Paris 3 times alone, 1 time with our first when she was one and this time. Overall we had a nice time. In all honesty though, Paris is for lovers, not families with small children. They (at least when they are our kids ages) are not really interested in the museums, the walking is too much and they are pretty much indifferent to the beautiful architecture / sights. Paris with baby was OK. We pretty much did whatever we wanted when we wanted.
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Thank you for your report...
%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;In all honesty though, Paris is for lovers, not families with small children. They (at least when they are our kids ages) are not really interested in the museums, the walking is too much and they are pretty much indifferent to the beautiful architecture / sights. %26gt;%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;
Well not necessarily lovers :) but maybe for teenagers and adults ! I agree with you ... Paris is about walking and kids usually do not find that to be fun... it is easier when with children aged 7 or less to be somewhere where you are always close to the hotel and a beach (Cote D%26#39;Azur etc...)
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Great trip report, especially apprieciate the %26quot; family%26quot; view.
How on earth did you arrange for babysitting, how much did it cost? Did the babysitter speak the same language as your children( I assume they speak German?) .
I have to agree regarding Paris and young kids, the first two times I went( once when 10 and then at 13 ) I didn%26#39;t really care for the city at all( we were staying outside city with relatives) I remember my grandmother saying %26quot; tomorrow we are going into Paris%26quot; and me saying %26quot; do we have to?%26quot; I prefered just staying at her home , in a neighborhood, doing low key visiting etc.
This last time I went I took my 14 yr old ,and that was fine, but I remember seeing families with much younger kids struggling with strollers etc and crowds and thought, %26quot; thank goodness my son is not that young%26quot; .
I personally think one would have a better time with a child over 13 then under 13. Not that I discourage anyone from taking their kids, I have 3 kids, and the other two await their turn with mom going to europe. Then will be at least 12 before them get to come.
My son also had the advantage of having studied some French and English history ( in school) before coming, so he actually knew who the %26quot; Sun King %26quot; was, and had a basic knowledge about the French Revolution. Made the trip more interesting for him, and believe me when I say he is not the scholarly or bookish type of kid to begin with! LOL
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Hi Sherif %26amp; Joan1-
Thanks for your replies.
I also did not want to discourage anyone from taking young children to Paris. I had a fun time with the kids. But parents should also be aware of the reality of the city. It is difficult to find a middle ground between the parents needs and kids needs. This is especially true for first timers I think. I’m very thankful that I had the opportunity to first experience Paris alone with my wife. This gave us the freedom to really get acquainted with the city. I found that with the kids it was only possible to scratch the surface and do the basics.
ps: our landlord babysat for us. she came when the kids were sleeping. we paid her €7/hr. we are an american-german family.
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Hello,
Have taken a seven year old boy to Paris and it was an amazing adventure. He just loved it....and I mean loved it! It was in the spring and he had only been reading since the previous Sept. He sounded out the big words in the books we bought him at the museums, read them every night and could not get enough of anything French. He especially was taken up with Napoleon, loved the Louvre, Invalides, Rodins, Effel Tower, Shakespear %26amp; Co, Notre Dame, Montmartre (especially the mimes), St.Germain and most museums except, for some reason, d%26#39;Orsay. He hated the street markets....maybe because we spent too much time looking over things.
It was a very cold, rainy, miserable March and he was not dressed very warmly yet only we noticed it. He just walked and climbed everything....probably twice the distance we did, because he would go ahead of us and then back again. He ate very little at the time, usually what we shared with him from our platters........and the desserts and any crepes he could find! Loved the sandwiches.
He just was so impressed with riding the buses and metros. He was better at figuring them out than we were. The people in them were very interesting to him too (he came from a small beach town here in the keys). We also took him to the cite de la musique and while he really did not want to go, he ended up just loving all it has to offer. (He now plays the bass fiddle).
We took the Eurostar over to London for a few days and all we heard from him was %26quot;when do we go back to Paris%26quot;. London was just not his thing. %26quot;Big Ben is not very big%26quot;.....
This boy has proved to be very intelligent so maybe that is one reason he was so taken up with Paris....and being the center of our attention (alone) might have added to his enjoyment.
This year we took his sister.........10 and she too just loved Paris. I dont think she had nearly the interest that he did, but she too was just a wonderful travel companion. She did get tired, however. She also is an eater and tried many different foods she had never experienced before.
