1 Day in Paris with 10 yr old

Have you ever been to Paris before? Are you taking the train from Bordeaux in the morning and going back later that evening, or are you staying for at least one night in Paris? If you are coming by train that morning, you'll come into the Gare Montparnasse (you can transfer to the metro from there).

With one day in Paris, I would strongly advise you to skip the Mona Lisa. Particularly in July, you are going to wait in a long line to see what is a pretty small painting. The Louvre is an amazing museum, but with one day, you cannot possibly do it justice and I really would skip going there to see one painting.

You may want to consider one of the "Hop On Hop Off" bus tours, which would enable you to see a lot in your short window of time.

I could also see starting at Notre Dame and making your way towards the Eiffel Tower or vice versa (whether walking along the Seine, taking the metro, or a combination of the two). I would also want to walk along a stretch of the Champs-Elysees, perhaps as far as the Arc de Triomphe, and also walk through the Tuileries.

Like the other poster stated, are you spending the night, or traveling between Bordeaux and Paris all in the same day? That could make a difference how much time you have to spend sightseeing in Paris. Also, if you don't have advance tickets for the Eiffel Tower, you may be waiting a long time in line to get to the 2nd floor and/or summit. I speak from experience on that- didn't have an advance ticket, and waited for what seemed like forever. Also, find out if your son would want to do a Seine boat river tour. Would he be interested in helping plan for the day in Paris? Maybe he can help prioritize what you both would want to see. That way, if push comes to shove and something has to be cut out of the itinerary, he (and actually both of you) feel like you got to have a say in want to see that day.

You certainly can do all three...and possibly a boat ride as well. This depends on the time of your train back home and how much you like to walk. We walk a lot. With a 10 year old...I just can't remember. LOL. I'd start first thing with Mona Lisa, just don't plan on seeing too much else in the Louvre. Prepurchase tickets so you don't have to wait in line, other than security and the crowd with Mona. You could walk to Notre Dame, and then down the Seine to the Eiffel Tower, or vice versa...but again, age 10, I can't recall when I had to give in and bus it. But the buses are fine and allow you to see the scenery as you move along. Preplan your potential bus routes. I'd also be sure to look at the Eiffel Tower from Trocadero, especially with all the construction that I think is still on Champ du Mars. I wouldn't purchase a tour, because it is fine doing this on your own, and Paris might have detours you want to make as you move around, which you can't do on a tour. Paris is just so wonderful.

We are going to be in Paris for one day in July with our boys. We are skipping the Louvre (even though our hotel is across the street!) I booked a Cedric's car ride for the boys which is 2.5 hours. I am hoping this is a good way to see the sites and I think the boys will get a huge kick out of the cars. I also figured we can stop and get out at different places. My only concern is the possible heat and an unairconditioned vehicle. So much for my blow dry!

Hi Courtenay! We just returned from one of many stays in Paris and your plan is overly aggressive to say the least. Not sure a 10 year old would be that interested in the Louvre and you can't get Within 30 ft of the Mona Lisa with literally hundreds of people holding their iPads and cell phones up to take a picture in front of it. It is a half day trip at least. Regarding the Eiffel Tower not too pretty right now with lots of metal scaffolding and fencing around it for repairs and security concerns and also takes many hours to do with long lines both on the ground and at the second level and top level. My advice, just walk around the Latin quarter Notre Dame and the seine in general and you will have a wonderful time eating your way through the city.

As always with a short trip -- what is your son's dream of Paris? Do that. If you do the Eiffel Tower, book that ahead so you aren't waiting in lone lines; if you don't, then plan to walk up which a 10 year old will probably find cool (make sure that is true of YOUR 10 year old of course). You can buy the ticket for the elevator to the top when you buy the walk up ticket for the second floor. This is half your day and getting close to the ET is a nightmare right now with all the barriers and security construction etc. BUT if your child wants to go up the ET -- if that is HIS idea of Paris then take the time to do that.

I would not do the HOHO; it is slow and waits and waits and slow and drags. If you want a bus top overview of Paris do a Foxity 2 hours bus tour. This is entirely a matter of personal taste. Does this seem cool to your son? Not how I would spend only a day somewhere but I am also an old lady.

