We are traveling to France in March with my parents (in their early 60s) and our son, who will be 18 months. We've been there several times before, and traveled with our son to Paris when he was 7 months old. We know from past experience that we have to slow down our sightseeing to meet his needs, and that's okay with us. Now that he has more opinions about what he likes to do, we are looking for favorite activities and tips on travel with children this age.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
359 posts
The main fountain in Luxembourg Garden... You can rent miniature boats for the kids to play with. They love it. They also have puppet shows there.
Posted by
Eugene, Oregon...Formerly Ventura, CA
2262 posts
In a city with so many parks, and with grandparents along, everyone should be able to get plenty of sightseeing time in-a perfect setup. As for puppet shows that sanderskn mentioned, it may be something all ages can enjoy. Not sure they would be going in March? There are also marionette shows at Parc des Buttes Chaumont, and in Montparnasse, too.
There is also the Jardin d'Acclimatation, in the bois de Boulogne. Your toddler would be too young for most of the rides, but it still may be a pleasant diversion. There are rental rowboats at the lake in the park nearby, again if it's not too early in the year. This could be combined with a tour of the Fondation Louis Vuitton, the newly opened Frank Gehry designed art museum there.
http://www.guignol-butteschaumont.com/guignol-du-parc-des-buttes-chaumont.ws
Posted by
Atlanta, GA, USA
80 posts
The last trip with my daughter was when she was 22 months. It was definitely the first trip for me that we had to slow down and not be able to do all of the things we wanted, but that's ok we got to take it in and see another side of the city we may have missed. Our best memories are having a picnic in the park while she chased the birds and feeding the ducks at a nearby pond we found not far from our B&B. The owners even save the baguettes from breakfast for us! While staying in Avignon we even found a wonderful park behind the Palace of the Popes that we never even knew existed until some locals told us. We also let her ride the carousel a couple of times everyday in between our sight seeing. We limited things for us like visiting a museum to once per day and really just enjoyed the city we were visiting. Ask around either the concierge at your hotel or some locals and see if there's a secret park or a pond something different that your son would enjoy.
Posted by
Chicago
8551 posts
At 18 mos you don't need fancy kid options. There are little pocket parks all over Paris with toys for kids this age -- little bouncy horses and such --and the larger parks all have elaborate playgrounds that are staged by age. So finding play options will be easy. When my granddaughter was just a bit older than this we got her one of those doll strollers that kids in France were playing with and she happily pushed it around playgrounds and streets (and apartment) and other kids borrowed it when she climbed onto other toys (and politely relinquished it when she claimed it)
When your child is older it makes sense to go out to the Bois de Bologne for the children's amusement park there, but at this age, just take advantage of the parks all over Paris for toddlers.