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Paris w/ children (8 & 6) • Seeking recommendations!

Hello,

My wife will be working in Paris this June, so we decided it was a nice opportunity for our whole family to visit, including our 8- and 6-year old daughters. My wife & I have been to Paris many times, love the city, but we're uncertain what activities to plan for our family that the kids will enjoy. I would love any recommendations the community here can share to help make our trip truly memorable!

We will be there for 5-days in late-June (then heading to Euro Disneyland for a day before our return flight). Currently, we're considering the following activities while in Paris. We would love your opinions, and ideas for other fun family activities!

  • Day trip to Versailles; row boat, garden exploration, etc.
  • Musee d'Orsay; guided scavenger hunt
  • Jardin du Luxembourg; picnic, sail toy boats, etc
  • Jardin d’Acclimatation; amusement park, zoo, etc

Thanks for your help!
Greg

Posted by
915 posts

My grandsons are about the same age as your daughters. I'm imagining what would be of interest to them as well as what would have been for my sons at those ages. I'd probably take them to the Jardin des Plantes not only for the gardens but for the zoo and building which houses dinosaur reconstructions, the building with gems and the Entomology Building that houses stuffed butterflies, a blue whale and many other insects/animals.
If they can withstand a walk of about an hour, you could walk the Coulee Verte to Bois de Vincennes where there is another zoo, the Paris Zoological Park.

My grandkids need to be moving, running, jumping, etc. Maybe your daughters would like to walk to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and gaze out over the city and, especially, to the Eiffel Tower?
I haven't been yet, but will visit in just a couple of weeks, the American Library in Paris. This might be good for a day in which the weather isn't so nice. There are @ 20,000 children's volumes.

https://americanlibraryinparis.org/
How about ice cream? You could go to Berthillon in the 4th, get a cone and walk along the Seine.

You and your family are going to have a great time. You must come back and tell us what you ended up doing and what your daughters thought of Paris!

Posted by
8103 posts

I'm not sure I'd do Versailles in June with littles. They will be mauled in the lines of the Chateau and there are plenty of nice parks in Paris as nice as Versailles. Take them to the Tuilleries and/or Luxembourg Gardens and rent them model boats to sail on the fountain pool. There are often amusement rides set up in the Tuilleries, perhaps not that early. Both parks have lots of playground for kids and in fact nice playgrounds are the norm at large Paris parks.

Jardin Acclimatation is perfection for this age groups (take your own picnic or eat outside first -- worst food we ever had short of the Airport Hilton was this place). The Fondation Louis Vuitton museum is on the edge of this park. If you visit the museum (and every exhibit we have seen there has been wonderful) you can go into the park for free. Once in the Jardin Acclimatation you can use the playgrounds, view the caged birds and animals and such and there are machines to purchase tickets for the rides. Note particularly what I call the 'deconstructed merry go round' -- Instead of going in circles these horses gallop (on track) through the field. It is really fun.

When in Paris with kids we make a ritual of letting them choose a pastry from a nearby bakery to take into a park for an afternoon snack -- or in an apartment, to take home for dinner. Kids are pretty thrilled with this. An apartment is really great with kids and they can go with you on the morning break run and choose breakfast goodies and also the pastry for dessert. (we usually split them)

The kids might enjoy the Montmartre Mini train and you get to see the place while sitting down.

there are carrousels everywhere. big parks, near the Eiffel Tower, on traffic islands. My favorite is the antique Carrousel at square Batignolles -- your kids are about as old as appropriate for that one, but it is charming.

Walking along the Seine is a real pleasure. in some of the central stretches on the right bank there are climbing devices on the walls that kids love to balance and climb along on.

Posted by
42 posts

Was just there with my eight year old. Def add climbing the Eiffel to level 1 (reserve tix), by far our favorite thing. Orsay has a nice kids salon where they can draw on easels and such. Luxembourg was awesome and I want to spend more time there. Not only renting boats, but riding ponies and a zip line. Also, the Tuileries has boats for rent and you can also rent trampoline time. Was really a wonderful find! The scene around the Pompidou might be fun as well.

Posted by
142 posts

Maybe the Crypte Archéologique de l'İle de la Cité. You go underground in front of Notre Dame and see some archeological outlines of buildings from Roman and medieval times. It demonstrates how the city has layers if that would intrigue your kids. It would probably only be 30 minutes to an hour, but the kids enter for free.

Posted by
232 posts

I have 4 kids ages 14 down to 6 and we were in Paris in March.

They loved:

Luxembourg gardens - riding ponies
Eiffel Tower (zipping to the top and looking out over the city and then walking down from the second level),
Tuileries (nice big playground and trampolines), Rodin museum.
Place des Vosges also has some nice playground equipment.

Our kids also liked going to the roof of Centre Pompidou “in the tubes.”

We did Disney, too, and that was a hit as well.

Wanted to do Jardin d’Acclim but it was raining that day so we did something else. Getting ice cream from Amorino always works, too, as does choosing pastries.