Paris with kids

[Anonymous]

We'll be heading to Paris later this year with our kids (1 & 3). We're planning on renting a house/apartment and want to make sure that we are in a decent area. Does anyone have any recommendations for specific areas to look? i am thinking about safety and accessibility and it might be nice if there are parks or playgrounds around.

Any other tips would be welcome too!

[Anonymous]

We rented from a Paris for Rent two years ago, and stayed in an great apartment in the sixth. They have several properties in that area. Close to Luxembourg Gardens, which is a large park and garden area. I've heard great things about One Fine Stay, too. Close to transit, organic farmers market on Rennes, and excellent restaurants, especially at the St. Germain area (northern end of the sixth, closer to the river. The southern end of the Sixth is good, too. A bit less expensive, and bumps up against Montparnasse, where the SNCF station is located. There are cheaper restaurants down in that area. All very walkable!

Given the recent flooding, you might want to be very careful with the elevation of the location you are looking at.

[Anonymous]

One more thought...double check the schedule if you want to go to the fountain show at Versailles! We didn't, and lost out. The worst part was that they also closed all of the bathrooms in the open areas of the building. Tough with little kids, especially! You can take the train directly there from Montparnasse Station, with a walk or cab ride.

[Anonymous]

Jardin de Luxembourg is a great option. We stayed in the 5th and visited it. There is also a small park in the Marais (by L'As du Felafel).

[Anonymous]

We stayed in the Marais with a 6-month old and 5 year old last Fall and found the neighborhood/area perfect with kids. The part where we stayed seemed to have many families with young kids, so we saw kids everywhere - bars, sidewalk cafes, restaurants, etc. We rented through VRBO (washing machine, dishwasher, and crib included) and hired a driver from CDG who had a booster and Infant Car Seat (which is normal, maybe? Another time we called for a a taxi and they had multiple car seats available.)

Every few blocks there is a playground, so my 5-year old was able to stop and play whenever he got tired of walking around. Favorite playgrounds included Square du Temple and Place des Vosges, but there were so many everywhere, it was great!

We liked the Marche des Enfants Rouge (market,) it was small enough that we were able to develop some familiarity with the vendors. And my 5-year old was able to score some free rolls/chouquettes just for saying "Bonjour" and "Merci." Also, make sure you go to the Centre Pompidou, in addition to the fun of riding "outside" escalators, they always have an exhibit for kids on the first floor. When we went, we designed and created Sand Castles. So interactive and interesting. (Also, go to the top to the Georges restaurant for a drink/ice cream and for the most amazing views of the city.)

Most restaurants were fine with kids, just don't expect any high chairs. My kids are relatively well-behaved when we go out to eat, so I wasn't too worried about this.
Overall, I found Paris to be super kid-friendly and can't wait to take the kids back soon. Enjoy your trip!

[Anonymous]

We like paristay.com for finding apts. for wire transferring the rent use transferwise.com. Dcum tipped me off to transferwise and I saved a bunch. Have a great time!

[Anonymous]

Try Kid and Coe. Or Ciao Bambino. They specialize in kid friendly properties with toys and cribs.

[Anonymous]

I looked at kid and Coe and was having a hard time figuring out the best area for us to stay...and since they only give you the basic area (good for when you stay there, not so good when figuring out where you are staying), I was having a hard time.

Thanks for the input. Would love even more knowledge!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jardin de Luxembourg is a great option. We stayed in the 5th and visited it. There is also a small park in the Marais (by L'As du Felafel).

+1 to Jardin de Luxembourg. We found a gem of an apartment near there on airbnb, and it was perfect for us, traveling wirh our 1 year old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jardin de Luxembourg is a great option. We stayed in the 5th and visited it. There is also a small park in the Marais (by L'As du Felafel).

It's a nice park, where you aren't supposed to go on the grass. Other than playing with the boats, it isn't the best for kids.

If you want to be near a great park for kids, the champ de Mars (underneath the Eiffel Tower), the Jardin d' acclimation, and les Tuleries(by the Louvre) are excellent for parents and children. If you don't stay near there, they are all excellent to visit.


I would avoid staying in the 19th and 20th arrondisements, otherwise you're probably good staying most other places. I'm from Paris.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jardin de Luxembourg is a great option. We stayed in the 5th and visited it. There is also a small park in the Marais (by L'As du Felafel).