Be sure to at least walk around Notre Dame -- it is quite a sight especially from the back and the famous Berthillon ice cream store is not far away on the Ile St. Louis. A picnic lunch on the water on one of these central islands in Paris would be memorable -- there are many spots to do this on both ends of Ile St. Louis -- you can get a picnic to go at any bakery -- often they have a 'formula' which includes choice of baguette sandwich, dessert and drink for a fixed price. They will throw it in a sack with a napkin for you and you can enjoy a picnic on the water or in a park.

The Luxembourg gardens have two things that will delight a 10 year old. There is a pay playground with a very cool sort of zip line like toy and often you can rent toy boats to sail on the fountain pool. These boats are beautifully designed and balanced and on a windy day they whip across the pool -- kids really enjoy them. I am betting this would be more memorable to him than the Mona Lisa. If you decide on the Eiffel Tower which will suck up half the day, I would definitely skip the Louvre.

But most of all, what is HIS dream of Paris. Let him do a little research and own the trip.

Have a great time.

Start off by taking the Metro from Montparnasse Bienvenue to Saint-Michel (If you download the Metro map, it is the dark pink line) It states it is a 6 minute metro ride. This brings you right out on the left bank beside the Notre Dame. Before crossing over to explore the Cathedral, walk along the bank and explore the Bouquinistes for some little souvenirs or postcards first, then you can cross the bridge to Notre Dame. Here you can explore, look for the small plaque in the square directly in front of the Cathedral that identifies the Centre of Paris. Then check out the small playground around the back, inside the fence for some fun. If you like, you can feed the birds out of your hand to the right of the cathedral (as you look facing it), right before going through the gate that leads around behind the Cathedral. There is usually a gentleman standing there by the fence and he shows you how to do it, and sometimes even shares a wee bit of the cake he feeds them with. Walk behind the Cathedral and cross over to the Ile Saint-Loius and have an Ice Cream and watch some of the street buskers on the bridge, then walk back to the Batobus (water taxi) stop and purchase a ticket or day pass if you like and use that to go to the Eiffel Tower stop. Along the pathway that runs along the Seine on the left bank, there is lots of little tents and activities set up for both of you to enjoy. From Port de Solférino to Port du Gros-Caillou, lesberges.paris.fr is a mile long area for families to explore. Head over to the Eiffel tower and do the stairs instead of the Elevator to the second floor. Literally next to no line ups, and you don't require a timed ticket, which allows you to be there when it is convenient. (You can still take the elevator down). If when you are finished with the Eiffel tower, you can cross over the Seine on the Pont d'lena bridge to the Trocadero Gardens and the view looking back is one of the best in Paris of the Eiffel Tower itself. **Side note, if your son has a friend he wants to send a postcard to back home, you can purchase or buy one at the Bouquinistes and then fill it out and mail it from the Eiffel Tower post box. It will have it's own postal mark when it gets mailed. If you still have time after this, you can walk over (or take the Batobus) back to Louvre stop and just explore the outside of the Pyramid and the square there.
Time permitting, the Luxembourg gardens are pretty amazing too. Utilize the public transit while you are there to better make use of your time. BTW, this itinerary was suggested by my two kids who were your sons age the last time we visited and this was their favourite day in Paris while we were there. Enjoy!!

In addition, if you download the PDF's from EUtouring.com, it shows all the public WC's and water fountains in Paris.

I also would skip the Louvre. We took our tweens last year (booked tickets in advance) and they found it overwhelming. The crowd at the Mona Lisa was huge of course--just don't see a 10 year old enjoying it. He would probably enjoy Deyrolle on Rue de Bac. It is a taxidermy museum (free) and fascinating.

Thank you all for the great tips! Tania, your suggested itinerary sounds like a great plan - we definitely want to put at least some of that in our day (if we can!). :) While most of you said to skip the Louvre, my 10yo really wants to see the Mona Lisa.We will be arriving via train (Montparnasse) about 9:45am and leaving about 8:45pm. I know it's crowded & not the best way to spend our time, but that & the Eiffel Tower are the 2 items on his list. Any suggestions on how to accomplish both of these - certain times of day to get tickets, walking/bus routes to get to each, etc? Thanks

If you are dead-set on seeing the Mona Lisa, go to the underground entrance to the Louvre. You can access if you take the metro. 1.) The metro stop for the Louvre: ‘Palais Royale-Musee du Louvre’ on line 1 and 7.
2.) You can also access it from the Rue de Rivoli, at number 99, walk down two sets of escalators into a small underground shopping strip, look for the inverted pyramid, the entrance is there. Even though it can also get busy, it is never as busy as the other entrance. Check ahead of time for the map of the Louvre, so you can bee-line direct to the Mona Lisa and save yourselves some time. If you go on a Friday, they are open later. Personally, if this is your number 1 must see, do it first.

