paris with kids

Paris has several parks that have wonderful activities for kids, and they have been described on this website a lot. Search for them, or get a good guidebook that describes them - such as the Rick Steves one which I believe also has a section about Paris with kids.

I know I will receive nasty PMs for this but.... Disneyland.

We visited Jardins du Luxembourg on the hunt for the Statue of Liberty. There were plenty of activities there for kids of that age. Pony rides, play grounds etc... Beautiful park. Wish we could spend more time there. It made me really miss my 4 year old at home, he would have loved it there.

Do exactly what YOU find interesting, but explain to your children WHY you think it's interesting, then spend only HALF the time you would spend there on your own (because they have shorter attention spans). In the time you have remaining from doing things in a more streamlined, child-friendly manner, set aside park time and time for the child to frolic aimlessly. Pack a picnic and/or bring a book to read while the children are being children. Enjoy the people watching and the time to just BE in Paris not doing anything in particular. But don't turn your visit upside down (or God forbid waste $500+ on Disney) for the children's sake. Play the role of teacher/parent and make the trip a series of teaching moments.

Kristen is right...the Luxembourg Gardens are absolutely wonderful...my favorite place in Paris. Great playground plus lots more....I also recommend the Jardin D'Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne on the western side of Paris - it's a wonderful, old fashioned amusement park. They'd love it there.

I'm agreeing with the others on Luxembourg and Bois de Bologne. Don't skip out on stuff for yourself, but like others have said, count on spending about half the time there that you would like. As far as the regular stuff, they'll probably still like the Eiffel tower, you can do a bit of the Louvre with them, but pick and choose and have them get postcards or a small book in the giftshop so they can do a scavenger hunt to find paintings/statues. The best advice I can give you is to split up the time, maybe do something more heavy-duty (like the Louvre) in the morning, grab lunch, and go to a park. Even better, pick up some bread and cheese and have a picnic and let the kids play. Then see something else, and have a crepe/ice cream break in the late afternoon. There's books on Paris for kids, you can get your 6-year-old involved in the planning.

We took our 3 kids (9, 14, & 16) everywhere we went. They thought going to the top of the Arc d' Triumphe(?), Eiffel Tower, and climbing the stairs of the bell tower at Notre Dame pretty cool. You do need to keep in mind that when they demonstrate the bell by rubbing a steel bar along the rim, it can get pretty loud. Also, what kid wouldn't want to look out over a city or get a closer look at the gagoyles of Notre Dame? We also went to Paris Disney. Much smaller than Disney World and some of the rides at the time were different and interesting to us. Previous posters recommendation to limit museum visits is a very good one. Enjoy Paris, it is a beautiful city.

4 and 6 years old. many parks, carousels in parks and odd street corners (there used to be a very small old fashioned on in Tuileries garden), the boat pond in tuileries; Quick visits to Notre Dame, the islands, Eiffel Tower. Tire them out on Montmartre steps(?); buying hot chestnuts from street vendors, street cafes(?), the fountains at Place Concorde (one of my favorite places on a hot day),