Family Friendly Day Trips from Paris

How small? If I were traveling with very small kids I would not be looking for more travel since Paris is so full of great things to see and do and enjoy.

Provins with its medieval walls appeals to older kids; Chantilly chateau has nice grounds and horses; the Bois Vincennes has two lakes with rental rowboats and nice picnicking; Bois de Bologne has that and an old fashioned amusement park for smaller kids. Those last two are reached by local Paris transport.

Not sure of the ages of the kids, but mine really liked Monet at a pretty young age. You might consider a trip to Monet's garden in Giverny. It is a quick train ride from Paris. There is a book you could look for and share with your kids to see if it peaks their interest, "Linea in Monet's Garden". The book is also set in Paris, so that could be fun for the kids, in that respect as well. You could tie it all together with a trip to the Orangerie for the huge water lily paintings. Also, if manageable, you could take them to the Orsay for the Impressionists. One thing I used to do was let my kids pick out a post card in the museum shop and then go on a "treasure hunt" to find the paintings.

Take the regional train to Normandy beaches to combine nature and WWII history.
The train to the Versailles gardens will also make a fun day trip.

I liked Chartres as a day trip from Paris. It's a nice town with a great cathedral.

Nicole,

Congratulations on your upcoming trip! I am curious about your children's ages. We took our then 7 month daughter to Paris last October. She liked everything and especially smiles from people. At that age they are easy to please. I think she especially enjoyed the gardens in Versailles. So that's one suggestion. If your are concerned about the crowds just visit the gardens and not the palace. The Gardens are vast and it's easy to get away from the crowds. Versailles is an easy day trip by train. Search this forum and you will find instructions on how to get there. Or check Rick's books. Additionally, if you are looking for an easy to get to uncrowded Chateau/Castle. Take to metro line 1 to station Chateau de Vincennes. You will probably have the place to yourselves and while not as glamours as Versailles the castle is impressive. There isn't a garden but it's adjacent to the Bois de Vincennes the largest park in Paris if the kids need to run around. Here's a link to their website if you are interested. http://www.chateau-de-vincennes.fr/en/

I hope you have great trip your kids will love Paris!

If you have nice weather and want to get out where kids can run around, but also have some stuff of interest for adults, the Parc de Sceaux is huge and located at the southern edge of Paris, not far from Orly Airport. The Metro doesn't go there, but it's a quick trip on the RER. See http://www.beyond-paris.com/parc-de-sceaux.html

We are taking a 3 year old and 1 year old! is Normandy doable with strollers?

I'm not sure I'd say Normandy is stroller friendly. Of the many things to see, I can think of quite a few that do not have sidewalks or hard pack trails. The terrain around Point du hoc, in particular, would not be stroller friendly.

With kids this young I would be making the most of Paris which does have stroller friendly buses (not side by side) and sidewalks and parks. The payoff for hauling kids on long dayt rips is low. Normandy would be a particularly bad choice IMHO.

We used an Osprey Poco Plus pack to carry our daughter in comfort. We started when she was ten months until she was nearly four and got tired of walking. No need to worry about steps or walkways. Both my wife and I carried our kids. I would get two one for you and him. Just an idea. Deuter makes many child carriers as well. We tied her pacy, toys and drink cup to it so they would not hit the ground. It includes a rain poncho that can keep them dry.