Has anyone taken the Sewer tour in Paris?

Taking the underground canal boat tour might satisfy his, um, fascination with flowing water and it purposes. This goes through a series of locks and takes about two ahd a half hours, not including your Metro trip back, but we found if very pretty and informative. You board it (twice a day trips) at Place de le Bastille.

If he really wants to visit: go for it. It's centrally located, and easy to get to, and I'm sure for the next four years he will be bragging about visiting the Paris sewers to his friends:) When traveling with kids it's important to let them make some decisions on the itinerary, even if those places are a bit silly, gross or frivolous. Not many kids are into art museums, and cathedrals.

We took the tour a couple of years ago. While it is pretty interesting, be forewarned that it does have a certain, ummm, bouquet, about it. If your 8 year old is interested, then I would definitely suggest going. They have explanatory brochures in several languages. Also, there are signs throughout the tour, explaining the operation of things, in both French and English.

Also, might I suggest taking one of the night-time Seine River cruises with him? The bridges over the Seine are lit up and look totally different at night. He might find that interesting too. It's kind of cool to go under a bridge for a change.

Deb:

You might also want to look at a tour of the catacombs. Full of bones that an 8 year old might like, not nearly so fragrant.

My husband and son took the tour several years ago. They found it interesting and not repulsive. He said it was "nice". He did note that there was only one English speaking tour guide and they lucked out and took the tour with her. Otherwise, they would have had to wait for her to return from a previous tour. They also went on the catacomb tour. Taking the subway there allowed them to get right to the entrance. They enjoyed seeing all of the bones. In both instances, I decided to stay at ground level. Have fun making lots of lifetime memories on your trip!

Deb, my wife and I took this tour this past May and enjoyed it. This tour was included on the Paris Museum Pass. Dorsey

My family and I took the sewer tour in November 2008. Be prepared for the smell. Both my husband and 9-year-old son loved the tour. My husband doesn't have a sense of smell and the boy, well, he just didn't notice. My husband and son read every sign along the way. My daughter and I breathed through our scarves and got through it as quickly as possible. We did not read every sign. We just met up with them at the end.

I agree that it's important to let the kids have input in regard to the sightseeing plan. As we did, you should leverage the sewer tour for as much as possible.

Enjoy!

An interesting story: My first trip to Europe was with my children 7 and 5. We traveled to several countries and at least 15 cities. While in Paris we took the Sewer tour. Now; 21 years later, my daughter who was 5 at the time still remembers it. In fact of all the places we visited, it's the only sight she recalls. Go!

The sewer tour is very informative and interesting. Highly recommend it. Very unique.

I have taken the tour and found it really interesting. Both my husband and I are engineers. The tour is extremely well done. There are a lot of cathedrals, ruins, monuments, bone chapels, etc. to see in your travels, but this is truly unique.

For a kid, it would be a nice break from the museums. It's a change of scenery.

I did this in 2003 - at that time, the Sewer Museum was covered by the Paris Museum pass (not sure if it still is). Interesting, and not that smelly. The Parisians are very proud of their early efforts to clean up their city (remember, they just used to sweep it all in the street). And I probably got the best souvenirs of my trip there (all tasteful, but still a good conversation starter!). It won't take you a whole day and your kid will appreciate the effort.

We did this in May with our 3 kids. It doesn't have a cafe like most of Paris's Museums for a reason....with that said, our kids have since enjoyed the bragging rights to relatives about going there. It has some interesting things and I'm glad we did it. Take video of your son, our video of the looks on their face's is priceless!

I haven't done it,, but did take my 14 yr old to the Catacombs,, his choice, and I did not want to go there( I am slight claustrophobic) but, I wanted my son to feel some ownership of the trip.. so let him pick a few things to see. He chose the Catacombs, Eiffel Tower, and Louvre.

He loved the Catacombs,, your son may or may not,, but I do agree with others,, it is only fair to let son have some input ,, and since Sewers are not expensive ,, or out of the way,, why not. Sounds like you should also take a hankie soaked in cologne.. LOL

Michael S- he'll brag about it for the next 4 years? He'll brag about it for the next 14 at least!!

I did the sewer tour once and I enjoyed it. I decided I would do underground Paris one time. Two reasons, it was my 3rd trip to paris so I had done many of the other sites and also because it was July and it was real hot. Catacombs were eerie and fasicinating.... I can imagine being 8 and seeing that! Sewer tour had some odd smells but really wasn't as bad as you imagine. A very pleasant girl gave the tour and it was actually quite interesting. You might be surprised...