Anonymous wrote:
- Boat ride on the Seine River. We did a private boat (was only around $600 for roughly 90 minutes) and it included drinks and snacks.

The other stuff listed in this post was good, but the regular boat tours are like 15 euros/adult and 8 euros for kids under 13. $600 for a private ride (with snacks!) seems pretty crazy for what is still a guided boat ride.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please show your kids some real history and culture rather than endless food tours, bike rides, escape rooms, cooking classes, and the other ridiculous activities that people try to pass off as “travel” these days. Dear God.

What do you qualify as real history and culture? My kids are not going to spend days looking at Renaissance art, nor are they interested in visiting church after church. We'll do some of each, but a bike ride one day sounds like a nice break from crowds.

With all due respect, then they are not ready for Europe. Y’all can ride bikes at home.

As an expat living in Europe (not France) I find this to be a really weird take. It's obviously country dependent but cycling in many areas is way more of a lifestyle here (e.g., my DH has a 30 min bike comute to work) and as a tourist it can be a great way to see more of an area than you could reasonably cover by walking in a shorter time. There is way more to Europe than moving from one museum/church to the next in the name of absorbing culture. If that's how you like to spend your time, great. But that's not how most European families with kids are spending their time on holiday, are they "not ready" for Europe either?

Only on DCUM would riding bikes be looked down on It's one of my favorite ways to sightsee and explore.

Our kids were the exact same ages, and we were in Paris for 5 nights last Fall. We stayed in an Airbnb in the Marais neighborhood which turned out great. Here is what we did:

- Tour the Palace of Versailles. This was the #1 excursion for us/our kids. Very short train ride (cheap fare) of ~30 min from downtown. Rent the golf carts to check out the gardens. Go to the Queen's Hamlet. This excursion took most of 1 day for us (from 9-3pm) but was the highlight for us. The history, the scale of the palace and gardens is amazing.
- Small group macaroon baking class. I think there were 10 in our class, you make like 3 dozen macaroons and get to take them with you afterwards.
- Eiffel tower (get elevator tickets to second level at least). We went in the evening after dinner and were there when the tower light show came on. Book these tickets WAY ahead!
- Notre Dame Cathedral. Even if you aren't religious, it was beautiful - and the long entry lines move fast when they open for each time slot.
- Boat ride on the Seine River. We did a private boat (was only around $600 for roughly 90 minutes) and it included drinks and snacks.
- The Louvre. We considered this a must do, and we did a guided tour, but in retrospect the crowds were SO dense (and smelly) that it ended up being our least favorite excursion.

Our kids LOVED the food as well. Crepes, everything from the bakeries and gourmet cheese and chocolate shops. Great trip and we are looking forward to going back.

Anonymous wrote:^ Oh and I love the Musée de la Musique in the iffy 19th arrondissement. It looks dingy, but it's great for classical music lovers and those interested in music history.

There is a fantastic kids museum in that same complex. I think it is across the park from the music museum.

I agree that kids like climbing stuff— church towers, Eiffel Tower, Arc d’triomphe. And the catacombs.

The Cluny medieval museum has the unicorn tapestries that kids might like.

For the big museums, make sure they’ve read (or you’ve read to them) books that give some background and orient them re: what they’ll see there. Go in with them excited to find and see certain works of art (that are famous or just appeal to them), and don’t try to do the whole thing.

Great suggestions! OP here- Catacombes appear to be closed till further notice??

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please show your kids some real history and culture rather than endless food tours, bike rides, escape rooms, cooking classes, and the other ridiculous activities that people try to pass off as “travel” these days. Dear God.

What do you qualify as real history and culture? My kids are not going to spend days looking at Renaissance art, nor are they interested in visiting church after church. We'll do some of each, but a bike ride one day sounds like a nice break from crowds.

With all due respect, then they are not ready for Europe. Y’all can ride bikes at home.

There is always a poster on threads asking about what kids enjoyed in X place in Europe who insists that you should not take kids to Europe unless they are willing to see every art museum and every religious site

My DD11 loved the Catacombs and going to the opera. She liked the exquisite beauty of Galleries Lafayette and just sitting by the Seine watching ducks and boats. She enjoyed Musée d’Orsay. I dragged her to the Louvre one evening even though she wasn’t enthusiastic and let her take the lead and she still talks about it.