If you are willing to do the stairs up the Eiffel Tower, you aren't on a time constraint, you just show up.

Another thought as well......if you don't get to see the Mona Lisa on this trip due to the huge line ups (sometimes 2-3 hours in high season), you can always make another trip back to Paris!

Best of luck! Enjoy!

Things my kids liked in Paris:

Sewer Tour (Entrance near Orsay Museum)

Catacombs (2 hr wait in middle of the day, but we walked right in at 5 min before closing time)

Chez Janou Restaurant with its bottomless/all you can eat chocolate mousse dessert

Personally I would tell my 10 year old that the Louvre is closed that day. Since he can't really comprehend the major issues with going to the Louvre in the one day you have in Paris, maybe you make a more reasonable plan for the day and give him some fabulous memories!

We had prebooked tickets last summer (went with a friend) and went to the Louvre at opening and were one of the first at Mona Lisa. By the time we got out after just a few minutes, the crowd around her was nuts. We left around noon and the line to get in, even at the underground entrance stretched the entire length of the mall.... insane, no joke. I'm not sure if you have timed tickets if it's easier? I think they were timed....

Same thing with ET - we had tickets but the line if you don't is super crazy. And it was still crazy crowded at the top.

Luxembourg garden boats the kids push out and watch are really fun!! My kids liked the playground there too on the prior trip, when they were 8 and 10.

Here was my day's blog of last summer Louvre and Tower...
https://onatangentweb.wordpress.com/2017/07/24/day-2-paris-top-sights/

Kim

Movies he might enjoy seeing before the trip are "The Red Balloon" and "Hugo."

With my kids if they have something they really want to see but it is inconvenient because of time limitations, or lines, cost whatever we have found it helpful to have 2 or 3 itineraries to choose from. Say something like we can do that, but it may be long lines and then we can only do that and this, or we can skip that and do all these other things.

It gives them a bit more realistic view. Or at least if they are complaining about a long wait you can say that was the choice you made. They can learn about priorities and values that way. My 13 year old really wanted to see the Mona Lisa too (we were there longer so Louvre was on the itinerary anyway so it was fine) but after he saw it was kind of disappointed. It was so small and the crowds around it made it difficult to see. We were there in November when crowds are smaller. He did like the Louvre though for other things, but its huge and you need more time to really see much of it.

Movies he might enjoy seeing before the trip are "The Red Balloon" and "Hugo."

Add to the list "A Cat In Paris". Be sure to watch the trailers first to see if it would be appropriate for your 10 year old. Here's a parent's guide to it.

Try the Pompidou Museum instead--lots of whimsical installations that your son might enjoy.

I understand you about the Mona Lisa! I’m taking three teen girls to Paris this summer, and was really hoping to skip the Louvre. But my 13-year-old really, really wants to see it ( I warned her that its small, crowded, and disappointing, but she says how can I go all the way to Paris and not see it?) Since you are not leaving until 845p, if you can take your trip on one of the days that the Louvre has nighttime extended hours (wed or fri), you might find a much smaller crowd than even early morning. The bonus to this is that it can be the last thing you do in Paris, so if your 10-year-old gets there and decide there’s other things he’s more interested in, you can always skip it last minute.

Otherwise, I’d suggest you definitely do a boat tour of the Seine. It’s a great way to see a lot of things in a short amount of time. The company Batobus offers a one day pass, so you can hop on and off the boat and stop at different tourist sites. It will notably transfer you from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower and to the Louvre.

If you’re interested in climbing the Tower, I’d suggest you opt for the stairs rather than a prebooked elevator ticket—the wait for security will be 30m-1hr depending on time of day, but then there should be little to no wait to buy stair tickets. This will also give you flexibility to decide to do it or skip it depending on time/crowds.

Definitely make sure to spend some time in the Tuileries Garden before hitting up the Louvre!

Enjoy your special day in Paris!!

I don't want to give conflicting advice, but if you time your Louvre tickets for when they open, it is very possible to go straight to the Mona Lisa first and be the just about the only people in the room, as happened for my family last September. We got great pictures with no other people in the photos but us and Mona. The Louvre actually has a lot to offer a 10 year old boy; our son was 12 when he first visited and loved it. There are cool antique weapons, Egyptian artifacts, etc.