Paris Recs?

[Jem]

Our long awaited vacation is just now around the corner - yay! I would love some must-do suggestions for Paris. We will be traveling with DS (who is 3.5) and plan do to a lot of walking/wandering but we also feel comfortable getting around with public transportation.

We will only be there 3 full days - we'll hit the touristy must do's (Eiffel Tower, Sacre-Coeur, etc.) but any thoughts on places we must go/see? Any good child-friendly places/things we should hit?

Tagging anna7602 of course (hope you don't mind Anna!). TIA.

[glitzy07]

I have no clue if it's still there, but when I was studying abroad in Paris in 2005 there was an awesome little gelato shop on Rue de Guerre in the 13th. Not a must do, but delicious if you're in the area!

[212]

The flagship Bonpoint has a cafe that is super child friendly (and delicious). We ate lunch there a lot this summer. It's on rue de Tournon.

There are really great playgrounds in the Luxembourg gardens. The sailboats at the Grand Basin in the park were a huge hit with our kid.

Have fun!

[winecheery]

fromage can help with this I believe!

[winecheery]

And omg I just realized that your sn is Jem, as in Jem and the Halograms  (heart) (heart) (heart)

[urbancowgirl]

Honestly, I enjoyed just wandering the streets with no particular place to go. That might be tough with a LO, though. I loved the Luxembourg gardens. Take a picnic lunch and sail one of the little boats around the pond.

[dbsk8dance]

The jardin du luxembourge (sp?) has an awesome park and there is a pond where you can rent boats for 1 Euro and push them around the pond with a stick. It was so fun for DS ( he was 3 when we went) he also LOVED the "neiffle tower" and riding the carousels in front of it. We also took the bateau bus which he enjoyed.

Crepes were the winner food, though he also liked bread.

[Jem]

Mar 9, 2014 15:17:09 GMT -5 dbsk8dance said:

The jardin du luxembourge (sp?) has an awesome park and there is a pond where you can rent boats for 1 Euro and push them around the pond with a stick. It was so fun for DS ( he was 3 when we went) he also LOVED the "neiffle tower" and riding the carousels in front of it. We also took the bateau bus which he enjoyed.

Crepes were the winner food, though he also liked bread.

Thanks! We have been talking up the crepes and croissants! DS is a picky eater, but I think he'll be happy with his choices there.

[Jem]

Mar 9, 2014 15:34:06 GMT -5 @kirkette said:

Mar 9, 2014 12:45:34 GMT -5 urbancowgirl said:

Honestly, I enjoyed just wandering the streets with no particular place to go. That might be tough with a LO, though. I loved the Luxembourg gardens. Take a picnic lunch and sail one of the little boats around the pond.

This is the best thing to do in Paris. Grab a pastry, have no plans, and see what you run into as you wander. 

Thank you both! This is really our plan, but I was starting to get nervous that we should have more "things" lined up.

[fromage]

I agree with the recs you've gotten- Jardin de Luxembourg is a lovely place to go, especially with kids. There's a playground that's a lot of fun. You have to pay to get in, but I think it's worth it. I have such good memories of playing there when I was a kid. I also love the little boat rentals that other posters were referring to. My first full sentence was there- telling my parents I wanted to push a boat with a stick. There are lots of boulangeries nearby with fixed price menus for lunchtime picnics to go (7 euros for a sandwich, drink, and pastry. Yes please!).

There's a merry-go-round near the eiffel tower, if your son would be into that. I personally don't think going to the top of the eiffel tower is worth the wait, but that's up to you to decide. It's fun to bring a picnic with you to eat at the Champs de Mars, at the base of the Eiffel Tower.

If you have any cold weather, there's a place with the BEST HOT CHOCOLATE EVER called Angelina. It's along the Jardin des Tuileries on Rue de Rivoli. There's a long wait to be seated, but you can get it to go much faster. 

Go to Laduree for macarons. You should also try the macarons at Pierre Herme. You know, just to do a side by side. They're expensive but so amazing. 

As far as museums, my favorite is the musee Rodin. It's small, so your kiddo might be able to handle it. There's also a really nice garden with sculptures. If you'd rather not pay to go into the museum with your kiddo, you can just pay 1 or 2 euros to enter the garden. You can bring a picnic there too (see a theme here? I like picnics). 

Have a wonderful time. Spring is my absolute favorite time in Paris. Hopefully you'll get some nice weather!

[anna7602]

Sorry, I was MIA. Most people have hit the highlights. Ditto fromage on the Rodin Museum. The garden there is fantastic and DD loved it. Plus, there's a really nice ice cream stand right in the middle of the garden.

For crepes, go to Rue du Montparnasse (intersects with Blvd. du Montparnasse in the 14th arr, but is NOT the same street!). There are a bunch of creperies all up and down this same street. Just note that most are only open during traditional French dining hours. Only a couple are open non-stop.

I don't know how good your French is or how much you care about understanding, but I would also recommend the puppet theater at the Jardin de Luxembourg. Even if there's a language barrier, it's still quite magical for kids with the songs and imagery.

The kids' park at the Champs de Mars is nice if you're already over there to see the Eiffel Tower. I wouldn't make a special effort, but if you're already there or if your hotel is nearby, it's a perfectly cute kids' park. It also has a little car section (I have no idea how to describe this, basically, your kid can ride around in a car on the pavement for 2 Euros) and a hand-cranked merry-go-round that may be the last manual one in Paris. The Tuileries Gardens and the Jardin des Plantes are my other favorite parks to head to with a kid (and the Jardin des Plantes has an outdoor zoo as well as Paris' Natural History Museum, should you get rained on).

DD was also fascinated by the locks on the Canal St. Martin. The Canal is a nice little area to walk around on a nice day and I highly recommend the pizza place Pink Flamingo.

I usually refer people traveling to Paris with kids to this NYT article from last summer:

www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/travel/travel-guide-paris-for-kids.html

[anna7602]

Oh, just remembered two more things (not sure if they're in the article or not)! Should you be staying on the Right Bank, a little train ride around Montmartre is fun for kids, plus the funicular up to Sacre Coeur. And the Park Buttes-Chamont is lovely, although super out of the way in relation to most other tourist spots in Paris. Nonetheless, it's a big, beautiful park, perfect for just wandering around. I don't know how big exactly it is, but it's more like Central Park-ish than Luxembourg (you could walk all of Luxembourg in almost no time).