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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Op when are you going?  That makes a big difference.  Post the answer and I can give better suggestions.  [/quote]
OP here.  I will be there during the second and third weeks of July.   We're staying near the Louvre.  We will be in Paris on Bastille Day which is also my oldest child birthday.[/quote]

That is high tourist season, so there will be crowds.  We are a Franco-American family that splits our time between here and Paris, so here are my recs for what it’s worth.

Versailles:  we were just there last month, there were no lines.  Perhaps it was because it was cold and it involves lots of walking outdoors.  In summer it could be a zoo.  We bought our tickets online and walked right in.  We also took an Uber from Paris, we did not take the train.  Was super easy.  It’s closed on Tuesdays FYI

Eiffel Tower: you have to go through security just to get to the ticket window.  And then you have to go through security a second time whether you take the elevator or walk. If you buy tickets for the elevator in advance, that just means you skip ticket window line, you will still wait in line for all security and for the elevator. What we always do is buy a ticket to walk, you can walk all the way to the second level (it’s around 1000 steps). The second level is where the fancy restaurant is.  It took us about 15 minutes to walk it, we did not stop much, however our family is pretty athletic.  When you get to the second level, you can take an elevator there to the very top, there usually is hardly any line.

Arc de Triumpe:  you can go to the top, there is a tunnel you walk under the traffic circle and buy a ticket to go to the top.  There is an exhibition on the history of the monument there too.  Great view.  You could then walk along the Champs Elyesee toward the Tuileries and the Louvre.  There is a five guys there, there is usually a line out the door and down the block to get in (go figure)

PSG will not be playing then, because you are going during the World Cup.  I would highly recommend watching a French game at a brassiere or see if the city is holding a viewing party on the Champs Mars (the park underneath the Eiffel Towef) so you can watch with French people.  It’s fun.

my kids also like La Villette and Cite of Industrie, Grand Palais, Petit Palais, Pompidou Center, watching performers at the Trocadeur, the Ferris Wheel/ Grand Roue by the Tuileries (they are getting rid of it in July for good so it will be your last chance)

Bastille Day/ 14th of July:  there will be a big parade on the Champs Elyesse, it’s mainly a military parade.  BUT in the evening, most firehouses will have a big party called th Fireman’s Ball.  Each neighborhood has a fire station, and many of them have these huge parties where anyone can come, it’s sort of an open house/house party.  They can go all night, literally.  In the beginning of the party, people bring their kids to view the fire station and listen to music. But after a few hours kids go home to sleep and the party goes on like a regular dance party.  Google it.

Museums are usually closed on Tuesdays.  Uber is cleaner and nicer there, much better than taxis.  Have fun![/quote]

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