Paris with a baby (or elsewhere in France?) -- what am I not thinking of?

It sounds like many of your questions are applicable to new parents in any big city, so I'd suggest Googling around for blogs and magazine articles about urban "mom hacks." In my limited experience, the French love babies and the national laws are supportive of families with small children. Infant car seats are required, yes.

Here's a website to get you started https://www.tripsavvy.com/visiting-france-with-babies-and-toddlers-1517983

I have a family member who had a temporary move to London (not the suburbs -- London proper) when their first child was less than a year old, so if you want additional tips send me a personal message on this forum.

Changing tables will be hard to come by in many bathrooms.. they may exist,, but few and far between. Its even hard to find just a big enough counter space in many washrooms.. so bring a good waterproof mat to lay baby on in various places( park benches etc)
I've travelled with a six month old, but not to paris.. but some things are the same everywhere. Learn to change baby in stroller.. thats what I did..

Yes.. skip metro ( unless you decide to wear baby in a backpack) buses are easier.

If going in july make sure you get AC.. if its hot and unpleasant ( which as you know its not always hot, but when it is , its miserable ) as baby may not be as understanding about being hot all day and all night.

Also be careful renting apartment that it clearly says there is an elevator.

We always flew with carseat .. I didnt want my child bouncing around loose on a plane

Since your last stay the apartment scene in Paris has changed a lot - with the Mayor's crackdown on illegal apartments all apartments for short term rental must be registered and display a 13 digit number on advertising.

This would be the same regardless having a baby there but you would be in a worse position with a baby than without if your apartment were to be pulled or shut down leaving you out of suitable accommodation.

I hope all three of you have fabulous holiday.

Sitting on a park bench to catch your breath can be a great investment in time.

There is a Citadines at Richard Lenoir which has individually controlled air-conditioning, and a kitchen.

There is an open-air market at Bastille, a couple of blocks from there. And a Casino supermarket, if you need anything else.
Strollers are hard to take up and down the stairs of the Metro. You have to signal the agent to open the big gate, which takes time. If your baby will be 6 months old, you can probably carry her in a sling. Your baby might need frequent naps, if you are going at warp-speed.

You might find some deals on the AirBnB platform, but there won't be any air conditioning.
Make sure to look for the 13-digit registration number...

But if you stay with friends, that's great - but they probably won't have air-conditioning.

A few things come to mind from my experience from a long time ago. Jet lag: we went the other direction because we were living in France, but our son woke everyone in our New York hotel at 4 am. Be sure to request a room away from others or an apartment that's well insulated for sound, maybe a high floor. You can't do anything about the time change except wait it out for a few days.

Second, you need a good quality umbrella stroller, McClaren or Chicco made for rough pavement, not one of those monster-size US strollers. You should have a baby carrier with you, Snuggly or whatever they are called nowadays. We did a lot of chateau and park walking out of the city with the little ones in slings. We had some nice museum visits if the children fell asleep in their strollers.

I never took my children to restaurants in Paris but recently took a niece's 1 year-old to Hippopotamus in Paris. Based on experience with grandchildren and great-nieces, unless baby is asleep, don't count on enjoying yourself at the restaurant.

I've never seen a changing table.

Planes: take a flight that has bassinets on the bulkhead. Air France has them and be sure to reserve one. I've seen families split up with one parent in business, the other in coach if only business class had any bassinets left. We always had them, or we were put in bulkhead and used to be allowed to put the baby's sleeping basket directly on the floor except during take off or landing. Not today I bet. I was lucky, my children slept from LA to London. Unfortunately, one of my granddaughters screamed from DC to London; my kids slouched into the last row of the plane, trying to hide . Be sure to have your child's ears, nose, sinuses, throat checked before leaving and have water to suck on to equalize the pressure as much as possible.

Go elsewhere? It might be easier in a gite in the countryside: Beaune, Loire, it's all enjoyable and it's still France. You could go to Paris for the second half once jet lag is over.

