Paris Neighborhood with 2 small children?

I'm not a parent but I'd suggest you look at the neighborhoods to the east and west of the Luxembourg Gardens, in the 5th and 6the arrondissements. The west side of the Gardens is especially popular with kids, including a carousel, puppet theater, and playground. It's a great park for children. Proximity to a park might be a big plus for you and your kids.

The Rue Cler area isn't very close to any major sights except the Tower, but Rue Cler is an easy pedestrian street with lots of English-speakers. It wouldn't appeal to me that much but might be right for your family.

I'm sure you'll soon get more useful ideas from others with more relevant experience. I do think an apartment is the way to go, especially with kids. Have fun!

I'd try to be near a good park/playground. There are lots. Parc Monceau, Luxembourg Gardens, several in Montmartre. Luxembourg Gardens is closer to major sites. Rue Cler is a perfectly ordinary market street which is also well out of the way of most major tourist attractions and so you add a commute with kids whenever you want to see the Seine, Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Tuilleries (another great park for kids by the way), the Orsay etc. I don't recall a good park for kids near Rue Cler but I may be wrong because when we once stayed there for a week, we didn't have kids with us. It was not my favorite place in Paris and since then we have stayed in 10 locations we liked better.

A good thing about being near the Tuilleries is that it is adjacent or contains several of the major museums and would allow one parent to be with the kids in the park while the other visits the museums -- trading off. The Louvre sits at the foot of the Tuilleries (with pony rides, mini sailboats to rent to sail on the fountain, playgrounds, in late summer a small carnival with kiddy rides etc etc -- and lots of movable chairs. The Orangerie with its Monet waterlillies sits in the Tuilleries and the Orsay is just across a foodbridge on the other side of the Seine from there.

I know that Vacation in Paris has apartments in this area of the first near the Tuilleries because my BIL and family stayed there a couple of years ago.

When we lived in Paris it was in the Rue Cler area but we didn't mind riding the metro with kids and never with a stroller (we carried anyone who couldn't do a lot of walking).Rue Cler is really a residential neighborhood. I think what might be best for your family is to stay in the 1st Arrondissement on the Right Bank. You would be near the Louvre, the Tuileries Gardens (park with fun things for kids), Forum des Halles (shop till you drop), Palais Royale, Saint Chapelle, Ile de la Cite, Point Neuf bridge, Place Vendome, and Musee de L'Orangerie. You can also make a short walk to the Musee d'Orsay (think Monet),
A good place to find an apartment in the area is www.homeaway.com/vacation-rentals/france/1st-arrondissement-louvre/r18940

For a real adventure, you might want to rent a houseboat or barge. https://www.airbnb.com/s/Paris--France?type=boat

Houseboat or barge with a 1 year old and a 3 year old is a nutty idea.

We raised one in Paris to age 3 and went back yearly with the children for family visits. Our two favorite parks with the kids were the Luxembourg Gardens and Parc Montsouris. Luxembourg is much more central for touring. It has a separate enclosed space for toddlers. There are what's called "squares" in every neighborhood, some larger and cleaner than others.

You needn't discard the idea of the Marais just because of the little ones. The Place des Vosges has a nice large green space for them, and after all, the one year old is not going to do much running around. There are various small corner parks, as well. The first arrondissement is likely to be very expensive but that may not be a concern. The rue Cler area is just boring, in my opinion and definitely not convenient unless you plan to walk to the Tour Eiffel every day.

Thanks everyone for all of the input, this is very helpful! Sounds like near a big park is the way to go so I'm going to search around Tuileries and Luxembourg Gardens (and keep the Marais as an option open as well). Much appreciated!! :)

So I'm actually having trouble finding an apartment to rent in the 1st, 5th and 6th that is available and that looks like a good place with small children - I've gone through all the apartment listing companies recommended by Rick Steves and was wondering if anyone has had success with any others? Or any hotels that you would recommend instead? I'm hoping to spend no more than $300 per night. Thank you!

PS - We have used Airbnb and Homeaway for US trips a few times and had great experiences, but reading a few comments on various boards scared me off from using them for Paris because I read about a crackdown on rentals - is this a valid concern or do you think I would be ok going through one of them (assuming good reviews, etc). Thanks again!!

