One Day in Paris With my 14 Year Old Daughter! Help!

Definitely try the Seine cruise - and if she likes chocolate, there is a great shop on the Ile St. Louis behind Notre Dame - as well as ice cream that can't be beat! Also go to one of the dept stores - either Gallerie Lafayette or Bon Marche - she'll be awe struck over the difference of the Parisian shops and fashion.
Perhaps a stop along the Champs Elysee for a coca cola or croissant and chocolate as well. Enjoy!
here is the site for the open bus tour of Paris:
http://www.conciergerie.com/main.htm?O=PO&P=opentour.htm

Hi John,

So first, you get props for being the coolest dad ever. What a lucky girl!

Second, I think it comes down to what you most want her to get out of the trip - and what you think she would most enjoy. Is the main objective for her to see all the top sights? Or is the main objective to just have a special day with your daugher... and appeal to her specific interests (both excellent choices).

I totally get this dilema.. and why an organized tour sounds so appealing. ut in your last sentence you stated, "Should we just go on our own and see a handful of sites via subway or rented bike?" In my mind, you and your daughter really experiencing just a few select sights, the eiffle tower, notre dame, a seine river cruise, a nice lunch, and cruising around on a rented bike.. seems like the more memorable and treasured experience. Plus - with the money you would save from the tour, you could take a cab everywhere to be efficient.

That said, it's win-win. Good luck!

Jenny

Thanks for the info Anne and Jenny, While I would like to make it just a special day with my daughter, I am going to put seeing the sites a priority. We'll do all that special day stuff the other four days in London. :-) She's been on other trips with me to US cities and we have lots of Father/Daughter memories. Thanks for the tour link, Anne. That looks like a good one. With so many tours out there on Internet its hard to know what the good ones are, so I appreciate the recommendation.

Jenny, you may have an idea there about the cabbing or biking. It's been over 20 years since I have been to Paris. I am going to have to look at a map and see how close the sites are to each other. You hit the major ones I want her to see (eiffle tower, notre dame, a seine river cruise, the arch). Do you know of ways to buy tickets to these places in advance if I am not on an organized tour? With only 12 or so hours on the ground I can't afford standing in three hour lines.

Thanks again!

John

John
I'm taking my niece in June, and one thing I am going to "slurge" is having lunch at the Eiffel Tower's Altitude 95. I booked online for the 12:30 seating and its a prefixed lunch for 36 euros.

Nancy has a post somewhere here with more information. If it wasn't for Nancy, I wouldn't have thought of splurging.

I'm also going to the Catacombs since I keep missing out on it the last 2 times.

Have fun, and remember if you don't see everything, there's always next time

Another fun tour I took years ago was the Sewer Tour - definitely something to talk about at home! John - the bus tour mentioned was one that you can get off and on at various points in the city, on 1 - 2 day passes. I was thinking of using this with my daughter in a couple of weeks - just to get to various points more quickly. I'm with you though, no waiting in line! Sometimes it is possible to get places more quickly just by walking.

http://troi.cc.rochester.edu/~tdip/tomsguidetoparis.htm

John, tha above link may be useful... bon voyage! P

Many thanks to Michelle for coaching me through the process for booking lunch at the Eiffel Tower via PM, but alas--they are full up. You guys are all great. I never expected these kind of responses!

Thanks for the info on the tour, Pat. So there are no reservations for this? Do you know the approximate cost? I'm hope there is an ATM at the station as I will have no Euros at this point.

John

Check out the Segway tours with Fat Tire company! Rather pricey but definitely memorable. Would see lots of the "sights" as you zip around on the coolest machines.

John,

Paris has a hop on/hop off boat on the Seine, right across from the Eiffel Tower for 8,00 euros...it drops you off at all the sights (except the Arch de Triumph, which is about 2 miles form the drop off point) but walking the Champs Elysee is worth it.

John, I suggest you do the hop on and off bus tours. This combines the ease of a tour( no need to figure out anything) with the freedom of your own scheduling, allowing you to spend time at site that interest you, but skip others,plus you get a quick overview of the city from the top of an open double decker bus.
The company I recommend is L'Open Tour. It is assiociated with Cityrama. The buses are Yelow and green , hard to miss. Features four routes , best one is the green or Grand Tour ,, riding around the ARc De Triomphe had my 14 yr old son grinning ear to ear, its pretty wild! LOl
Tickets are purchased when you board, and there is a stop right outside the Gare Du Nord trains station ( where you arrive) . You will have to get on that route, then transfer to the other one to see the ET, ride down the Champs Elysees, the Arc, ride along the Siene, nip through Latin Quarter, ,, your daughter will enjoy it.

I have done a couple speedy tours through paris, none of which I did with a tour group. I am just a 20 year old single traveler, and I had a great experience. I would say renting a bike is the best option. You can hit so many places a lot faster with a bike! Just make sure you know the pin number on your credit card (NOT DEBIT CARD) or else the bike thing won't work for you.

I would just start with your basics like Eiffel tower, Napoleons tomb, Notre Dame & the Louvre, (though, having been to all the museums in Paris the Rodin is my fav!) and then its a straight shot through the Jardins Du Tuilleries and through Place de la Concorde & the Champs-Elyees and Arc De Triomphe. I would suggest a river cruise at night to see all the bridges. I did do a night tour with Paris Vision company that allowed me to skip the lines at the Eiffel Tower (tour goes to 2nd level) and then a river cruise is included, along with an Illuminated Paris tour taking you to all the sights in a comfy bus!

I have similar questions. My wife, daughter and I are planning a day trip from London to Paris in June. Never been there, and was wondering how difficult it is to navigate the Metro if you don't speak French?

I'd prefer we visit without an organized tour, it seems more exciting. We plan on spending much of the day at the Louvre, doing a Seine river cruise and visiting the Eiffel tower.

Thanks again for all the responses. Anyone know how long I can expect to be in line for the Eiffel Tower midday on the Thursday in May?

:-)

John cannot rent a bike from Velib ,, he is American, and not from UK or Europe, so he does not have a micro chipped credit card to use in machines.

John, you can rent bikes from Fat Tires, but, I don't recommend it for a one day trip. Hassle finding your way from site to site efficently , and parking and locking bikes while in sites, not much fun on a time budget.
Fat Tire of course does city tours( as well as out trips) and they are very fun,, but perhaps for this short visit not the best plan. I mean you may want to spend more time at one place and less at another, at least with a hop on and off bus tour you can tailor the days schedule the way you and your daughter want it to be.

The L'Open Tour buses do not take reservations. You just hop on the bus, and pay, I believe it was 26or 27 euros each. You can go on their website to confirm price.

Today is our second, of three, full day in London. We walked from Park Land to Westminster and along South Bank all day yesterday. Had a late lunch at an outdoor pub on the water next to Waterloo Bridge. Walked our hoofies off and took tons of pics (thank god for digital!). Today we will do a walk on/off bus. If that goes well I think that is what we will do for our one day in Paris. She is really digging her first experience in Europe! Having a blast--wish you were here!

Well, we are back from the trip and had a great time. The hop-on, hop-off tours are the way to go. Thanks to everyone who helped!

John