Paris with 9 year old in October

You already said you'll be going to the Luxembourg Gardens... just wanted to say the playground there was one of my son's favorite places in Paris... or anywhere.

He also loved the Jardin d'Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne on the western side of Paris. It's a charming, very French, old-time amusement park where I also went as a child. Very enjoyable for kids and adults.

The chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte is amazing and well worth your time. They filmed "Man in the Iron Mask" with Leonardo diCaprio there. Castle, grounds, gift shop and cafe with really good food. If she likes horses, they have stables and life size horses and carriages.

He liked all the other things listed in guidebooks for kids and adults as well.... all the usual suspects: Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Tower, Going to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, the Metro, Boat Cruises, Hop On Hop Off Bus, Fat Tire Bike Tour, etc.

He actually loved Versailles (still does). Inside and out. We always rent bikes there to ride all over, it's lots of fun.

Don't miss the wonderful street entertainers on the pedestrian bridge behind Notre Dame day or night, and in front of Notre Dame at night. Also Berthillon ice cream on Ile St. Louis!

I have traveled with kids of that age to Europe and found one thing that added to the trip is to have her do a little bit of research on her own. Nothing too intense, but she could look up a bit of history on a particular tourist site, then share that info with both of you on the trip. One of the kids found an obscure piece of art that we searched out and found. Make sure she has a good camera and possibly give her a photo assignment of the day... one day it could be a color that she photographs, another day it could be the shopkeepers of Paris (with their permission of course) It will give her a bit of 'focus' to her photos and she may discover things you have not seen before. Also, make sure she has a journal/trip log to record the specifics of each day as well as a place for her to sketch or paint. I make the kids fill out the journal at the end of each day. I made up my own for them so it is a kind of fill in the blank....favorite sight, best meal, memorable moment, etc. as well as hotel, mode of travel, etc. Each day has a page and then there are extra pages in the back for sketching or additional journal writing. I always bring an art kit with some simple watercolors, colored pencils, markers and nice paper for art projects. One of my favorite moments was watching my 9 year old grandson sketching the leaning tower, or sitting on the floor in the Louve with his sketchbook intent on one of the sculptures...those moments are priceless. You will have a wonderful memory......don't forget to write in your own journal:))

Terry kathryn, all of your suggestions are really wonderful. Great advice.

Hello, we stayed in Paris last summer for a week with our two girls. Ages 11 and 9 at the time. They really enjoyed feeding the birds out of their hands just to the right of Notre Dame. Along the fence on the river side of the Cathedral. Bring along a little bit of bread and try having him stand and feed the birds out of his hands. My girls wanted to go every morning to feed them. They also really enjoyed taking the stairs up the Eiffel tower instead of the elevator. Grabbing a Sorbet while walking on Ile de la Cite was also great. The book sellers along the Quay were fun as well. If you walk along the quay, down by the river, closer to the Eiffel tower, there are little min playgrounds and different things to observe on the left bank. Lots of little joys, rather than trying to fit in all the big touristy attractions.
Enjoy the trip!!
Tania

I will add many of the museums (we did this at the Orangerie) have excellent "kid" versions of audio guides where you rent the headphones. I started listening to them because they were more entertaining than the adult version! Our 7-year-old daughter spent a happy afternoon in the Orangerie; she still talks about the Monet paintings.

my daughter loved the Cluny and the Tower at Notre Dame. Watch the Disney hunchback movie before you go to acquaint her with the gargoyles she will see up close. This does take a wait in line but was worth it to my daughter.

I always had the kids plan some of the time. Gave them an illustrated Insight Guide type guide book and asked them to pick out something (perhaps in addition to Eiffel tower, Notre Dame) they wanted to particularly do. As they got older they would plan whole days for the family but at 9 choosing something is a way to get her invested and she can do a little research on it.

The fountain at the Centre Georges Pompidou is fun.

Lots of good recs here. I think an evening Seine cruise could feel grown-up and romantic to a child.

WOW What wonderful, helpful replies. I made notes in Rick Steves' book. Since we were at Versailles a couple years ago, I like the idea of Vaux-Le Vicomte. Love the home-made journal and sketching book idea. Nice to know they have kid version guides in some of the museums. We'll be sure to see the movies that were mentioned. Thanks to all of you for taking the time to reply. Her twin sister will do London in September for 8 nights. (no fighting and less tiring for us grandparents to do separate trips!!) I can use these ideas on that trip as well.

My 9 year old son and I spent a week in Europe, mostly in Finland and a week in Paris. He took my guidebooks and devised walking tours for each day in Paris taking into account museum closure days and revised them a bunch. That worked out just great and he, therefore, was very interested in every place we went and kept us on a schedule. He also had some food allergies and looked up some places we could eat easily. We stayed close by the center of the city so could retreat for a rest mid day, usually eating our main meal at lunch and ate simply for dinner. I still have his handwritten itineraries and he is a great world traveler now as an adult.