Taking 4 Kids to Europe summer 08. Need suggestions!

Thank you so much for the excellent suggestions! They are really helpful. I am definitely going to rent an apartment vs. a hotel. I am now looking at the various Paris neighborhoods. Any suggestions on what neighborhoods are safe, yet lively and give a Paris feel. We like to cook and shop in markets. With my big family, we will do lots of cooking and dine out here and there. I am glad to know there are others who have traveled with large families. We are a little overwhelmed with the planning part but know it will be a great time. Thanks again for the great advice.
Karen

Paris is worth a week. Include a daytrip to Versailles, and if kids are interested consider a daytrip to Provins. Google "Provins", it is a world heritage site, a medival village that has been restored and does a bunch of " spectacles" like a falcon show, a catapault demonstration, and even a jousting tournement.
Eat meals in cafes as opposed to fancy restaurants, do not take breakfast in hotel( overpriced) , get goodies at markets and delis and bakeries and have picnics in parks( very popular pastime , you will not feel out of place) . Buy crepes from street vendors for lunch, they are very good, and filling and run about 5 euros each. Then splurge on a sit down meal at a cafe or bistro for dinner. Many places have a "meal of the day" ( " le menu" ) that will run anywhere from 10 to 25 euros a head and is usaully more then one course. All restaurants, cafes and bistros must display their menu ( la carte) outside so you can see prices and choices before you enter.

My sons loved the " Catacombs" in Paris, google it, they have a website that can be in english, this is an odd site, but, not without history attached.
My boys ( who were both 14 at time) both loved the Eiffel Tower( and we climbed the stairs to keep them active, plus view is very cool through the stairs) and the Towers at Notre Dame. One son loved Louvre and requested a second visit, the other son we did not even bother to take( we went seperately when each boy turned 14) as he hates that sort of thing.

PS Watch your consumption of soda at meals they are EXSPENSIVE, often 5 euros for small bottle. We allowed one soda a day at meals, the rest of the time they had tap water( which is fine BTW) and we also bought soda from little stores to drink during day( 1-2 euros) and keep in hotel.

Save money by renting an apartment, most hotels will not take 5 in a room, so two rooms add up. If you rent an apartment you can cook some meals and save$$.

Before using an apartment agency check it out carefully, there are many excellant well recommended ones, but, there are a few crooked ones that ask for large deposits then you can arrive to no apartment.
I would suggest you google any agencys name you are considering and search for complaints.
Aslo check out "tripadvisor.com" forums. Many many posters have had excellant experiences and will be happy to recommend actual names .

Good luck and have fun. We are also a family of five who just couldn't handle the extra expense of going as a group of 5 so we did trips individually. This coming year I am taking my 12 yr old daughter.
Doen't help that hubby and boys are all over 6 ft tall( hubby is 6'4) so we need lots of room as a group. LOL

Karen - If you really want the advantages of the Internet in completing your research, take a look at www.pagesjaune.fr. It's the Yellow Pages of France. It has a feature that lets you enter the address of a building you're interested in a get back a street level photo of that location.

One thing about choosing a neighborhood is that it can be highly subjective. Crime, as Kent mentioned, is much less a concern in Paris than many US cities. You're not likely to end up in the equivalent of San Francisco's Tenderloin, for example. But you should know the general atmosphere of the neighborhood you're considering. By renting an apartment you have a great opportunity to experience Paris on a neighborhood scale.

Another resource is the Thorn Tree forum on the Lonely Planet website. Several posters on the France page live in Paris and are happy to give their thoughts. Kerouac2 is especially helpful.

Have fun planning!

If you're looking for places to go in France outside of the Paris area, may I suggest one of my goLists?

One of the things that Europe does well is involve children in tours of sites that might otherwise not interest them. For example, many of the chateaux of the Loire provide a special guidebook for children. The books give the kids little tasks, like locating a series of coat of arms placed throughout the chateau. Some of the museums also have similar guidebooks.

Personally I believe 5 days is more than enough to see the essentials of Paris including Versailles. If you cut off some time in Paris (5 days not 7) you can save your time for Rothenburg just south of Frankfurt. You will not be disappointed and the kids will love it. My kids loved it last year and they were 13 and 8. In Italy, I recommend Cinque Terra (2 nights), Venice (2 nights), Florence and the surrounding area (3-4 nights) and Rome (4 nights).