Fun things to do in Paris and Rome with a 10 year old

In Villa Borghese, which is really a big park with lots of paths, you can ride electric assist carts which are a lot of fun. This location is between the zoo and the Galleria Borghese. There are a couple of other sites as well, each with slightly different equipment.

The Rome Zoo is old, but nicely cared for, and shady on a hot day.

The parks in Paris are amazing! The Jardines des Plantes, the Luxembourg Gardens, and the Tuilleries all have great hang out potential. How about a food tour with Paris by Mouth or a special art tour with Paris Muse?

If you have time to leave the central tourist area, these parks in East Paris are possibilities and have many activities for children

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parc_de_la_Villette
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bois_de_Vincennes

Paris' natural history museum on Rue Cuvier has some great dinosaur exhibits.

Before you leave home, print pictures of art work for the museums that you will be visiting. When in the museum, give you kids the pictures and see how many of the art works they can find in the museum. PBS did a great program called “Travel with Kids.” They have excellent shows on Rome and Paris that shows what you can do with your kids in each city. You can find the some of the shows on YouTube, iTunes, and PBS along with going directly to the show’s website.

The fountain pools in the Tuilleries and the Luxembourg gardens often have a vendor renting toy sailboats to sail on the ponds. Kids really get a kick out of this.

My 9yo son LOVED the gladiator training school we took him to in Rome (my 10 yo daughter had no interest) - so a lot of it depends on your child. Both of my kids loved staying up late and watching the street performers in the piazzas in Rome. The Mission Rome book was great for them - there's a Mission Paris book as well. They tend to focus on the less child-friendly sites and make them more engaging for kids. I highly recommend them. Following this thread because I'm hoping to do Paris with them this summer.

My 11 yr old son loved everything in Paris... here’s a list:
Boat ride on the Seine
Mêtro rides
Going to the top of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe
Street entertainers at night in front of Notre Dame and all day on pederstrian bridge behind Note Dame
Renting bikes and riding along the river on Sunday when some streets are closed to cars
Fat Tire Bike Tour
Luxembourg Gardens: playground, donkey rides and watching guys play bocce ball (boules / pétancque)
Crêpe stands
Berthillon ice cream
Amarino gelato
Jardin ‘Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne (a wonderful, old fashioned amusement park geared for 12 and under)
Walking and Exploring
Eating at Cafés
Bakeries
Movie on the Champs Elysées (super nice theaters / seats)
The Military Museum at Invalides
Napoleon’s Tomb
The Archeological site under Notre Dame
Versailles (inside)
Versailles Gardens renting bikes and riding all over
Vaux-le-Vicomte day trip (castle)

Everything.... : )