While we were warned that a kid 7 would not like the trip, our little guy loved it.....loved it. I guess you just take your chances with kids quite young.
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Bea, I want your son, where can I order one like him? I do think he sounds special, and I do not think he is typical.
I can%26#39;t imagine many 7 yr old boys would willingly struggle to read the %26quot; big words%26quot; in a book about a museum. You are lucky.
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Bea, I%26#39;m glad your children had such a great time. I think you definately hit the bullseye when you said a major part of him enjoying himself had to do with the fact that he got all your attention. The same with your daughter from what I read. I assume you were alone with her as well. I was addressing families with multiple young children. We did not have the luxury of leaving one (or two) of the kids home. I%26#39;m just glad that I was able to experience Paris the first couple of times alone with my wife. I was able to do the little things which, in my opinion, add immensely to the whole Paris experience. You know, such as spending hours at a cafe, wandering endlessly through the streets, spending hours at street/food markets, taking midnight walks along the Seine, enjoying a show or a concert, enjoying late-night romantic dinners. Things, in my opinion, are pretty tough to do with small children.
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Hi,
Thanks for your report. Your post resonated because we%26#39;re taking DS (4 3/4) to Paris in December. As with you, we got to love Paris without a child first.
How did you choose 17? We%26#39;re really struggling with the location of an apartment. Normally it would be a no-brainer (Lxembourg area, near St. Germain), but we%26#39;re not finding an apartment we want there.
We figure that when we have a stroller, we%26#39;ll be walking places, but when we take the subway/bus for destinations, we won%26#39;t take the stroller. So both the neighborhood we%26#39;re in has to be pretty fun for walking around with stroller, and metros/buses have to be fairly accessible. So I%26#39;m debating where to stay.
If 17 was good, may I ask the apartment? We%26#39;re looking for a 2-bed...
Thanks for any help.
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That%26#39;s a great trip! And your my hero for even attempting Paris with three small children! I went with my one year old last year and it was fine, as you say, because we had a lightweight stroller, she didn%26#39;t know how to walk and we did as we pleased. I%26#39;m sure as she and her new brother get to be a little older we will still go, but it will be more for Paris living and less for Paris visiting...
Your landlady is a dream! How good of her to babysit for you!
Thanks for your report, sounds great!
Les
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%26lt;%26lt;Paris is for lovers, not families with small children%26gt;%26gt; Somebody had better tell this to the millions of us who are raising children here every day.
%26lt;%26lt;We pretty much did whatever we wanted when we wanted.%26gt;%26gt; Welcome to parenthood.
The truth is that parents need to adjust their expectations when traveling with kids. Even at home, few parents are able to keep up the same pace AC that they maintained BC. I have traveled with my girls (8 and 11) since they were born and we have had great adventures.
Some of the secrets are:
1) Limiting museum visits. We go to them, but I do the research prior to the trip and know what I really want to see. We bring %26quot;museum kits%26quot; so that the kids can color and get involved at their level. These kits are also very helpful in restaurants and can be used to make the whole trip and adventure.
2) Find architecture/sights that interest you both. There is a great 1930%26#39;s pool in this city. And the two Bois to the east and west both have chateaux with wonderful gardens to explore.
3) Instead of getting frustrated at the art/architecture that you are missing, focus on the cultural exchanges that traveling with kids will open up. We shared a meal with a complete stranger in Rome, have been invited to a home in the Hungarian countryside and have enjoyed more treats than I can count. Hanging out with local parents at playgrounds can be enlightening.
4) Adjust the pace. Going at a 4 yr. old%26#39;s pace will give you time to stop and appreciate what is happening around you.
Actually, since bringing along the kids I may see a bit less, but I find the over all experience of travel much more rewarding.
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Hi Gambader-
We just took a chance on the area and weren’t disappointed at all. The apartment was perfect for us: 2 bedroom. Newly renovated. Cute Parisian style (50 sq. m). All amenities. Very quiet. Owner is extremely helpful. Shops / restaurants close-by. La Fourche (line 13) 3 minute walk. Parc Monceau 15 minutes by foot. Sq. des Batignolles 10 minutes by foot. Montmartre 15 minutes by foot. All other sights 15 – 20 minutes with the metro. Check out www. Homelidays.com (ref.# 51368). Good luck.
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