Part 1: Things to do with kids
Moving abroad for a few years is a leap of faith no matter what, but even more so when you have kids. When we were preparing the move, Adam Gopnik’s book, Paris to the Moon, was a huge inspiration: it made it seem not only possible but actually charming to have young kids in Paris. That said, “kid-friendly” wasn’t what came to mind when we thought about Paris (not that we paid much attention, having been here without kids). Living here en famille has turned out to be an incredible gift. Most of all, it give us a ready-made way to meet people and build connections. It also opened a new side of Paris to us – and one that exposes the soft side of Parisians that they often hide. Here’s a list of some of our favorite things to do with kids in and around Paris. Some are aimed more at younger kids (5-10 years old), but a lot would be great for older kids too:
Arago Medallions
Hunt for the Medallions d'Arago. They are 135ish small medallions embedded in the pavement of Paris, on a line tracing the proposed "Paris Meridian" that ended up losing out to the Greenwich one. They go from Cité Universitaire in the South to Montmartre in the North. Check here for a detailed guide to the medallion locations. This is a fun scavenger hunt that’s a siteseeing tour and a history lesson at the same time (and if you do it, you’ll suddenly see them all over the city, in places you walked over a hundred times without noticing). The best stretch is from near Montparnasse to the Palais Royale. It’s a few kilometres as the crow flies, so you may want to break it up. If you need refreshment along the way, we recommend the Academy de la Biere (near the Observatory) as a good place to take a break for moules frites or sausage... and if you make it to Odeon/St. Michel, try the best gelato in Paris at Grom on rue de Seine.
Bike Rides
Paris is a great city for bicycling, and there are lot of options in and around the city that are not too nerve-wracking with kids:
- For an organised tour with an experienced company, we recommend Fat Tire Bike Tours. The guides are outgoing and are used to having kids on their tours; for younger kids, they can even equip a bike with a trailer so the kids don’t need to ride on their own.
- If you’re feeling more adventurous and want to try something on your own, there’s a nice bike path starting from La Villette, going north along the Canal d’Ourq. It’s not the most scenic route until you get a bit outside the city, but it’s a car-free dedicated path that works great with kids. If you like, you can rent bikes from Cycle Pouce along the canal in the 19th.
Another good option for family outing is to take the Coulée Verte out of Paris to the Chateau de Sceaux for a picnic. This is a dedicated path that is car-fee (it crosses roads at regular intervals, but always well marked) and passes by a number of playgrounds and parks along the way. On the return trip, you can take a short detour to stock up at one of the few specialty beer shops in Paris, the Bootlegger and can look inside Notre Dame du Travail, a church with an unusual interior structure that’s strikingly reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower.- For something less ambitious but still lots of fun, go to the Paris quais on a Sunday afternoon, when they’re closed to traffic as part of the Paris Respire program.
- You may have seen thousands of rollerbladers zipping down the streets some Friday evening, but did you know cyclists have their city rides too? With Paris Rando Velo, Every Friday night around 100 riders hit the streets, accompanied by terrific trained riders to keep cars & motos at bay. Even better, the third Sunday of every month they meet at Hôtel de Ville at 11h for a family-paced ride!
Paris Parks and Picnics
Parisian parks offer loads of diversions that are mostly a bargain, and they’re great settings for picnic lunches or dinners when the weather is nice.
- Luxembourg gardens have nice playgrounds, a puppet show on weekends and toy sailboats in the fountains.
- Tuileries has trampolines and a fair during the summer.
- Parc Andre Citroen has cool fountains and a hot air balloon.
- Promenade Plantée is beautiful and really different – you can see the city from above in some places, walk through tunnels in an old railway bed in others, and stop to play soccer or ride a carousel along the path.
- And then of course, there’s the Champs de Mars… the ultimate picnic spot no matter how much of a cliché it sounds. There are also a carousel, mini go-karts, pony rides, playgrounds, soccer and basketball courts, and puppet shows on weekends.
Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the Eiffel Tower
The icon of Paris is just as irresistible to kids as to adults. The big deterrent is the lines… For about 20 euros a person you can skip the lines AND get to go behind the scenes at the Eiffel Tower, visiting the bunkers under the Champs de Mars and the control room for the elevators. The tour ends on the second level of the tower (to which the ticket would cost you 12 euro on its own), where you can buy a supplementary ticket to go to the very top. It’s such a neat visit and such a good deal (and I’d never heard anyone mention it) that I was almost afraid we were getting scammed when I processed the ticket payment, but I promise it’s real. Tours go on Wednesdays and Saturdays, in French or in English, and last about 1-1/2 hours. If you’re not up for the tour, you can still limit the waiting time by reserving tickets on-line for a specific entry time.
Cite des Enfants
This is guaranteed to make you wish you were 7 years old again (but you can test things out under the guise of explaining to kids how they work J). Located within the Cite des Sciences are the Cités des Enfants, the epitome of the French vision of ludique. These are activity areas -- one for 2-7 year olds, another for 5-12 year olds – designed to be completely kid-sized and hands-on. Kids can program a robot, film a tv show, make energy to light a bulb, or put on a hard hat and use cranes in a mini construction zone. La Villette is a bit out of the way, and reservations are really essential, but it’s worth the trouble. Only go if you’re prepared for your kids to pester you about going back again…
Other Museums
Something more central that also has hands-on exhibits is the Musee des Arts et Metiers, which is also probably the only place in Paris to find an airplane, a car, and (until its recent demise) the real Foucault’s pendulum ... all in a church nave. On a nice day, the gardens at Musee Rodin are great. You can skip the museum and the lines and go see the gardens for only 1 euro. The thrill for kids of walking past a huge line and feeling like VIPs is almost worth the cost on its own, and as a bonus you get to walk right up to some of Rodin’s most famous works, including The Thinker. Last but not least, almost every major museum has ateliers for kids, with tours tailored to children, drawing lessons or art projects, etc. They’re generally either free or low cost (under 10 euro). It’s really fun for the kids and leaves you a couple hours to enjoy the museum at your own pace. Normally they take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays and it’s not a bad idea to reserve. Check the web sites of each museum for details. If you’re there on other days or want less of a commitment, ask at the information desk, where they often have an activity book or “scavenger” hunt for kids, which sometimes wins them a sticker or other small prize if they complete it.
Cirque d’Hiver
The Cirque d’Hiver is a Paris institution. The unusual 20-sided building has hosted circuses, exhibitions and concerts since 1852. The main circus runs from October to about March. It’s a great one-ring show that’s a throwback to a different era and is totally quant without being amateurish. Tickets are as little as about 15 euro, and even the most expensive aren’t outrageous. The show is redesigned very year.
France Miniature
Saving the oddest for last: a short drive from Paris is France Miniature, a park with scale-model reproductions of national landmarks. It’s one of those beautiful kitschy pockets you find in France, where it’s impossible to decide if the French are laughing at themselves or not. The park is several hectares, laid out in the shape of France, with scaled-down rivers and cities displaying major landmarks placed in the appropriate geographical orientation. Across the English Channel is a carnival area with swings, go-karts and snacks. The kids loved finding places they’d already seen, and picking other places they want to visit.
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