Paris via car with family

Steve has a fine idea.

Dropping the car, then herding the kids and luggage into town and to a hotel will eat up half a day.

Then you can do the same thing in reverse when you leave.

How long were you going to be in Paris again?

You're not going to spend that much time in the hotel with only two days. The Campanile chain has properties all over Paris and is family-friendly. Parking garages abound everywhere also. Park it and forget it. If the Campanile doesn't ring your bell, there are a zillion other places, all within walking or metro distance of the center of Paris (which is not Rue Cler).

I suggest that you park your car in one of the car parks near the Peripherique ring road and take the Metro to your hotel. They should be cheaper than those in the heart of the city. See Parkings de Paris for maps, rates, and booking.

Park it underground (vincipark.com) for the couple days you're there. It'll cost you about 40 euro, but that's your best bet (most even have gas stations at the entrance/exit). They've got huge lots throughout the city.

Will, another idea, since you will have a car, is to stay at La Defense, where many of the hotels have on-site parking and there are public, underground car parks, as well. This is a business area of Paris, of course, but it is easy to get to from the peripherique and your kids would probably LOVE going to the top of the Grande Arche. (I know I do.) The metro will whisk you to central Paris and the No. 74 bus will take you all the way to the Musée d'Orsay from La Defense, passing the Arc de Triomphe and then down the Champs Elysées on the way.

Hi Will, I have stayed at Ibis Paris Avenue d'Italie 13ème (Ibis #5543) and parked in the basement parking lot (a tight squeeze for a Renault Laguna) but do-able. I have also stayed at Hotel des Grandes Ecoles (a fun location) near the Pantheon and used their parking garage. Have a good time with your family.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Yes, it is a short two day trip in Paris (part of a three week trip seeing some friends in Germany) Wife and I have been to Paris before and want to see other parts of Europe, but the kids one request for the whole trip is to see the Eiffel Tower.
I already found a great deal on a car via hertz upon our arrival in Zurich. Its the same to keep it all three weeks and return it to Zurich than to keep it just a week and return at a different location. So we'll have the car the whole time, for better or worse.