Traveling to France with kids

22,

I only spent time in Normandy and Paris, so far.

There Disneyland Paris.

have you asked your kids what they want. It would eliminate the guessing. Your daughter mentioned castles. If i remember correctly there is some castle/place where they dress up in period clothes. cant remember where and when.

there are the Paris sewer tours.

There are the lascaux cave paintings.

happy trails.

Could you be more precise regarding how many days you have on the ground, not including arrival and departure days. It's not clear if you have the two weekends added on to the school-week break, or if you have seven days total for flights and stay.

I'd add Napoleon's tomb and the Conciergerie in Paris for children that age. Why not walk up to the top of Montmartre. I'm sure there's a lot more that others will add.

The good news is that outside Paris, there's a ton of stuff to interest kids. Mont Saint Michel and then Carnac in Brittany might interest them, along with some authentic crepes, before you swing down to the Loire Valley for Renaissance chateaux. There are also some underground dwellings, and even an underground farm, in the Loire that not too many Americans visit near Douai-la-Fontaine. Additionally, there's an early medieval chateau underground--Chateau de Breze. You can visit both the underground chateau and the above ground Renaissance chateau. I've seen a lot of chateaux in my life but never anything quite like Breze underground. (The rock is soft in this part of the country, so until around 1900, 90% of the population lived underground.)

To satisfy the train request, you could take trains to and from Paris but rent a car while touring around.

We have taken each of our kids to France when they were 10yo and thereabouts (now they are 19 and 16yo).

On the first trip, with our son, we had about 10 days, and visited London, the Loire Valley and Paris. It was nice for us and him to have some time in the country, and in the city. And he enjoyed all of the castles. One of his favorites was an older, more defensive castle, Fougeres, and it was good as a comparison to the chateaux that were build with less need for defense. Our daughter also likes castles, of all time periods.

More time in Paris would good; there's so much to do and see! Both of my kids like art, though, so art museums are always high on our list. Try a smaller museum, one that's located in a former home, such as Musee Jacquemart, or Musee Marmatton. I arranged it for both kids that their first sight of the Eiffel Tower was at night, all lit up, from a boat tour (we prefer the small boats that leave from the Pont Neuf). On Sundays, there's a bird and small animal market on the Isle de la Cite. Climbing the towers of Notre Dame; our son and I had read the Hunchback of Notre Dame together, so that was a special experience. Be sure to spend time near the Arc de Triomphe watching the cars whizz in and out of the 9 streets connecting there - it's very entertaining!

I would try to make a res. at Mt. St. Michel and spend the night. It is a pretty special experience for kids (adults also)... Your daughter should be old enough to do a little research on her own and find a castle that she wants to visit. I would rent a car to see more of the countryside and possibly make a train trip to another city to pick up a rental car. For example... you could stay in Paris, then take a train to another town in the direction you want to travel to pick up the car.

I took my daughter when she was 11 and my son when he was 13( separate one on one trips) .

One day in Paris is too rushy.. kids generally do not like rushing about, but allow for time to play in a park or have a overpriced hot chocolate at a café.

My kids both enjoyed a Siene Cruise.. especially at night with the monuments and bridges lit up.. they are cheap and no need to prepurchase,, just walk up. They only take about an hour so a nice after dinner activity.

Its a shame your kids have dismissed museums.. both my kids loved visiting the Invalids Army Museum.. they saw swords, battle axes, horse and human suits of armour, lances, muskets.. lots of cool stuff in the Medival Weapons section. ( and remember, ,kids are free )

Also at the Louvre your daughter would likely love seeing Napoleons apartments ( chandilers the size of cars, gold plated table settings etc) over the top opulence that she likely will see as very pretty .
My daughter loved seeing the bronze "Little Dancer" at the Orsay.. and both kids liked the lower floors with the decorative arts section. the furniture displayed looks like its from a Dr Suess book!

What about mummies.. they have them in the Louvre.. and the remains of the excavated moat around the old walls of the Louvre.. sub basement level at the Louvre.

You can avoid the painting galleries and just see exhibts.. my kids both liked seeing the jewel section too.. your daughter will likely enjoy seeing all the jewled goblets, jewels etc..

The Loire Chateaux are not, technically, "castles, they're a different architectural style from Italy. I bring this up only because if the child saying "fancy castles" is thinking of "castles" like on TV, with endless walls, etc. they are possibly going to be disappointed with most of the Loire Chateaux that mom and dad would like to see.

The castle at Tours would be more like a "castle."

In response to a couple of people, we will probably only have about 5 days "on the ground" in France. My husband would prefer to avoid Disneyland since we can visit Disney here in the States. I'm inclined to avoid Disney because we're going to France to visit France and not to visit Disney.
Thanks to everyone who has responded thus far.

If you want a theme park, near Paris, there is also Parc Asterix, based on the comic books. Great rollercoasters, water rides, a recreation of the Gaulish village all for starters. A great day out and gloriously French. Just off the A1 motorway north of Paris.

In terms of castles, the Chateaux of the Loire as mentioned above can be more stately homes than fortress, but ones like Blois, Chinon still have the fortress element with the history of Chinon being integral to two countries. Another like Chinon is Falaise in Normandy with its links to a certain Duke William.

You've gotten wonderful responses from people who are thinking along the same line of thought suggesting both defensive castles as well as Renaissance chateaux (as pointed out by Kent). There is a difference in style and function. Fougeres, the medieval foundations of the Louvre, the Conciegerie, (Chateau de Vitre is another en route but not mentioned) are in the earlier defensive style. The others along the Loire are later and without the defensive walls. I think kids appreciate learning about the evolution. Pat's suggestion for Napoleon III apartments in the Louvre was excellent--as well as her other suggestions.

Good post by Betts.
The kids should like the "castle" in Tours. Now that's a real castle! :)

In planning my own family trip for summer 2015, I found this book to be helpful:

http://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Kids-Europe-Children/dp/0762745630/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1422657052&sr=8-2&keywords=travel+to+europe+with+kids

It won't answer the questions you've posted here, but has nuggets of perspective that I found illuminating.

-Matt

I'm not sure where you are flying in from, but jet lag on the kids can be difficult. You could spend several nights in Paris and do day train trips to Chartres (amazing cathedral with stained glass) and to Versailles. You could also take the TGV to the town of Amboise where you could see Château d'Amboise and Château du Clos Lucé - Leonardo da Vinci's home and museum. On the grounds, are life-size models of Leonardo's inventions that the kids can play with and see how they function. From Amboise, you could rent a car to visit chateaus in the area and then train back to Paris (if you're flying round trip). In and around Paris alone, the metro itself was a thrill for my son. He also went into the Louvre just to see the Mona Lisa. Just some ideas... Have a great trip!

I just wanted to second the suggestion by Denise re: Chartres as well as the possibility of Versailles. Chartres cathedral is absolutely beautiful, and I clearly remember visiting it when I was around your daughter's age & made quite an impression even then.

If you don't want to deal with the crowds at Versailles then you can check out Fontainebleau. I think that would meet your daughter's expectations as a fancy castle, and it's a really easy day trip from Paris. You've probably already thought of this, but you may want to show her some pics online of the chateaux you've narrowed down once you have a better idea of your itinerary and see what really catches her interest (and be sure to do some research on the chateau's interior b/c some of them are quite stark/little decoration on the inside).