If you want street markets for local produce, try a Google search as there are a number of them. The Bastille market, while a mouth-watering experience, is open Thursday and Sunday mornings only. Others, such as the Aligre about two-thirds of a kilometre away, open daily although the Aligre takes Monday off.

Not Paris specific but here are my travelling with babies advice:
1) bring a carrier and use it as much as possible. In big cities, it is so much easier than using a stroller
2) rent as much baby gear as possible at the destination. You can rent high hairs, pack and plays etc. Bring your own bedding
3) Bring any and all medicine that you think you would need: tylenol, advil, benadryl, teething tablets et as the ingredients in other countries are not always the same as your home country and they do not have 24 hour drug stores everywhere in Europe like we do in North America
4) Nurse/feed/offer a soother on take off and landing to her with ears
5) if you are bringing a stroller, gate check it
6) Bring change of clothes for you and the baby and bring layers to help with the temperature on the plane. Change her right before getting on the plane as changing on the plan can be tough and if there is a lot of turbulence , they will not let you.

6 months is a great age to travel.... They are not mobile yet which greatly helps with plane travel. At that age, I would not worry too much about altering what you want to do as she will just go along with what you do. Toddlers are a whole other balls are though ;)

Something to consider. Look up all the French words for baby things you might need, and make a list of them on paper.
Even people with good English might not know these words as unless you are discussing babies they are not in normal vocabulary.

These words are even different between British and US English. My sister tells the story of a visit to Florida where nobody could understand her request to hire a push-chair (rent a stroller).

Thanks for the great advice, all! Excellent ideas and recommendations. We are trying to take advantage of the ability to travel while she is still (relatively) portable, realizing it will get tougher once we enter toddlerhood, and all of your insights are so helpful! We typically stay near the Bastille so we're very familiar with all the markets, supermarkets, etc. the area offers -- part of the reason why it's our favorite part of the city. Looking forward to introducing the babe to what we hope will be a lifelong relationship with Paris!!

Michelle.. totally agree.. travel with babies before they can walk is way easier.. once they can walk ( or even crawl) i found it alot more complicated.. have a good trip.

Take only a light-weight umbrella stroller. Hang a diaper bag on the handles when you are walking. The metro isn't the only place with stairs, they are everywhere. When we were in that stage of life, one of us would grab the strap the child's feet rest on in front, the other would take the back handles, and we'd go up or down stairs without taking everything apart. The baby can sleep comfortably in the stroller when you are walking around. When you get somewhere where the stroller is not needed, an umbrella stroller folds up and stores easily.

We took a relatively small car seat that was cleared for airplane use. I'm not sure if that's needed if you won't be renting a car? You will need to see what the airline requirements are.

When flying, start your baby sucking on something (bottle, pacifier, etc.) during taxi and before takeoff through when the seat belt sign goes off. Same thing about 30 minutes before the plane lands, when it starts decending. The big change in pressure is right after takeoff and the last fifteen minutes before landing (the first and last 6,000 feet). Sucking equalizes the pressure in their ears. If you don't get them sucking before their ears feel the pressure, your baby is likely to cry, refuse to suck on anything, and up the intensity of their crying until everyone is miserable. Stay ahead of that pressure change.

I would not click on the link on the above post.

I have never tried to travel overseas with children. But I have traveled a lot with a child under 1. We're on child number 2 who is 18 months old. We took a 6 month old to Puerto Rico. If you don't plan on using a car don't take your car seat, however bringing your car seat and stroller and having them checked (stroller at gate car seat at counter) has always been free. If you rent a car and you only plan to for one day it's usually$14 for a car seat per day. If you are ubering in a lot of large cities they are adding a feature to request a car with a car seat so that might be an option. Umbrella strollers can be nice, but here are some things to consider. Usually stroller size doesn't matter on a metro unless it's super crowded. Having pockets to carry things is a great thing. Being too big to fit in shop doors is a hassle but often people will accommodate as best they can.

At 6 months old they still kind of have their own schedule still so I wouldn't worry too much about jet lag.

Make sure you have at least a birth certificate. They don't care if the child is newborn they will require it to verify under 2 unless you buy them a seat which I wouldn't do.