You might also see if in Paris they have the concept of a Marriott Residence Inn, which is really just an apartment anyway. Several rooms, kitchen, the works.

Ile St. Louis is a great location and lots of fun to walk around, eat shop etc. but no green space (hey it's a small island in the Seine). Would second the notion of Luxembourg Gardens vicinity, with good Metro and RER access options.

I am going to Paris with my 3 young children and ended up doing hundreds of hours of research. Traveling with small children add an entirely new dimension.... both good and bad! My apartment searches ended up to be a lot of bait-and-switch tactics. I haven't stayed there yet (July), but I ended up booking at Le Prince Regent (close to Luxembourg Gardens) http://www.leprinceregent.com . The most of the rooms at the hotel have kitchens. So you get the benefit of a reception desk for help and an apartment for convenience. It is on the modern side and looks clean and kept. (Overall good ratings as well.) It is fairly close to the metro.

There is a relatively new family garden in the Marais that hasn't been discovered by the rest of the world (until now, I guess) that is named after Anne Frank.

http://www.mairie03.paris.fr/mairie03/

I noticed it through the rear windows of the Jewish museum in the Marais and just wandered around the block until I found it, very peaceful, young families, prams.
It stood out for me at the time because it was the only place in the low-numbered arr. where I ever saw street people such as are typical here in SF. I had been wondering where they were during the day, and found it touching that they were sharing a park with local young mothers!

Here's another cool link on gardens in the Marais (glad I found it; thanks for inspiring this search):

http://www.parismarais.com/en/visit-le-marais/events-in-the-marais/the-marais-gardens.html

Thank you all for the additional suggestions!

Jennie - I second that ;) - the kids aspect has added quite a bit more to the search, but I am excited to experience Paris (or at least what we get to see with 2 in tow) through their eyes! I will check this place out, the concept sounds great!

avirosemail - The Anne Frank garden sounds like a wonderful spot and I loved the link with all of the beautiful Marais gardens - we will definitely be visiting some of these during our time in Paris, they look so peaceful! Thank you!!

Hi Jennifer,
Having been to Paris in 2013 with a 9 month old and a just shy of 3 year old, I can say that you have several good options. We stayed in the Marais very near to Place de Vosges and it's great little park with BIG sandboxes. The apartment that we stayed in had sand toys in the closet so that was a big hit for our kids. Plus, the Place is really quite nice for the Parents, too... We actually used the metro quite a bit with a stroller for my 9 month old, the 3 year old walked most of the time, or rode on my shoulders if tired. It really wasn't that big of a deal, except for the steps near Sacre Couer, but that wasn't that bad either.
We're headed back to France again next month (now 2 and 4 years old) and we'll be staying just east of Luxembourg gardens, very near a park and playground. It's just below our apartment window so my wife can literally call down to us if she needs us or if dinner is ready while I entertain the kids in the playground (or vice versa).
Staying near Luxembourg Gardens has TONS to do with kids, and the Tuilleries have some hidden trampolines in the Northwest corner that my daughters LOVE, in addition to lots of other playgrounds. I was in Paris last month, however, and there was a TON of construction going on in the Tuilleries. Not sure what they were doing since I didn't snoop around, but that may affect your consideration depending on when you're going. The Tuilleries are huge, though, so you can avoid it for the most part if that's where you decide. Lots to do in Paris with kids pretty much regardless of where you are, but finding parks and playgrounds is not hard and definitely worth it. Rue Cler is not very exciting for kids. We stayed there a few years ago pre-kids and it was great, but it would not be my first choice with the little ones.

Darren - Thanks so much for the information and sounds like you can relate with 2 small children! So I ended up booking an apartment near Tuilleries Garden - thanks for the heads-up about the construction, but sounds like there will be plenty of other spots for them to play around there. And we will definitely check out the playgrounds near the Place des Vosges (my 3 year old would love the sand boxes!) and Luxembourg Gardens that you mentioned as we make our way around the city. Thanks again!