It's a nice park, where you aren't supposed to go on the grass. Other than playing with the boats, it isn't the best for kids.

If you want to be near a great park for kids, the champ de Mars (underneath the Eiffel Tower), the parc Monceau, the Jardin d' acclimation, and les Tuleries(by the Louvre) are excellent for parents and children. If you don't stay near there, they are all excellent to visit.


I would avoid staying in the 19th and 20th arrondisements, otherwise you're probably good staying most other places. I'm from Paris.

PP here, I do agree that the l'As du Falafel is excellent, can get a falafel and drink for €8, super yummy. But there are little parks/playgrounds in every neighborhood in Paris, similar to here.

[Anonymous]

Pompedeu center

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We stayed in the Marais with a 6-month old and 5 year old last Fall and found the neighborhood/area perfect with kids. The part where we stayed seemed to have many families with young kids, so we saw kids everywhere - bars, sidewalk cafes, restaurants, etc. We rented through VRBO (washing machine, dishwasher, and crib included) and hired a driver from CDG who had a booster and Infant Car Seat (which is normal, maybe? Another time we called for a a taxi and they had multiple car seats available.)

Every few blocks there is a playground, so my 5-year old was able to stop and play whenever he got tired of walking around. Favorite playgrounds included Square du Temple and Place des Vosges, but there were so many everywhere, it was great!

We liked the Marche des Enfants Rouge (market,) it was small enough that we were able to develop some familiarity with the vendors. And my 5-year old was able to score some free rolls/chouquettes just for saying "Bonjour" and "Merci." Also, make sure you go to the Centre Pompidou, in addition to the fun of riding "outside" escalators, they always have an exhibit for kids on the first floor. When we went, we designed and created Sand Castles. So interactive and interesting. (Also, go to the top to the Georges restaurant for a drink/ice cream and for the most amazing views of the city.)

Most restaurants were fine with kids, just don't expect any high chairs. My kids are relatively well-behaved when we go out to eat, so I wasn't too worried about this.

I could have written this. My kids are 8 and 5. We stayed in Marais- 3rd. We l

Overall, I found Paris to be super kid-friendly and can't wait to take the kids back soon. Enjoy your trip!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We stayed in the Marais with a 6-month old and 5 year old last Fall and found the neighborhood/area perfect with kids. The part where we stayed seemed to have many families with young kids, so we saw kids everywhere - bars, sidewalk cafes, restaurants, etc. We rented through VRBO (washing machine, dishwasher, and crib included) and hired a driver from CDG who had a booster and Infant Car Seat (which is normal, maybe? Another time we called for a a taxi and they had multiple car seats available.)

Every few blocks there is a playground, so my 5-year old was able to stop and play whenever he got tired of walking around. Favorite playgrounds included Square du Temple and Place des Vosges, but there were so many everywhere, it was great!

We liked the Marche des Enfants Rouge (market,) it was small enough that we were able to develop some familiarity with the vendors. And my 5-year old was able to score some free rolls/chouquettes just for saying "Bonjour" and "Merci." Also, make sure you go to the Centre Pompidou, in addition to the fun of riding "outside" escalators, they always have an exhibit for kids on the first floor. When we went, we designed and created Sand Castles. So interactive and interesting. (Also, go to the top to the Georges restaurant for a drink/ice cream and for the most amazing views of the city.)

Most restaurants were fine with kids, just don't expect any high chairs. My kids are relatively well-behaved when we go out to eat, so I wasn't too worried about this.

I could have written this. My kids are 8 and 5. We stayed in Marais- 3rd. We l

Overall, I found Paris to be super kid-friendly and can't wait to take the kids back soon. Enjoy your trip!

I could have written this. My kids are 5 and 8. We stayed in Marais in June-- 3rd arrondissement. Loved the neigbourhood. Very eclectic. We walked almost everywhere from our place, except for Montmartre for which we took a cab. I agree with PP that Paris is super kid friendly, with all the parks, playgrounds, etc. One thing I worried about the most was potty. But, my kids kindly asked cafes and restraurants whether they could use their bathroom, the answer was almost always yes. Have a great time! You would love it. Be sure to go to Montpartre.