U.S. family of 6 first Europe trip - 10 days in Paris, Provence, Paris - itinerary review?

Just two suggestions.

One, as you are staying near St Remy and plan to go to the market the day you have to go to Arles consider what most appeals to you there. If Roman ruins I might suggest you look into Glanum near St Remy, a whole city they have uncovered. It is about 1 mile south of SR. If Van Gogh I might suggest you look into the St Paul asylum he stayed in and painted from they have a room made up like his and other interesting things from his time there and the walk you can take from SR to there about 1 mile sign posted with plackards of his paintings showing where he painted them. Glanum is just next to St Paul. If you want to drive from SR you can park in a very large outdoor lot across the road from both.

Two, for what day to go to Les Baux you might watch their calendar as they do have on certain days demonstrations of things like catapult or things you can try yourself like cross bow.

Enjoy the planning!

There’s a direct train from CDG to Avignon Tgv (3h): https://www.sncf-connect.com/. From Avignon Tgv take a taxi to where you’re staying. Sleep in Paris at the end of your trip. This way you only have to settle in twice not three times which is never fun.

Overall looks good, and as a former boy myself I think they’ll have blast :)

I think some of your Provence sights should be rejiggered slightly:
I think your boys will find Les Baux immensely cool, and will want to take some time exploring. They did a full-size trebuchet demonstration when I was there, amazing.
Orange is just the theatre. Isle-Sur-Sorgue is simply a lovely little town. A full day planning for either of these is excessive.
Arles is a whole town with a lot to see. If you were going to plan a full day to a town in Provence, Arles is the one. Aside from the amphitheater and ruins, the Roman museum is quite good. The museum is right-sized, wonderfully air conditioned, and packed with dioramas. The French seem to excel at making things in miniature.

Back in Paris: The Champs-Elysees is big nothing. It’s a big, ugly, noisy street packed with chain stores and miserable tourists, and it goes on FOREVER. Stroll somewhere, anywhere else. Check museum hours for the Orsay. If it’s just as easy to see it on Monday versus Sunday then do that. The Louvre steals the “huge crowded museum” headline, but the Orsay is also huge and crowded. Both those museums can break you if you’re not careful. If you don’t have the appetite for that kind of intensity, the Orangerie is perfect. Small, amazing paintings, and often passed by the tourist hordes.

With all that, it feels like you’re not all that sure what to do on Sun/Mon. If the weather is nice, nothing beats Luxembourg Gardens, and exploring any of Paris’ parks is a great experience. There’s always cool architectural elements, mini gardens, or statues to find. Napoleon’s tomb and the Army Museum are another thing I think blow the kids’ minds. Maybe Pere Lachaise? Or just get out and explore Paris some more. I just hate the idea of you going back to the Eiffel Tower for lack of ideas.

Finally, I think you have to pick Versailles or Giverny. I think it would take some superhuman effort to see both on your last full day. I would pick Versailles without hesitation.

OuiOuiToParis,
One suggestion...on your Monday, after the Eiffel Tower, it is not too far a walk to the Invalides. Besides Napoleon's Tomb there, it is a military museum with lots of suits of armor and weapons, old and older. It should be a kick for the boys. And if you want to pick up or prepare a lunch, you could enjoy a picnic on the Champs de Mars after the Eiffel Tower and before the Invalides. Another memory for the family!

OuiOuiToParis,
awrzesinski's comments are spot on re. the Champs Elysee, Orange, Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and Arles. Also, trying to see Giverny and Versailles in one day is not worth it. You won't do justice to either. I, also, would pick Versailles. The boys will probably be wowed by all the gilt and gold. Our kids were when 8 and 10. Plus the grounds there are so impressive!

Thank you all so much for your input!

MaryPat - your suggestion is what I originally planned - hopping onto the TGV when we land at CDG. I switched it up because I was worried about such a long day of travel - but we’ve reviewed some options today, and I think it’s going to be better and more relaxing to spend days 1-5 in Provence and days 6-11 in Paris.

So I booked a new apartment in Marais for the Paris stint, and I’m reworking the itinerary now with these suggestions in mind. Will post a new one soon. Thank you again - my sons are super excited (as are the grown ups of course!)

OuiOuitoParis,

Ah, such an exciting trip! The kids will love it. We took our three boys (9, 7, 4) to Europe this summer and it was so fun to travel with them. One trick that made our days easier was to always have a pbj/granola bar/piece of chocolate at the ready because they NEVER failed to be hungry as we were headed somewhere new!

In Paris, a favorite place is Saint Chapelle. It is a beautiful chapel close to Notre Dame and not to be missed! Napoleon’s tomb and the military museum are very interesting as others have mentioned. The Cluny Museum has all kinds of interesting things to look at (statues unearthed from backyards, tapestries, cool architecture), and isn’t as overwhelming as the Louvre.

So I just returned from France yesterday. A week in Provence and a week in Paris going to the Olympics. I have boys aged 12 and 16. Here is what they loved:

Provence-
Swimming at the Pont du Gard. Take a picnic and a towel and wear your suit or change in the bathroom, which is part of the courtyard you walk through, no need to pay. Parking was 9 euros. We actually ended up skipping the museum and watched a video about the site on youtube on the drive over. Swimming with all the locals under the aqueduct was my favorite afternoon of the trip. You can do a one way kayak/canoe trip if you'd like.

LUMA art tower in Arles. Lots of interactive art installations and a slide!

Afternoons swimming in the giant pool at our B&B (Mas Petit Fourchon) followed by late dinners in Arles.

The arena in Nimes.

Paris-
E-Bike rentals. My 12 year old was ecstatic about this. He made us do it 3 times and he and my husband went all over town, including up to Montmartre.

Thrift shopping near the Marais. They loved looking through the racks and racks of European football jerseys.

Going to a football game (ok I realize it was the Olympics, but they would have wanted to go a club game if we were there at a different time)

Things they were said were "mid" (Their words,not mine)

Les Baux - Maybe because it was late in the day, or because we had been to the Luberon, but not a whole lot going on there.

Avignon - It was really hot that day so it didn't help, but it didn't seem as charming as the smaller towns or even Arles.

***I can tell you from just coming straight off this trip, you are doing a lot per day. I would plan one outing early and then leave time for swimming, relaxing with tablets/phones etc or you are going to see their enthusiasm lag. The perfect day for us was an outing after breakfast, rest/swim in the afternoon, and then back at it in the evening. We managed around 20k steps per day even with that.

I took my 12-year-old to Giverny in September and then to the Orangerie the following December. One ticket for both admissions. We sat in front of the Water Lilies and looked back at our photos from Giverny, which included one of my favorite photos of him (dappled light on his beautiful blue eyes). I think this made the art more meaningful for him. Both places are beautiful, calm places that we both enjoyed being in. I did not take him to the Louvre because OMG so many people.
We did a day trip to Arles from Avignon (where were "sur le pont" all alone for several minutes) and searched for the easels of Van Gogh paintings positioned by their subjects. Very cool.
One thing I regret missing in the South of France was the flamingos in the Camargue. We did see them from the train, but this is on my list for next time.
Go up the Montparnasse Tower for a great view of Paris (made better by the fact that it doesn't include the Montparnasse Tower, as they say).