Paris with young children (5 & 7)

I don't know the specifics about museums (I can't remember), but I wanted to say that there is a park in Luxembourg gardens that my kids loved to play in, and my kids also loved the Catacombs and the Eiffel tower, although the Catacombs might be scary for kids their age - maybe show them some pictures and ask. I think that was my kids favorite (and the Eiffel) but they were 9, 12, and 14 when we went. The museums were less interesting to them. They also liked Notre Dame (make sure everyone's shoulders are covered = required to get in). And Gelato is always a hit

edited to add: RS' books will give you that museum info, as will the websites of each museum

Buy museum passes online. The lines are awfully long, children will be overwhelmed. Children get into the museums free and you wouldn't need to buy them a pass.

Museum passes are easy to buy on arrival; at a tourist booth at the airport or just pick them up at a less visited museum like the Cluny. There is no need to pay extra to buy them ahead of time and have them shipped. The children are free to all the things on the Museum Pass; they just walk in with the parents. The pass will let you use designated usually shorter security lines at most of the sites on the pass. E.g. at the Musee d'Orsay, there is a separate door for pass and ticket holders and often there is no line at all there; at most it is maybe a 15 minutes wait when the unticketed line may be over an hour. At the Louvre, you may find the security line at the Carrousel entrance is shorter than the passholders line at the Pyramid; we have usually found it so. At Versailles, it makes no difference; everyone stand in the same long line. (this is also not a good place to take small kids -- the grounds are fine for a visit and the gardens on a fountain day, but the chateau is a nightmare of crowds and pushing and shoving -- miserable for all but a nightmare for small kids.

Get Eiffel Tower tickets on line 3 mos out; that line is always long. I would start 92 days ahead at 8:30 Paris time; they should become available 90 days out but there have been recent glitches. The Eiffel Tower is not part of the Museum Pass. The tickets during high season often sell out within a few minutes. For the Notre Dame Tower (have the kids watch the Disney movie at home before you travel) you get reserved time slots the morning you want to visit. There is a phone ap that works in Paris or you can show up at the site and use a machine to reserve your times. It is covered by the Museum Pass, but there is no line priority for the pass.

If your week is mostly within Monday-Sun of one week get everyone the Navigo Decouverte transport pass which will cover anything in the Ile de france including a trip to Disney if that is on the list. With small kids being able to hop on a bus for short rides may be useful and you don't want to debate 'using a ticket' every time you want to do that. For this pass you need postage stamp size head shots (25/30mm) which you can print on your home computer.

Paris is full of great things for kids. In particular the playground at the Luxembourg Gardens (small fee). At the Luxembourg Gardens and at the Tuilleries adjacent to the Louvre, there are pony rides sometimes, nice playgrounds, (trampolines at the Tuilleries as well for a small fee), a kiosk where you can rent toy sailboats to sail on the fountain pools, etc. Both parks have kiosks that sell ice cream, sandwiches, drinks etc.

How old are your children? You might not need Museum Passes.

Hi Lynne, wait until you get to Paris to buy the museum passes. Start with one of the smaller museums like the Rodin, Orangerie or Cluny and buy it there. The passes are available for 2, 4 or 6 days. Children under 18 are free. They might enjoy the Pompidou with the bright colors and moving displays.

If you plan to do the Eiffel Tower, purchase tickets in advance online at the official website. They go on sale 90 days in advance st 8:30 am Paris time and sell out quickly (20-30 min).

Spend some time in the Luxembourg Gardens. There’s also a zoo outside the Jarden du Plantes that might interest the kids.

Enjoy your trip!

You can also climb the Eiffel Tower stairs if you want to.
No need for watching the weather forecast, if it turns out to be rainy.