She’s a great walker and we both like being flâneuses and people watching. We wander into churches or shops or cafés. She orders in French and charms the waiters. Paris is the best!

*didn't* plan well

Re: museums, one thing I would advise is to make a plan for which you want to visit and book your tickets for early time slots. I wanted to go to the d'Orsay but plan well in advance and ended up with afternoon tickets. God it was so crowded, and even with times entry it took a while to get in with security, etc.. My oldest was 9 at the time and actually likes museums but was overwhelmed almost immediately.

They really enjoyed the Eiffel Tower, Luxembourg Gardens, and eating in general- all the creperies and bakeries were a big hit. But we also spent a few days in Normandy and I think they liked that best.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please show your kids some real history and culture rather than endless food tours, bike rides, escape rooms, cooking classes, and the other ridiculous activities that people try to pass off as “travel” these days. Dear God.

What do you qualify as real history and culture? My kids are not going to spend days looking at Renaissance art, nor are they interested in visiting church after church. We'll do some of each, but a bike ride one day sounds like a nice break from crowds.

With all due respect, then they are not ready for Europe. Y’all can ride bikes at home.

As an expat living in Europe (not France) I find this to be a really weird take. It's obviously country dependent but cycling in many areas is way more of a lifestyle here (e.g., my DH has a 30 min bike comute to work) and as a tourist it can be a great way to see more of an area than you could reasonably cover by walking in a shorter time. There is way more to Europe than moving from one museum/church to the next in the name of absorbing culture. If that's how you like to spend your time, great. But that's not how most European families with kids are spending their time on holiday, are they "not ready" for Europe either?

we are ex pats nearby (not based in Paris) and visited the LV foundation when they had the Hockney exhibit up last April- my kids loved it. Also the Musee D'orsay is really fun. we drove out to chateau Chantilly one day and the kids really enjoyed it, we stopped at a tiny village bistro on teh way back into Paris and it was so adorable. the French countryside little villages really are very cute- bike ride around versailles also sounds lovely.

the French are obsessed with cookies these days so eventhough its counter intuitive- id try a French style chocolate chip cookie, it was interesting to see how the taste differed and they are quite scrumptious. We also really enjoyed the catacombs so that is another good idea. The Louvre has a scavenger hunt that sounded fun- has anyone done it?? I personally like the Italian churches better plus kolm, rheims are closer for us so didn't visit ND with the kids but if your kids like gargoyles I'd include that. make sure to get reservations b/c the good bistros do fill up.
"europe" isn't really any different than anywhere else- its just everything is closer together. A cruise along the seine might be nice, remember that the weather is still rainy and chilly in April so bring rain gear. you can pop into bakeries on isle st. louis to get the ice cream and have a picnic so I wouldn't waste time in line at bertillionss if it is very long. The Japanese and Lebanese food is amazing as well if you get sick of the French food. with kids your ages, just skip the left bank entirely (its full of americans and tourist tat and Smith and sons is a much better book store than Shakespeare and co and if you dont want a play ground, no point in going to garden de Luxembourg) and head to the Marais, the falafel really is that good!! the green space at versailles is much more interesting. I actually low key kind of hate the left bank with older kids. make sure to visit the Rodin museum, the gardens will be amazing in spring.

We did a Context kids tour of the Louvre. It was expensive, but worth it. Skip the line, focused on the kids, tour guide could pivot mid tour to cater to our interests, etc.

They also loved just wandering around, grabbing a croissant or a macaron, wandering some more, etc.

They hated the bus tour.

Catacombs, Conciergerie (surprise hit), climbing the Eiffel Tower at night (we couldn't get tickets for the elevator but the kids preferred the stairs anyway), and the super-fun tiny Paris Police Museum.

^ Oh and I love the Musée de la Musique in the iffy 19th arrondissement. It looks dingy, but it's great for classical music lovers and those interested in music history.