Traveling with young children to Paris

If girls, shop for an outfit-our then four year old would look up at planes flying over our house after we got home and say "I want to go back to Paris and buy a dress".

Take them to Miniature France they will love it. You have to take a train, but it’s the best and least known attraction..

The Luxembourg Gardens have various kids activities, such as:

Puppet theatre: Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 2pm and everyday from 4pm during the school holidays.

Pony rides, swings, tennis, model yacht hire to sail in the large pond.

Other parks may have similar. Rick's Paris guidebook includes a chapter on kids' activities, but for a wide age range of kids, so not all equally relevant.

I just got back with an almost five year old a few days ago. She’s a girly girl so much of this trip was based on that factor. LOVED going up to the second level of th Eiffel Tower. Loved shopping, especially for food and toys. Parks and carousels are everywhere and where an ok distraction for a minute. She’s way into dinosaurs and ancient Egypt stuff so the Natural History museum and the Louvre were a big hit. Be forewarned that the natural history museum is fascinating but I imagine it could be terrifying for some little ones. It’s very old school and includes everything, not just dinosaurs. Zoo and botanical gardens are on site, although we lost steam after the museum and gardens so no experience with the zoo. Cafe is a hard pass. The favorite toy stores were Pain d’épices in Passage Jouffroy (very French and fun for the adults as well) and JouéClub that occupies all of Passage des Princes (very much a Toys R Us type place where stores were grouped depending on interest. Huge hit). Passages in general were popular and a great place to dodge the elements. One of our most memorable days was getting my daughter’s portrait sketched on the square to the left of Sacre Cour. Quality really varies so shop around. The archaeological crypt in front of Notre Dame was also a surprise hit but do to recent events I’m not sure what to expect. I know emotionally I couldn’t go there, not to change the subject. It’s been a rough day.

As far as where to stay, I’d definitely consider an apartment. We rented through Paris Perfect. It’s definitely an expensive option but i knew we would be spending way more time than usual in the room. Just be sure to make sure it’s registered. They post the registration numbers on the listing. When I traveled with my two at one year olds a kitchen and separated sleeping spaces were necessary especially for naps.

Here’s another one in Patis . The Jardin D’Acclimation. It’s a children’s amusement park with French style rides of all ages for children. There’s also a hands on children’s museum and art gallery and a statue of Mother Nature. And I doubt that you will find another American there. We did not.