| laborlitigator |
Taking the summer vacation at the end of July this year. Want to go to Paris during the Summer.
Have an 11 year old and a 4 year old.
Are there enough things to do for the week? Will the kids enjoy the trip? Are there family sort of things to do there? Will I need to rent a car? Can I even drive there?
Plus this will be our first time in Europe.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. |
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| renov8r |
Europe is NOT kid friendly. It is not like the US or Canada at all. Kids old enough not to sit in mom's lap generally do not get reduced rate meals or hotels. It can be expensive to travel with kids in Europe.
That said, my cousin lived in France for three years with their three kids and loved it. French people, like most folks over here, love babies. There are great parks for picnics and the zoo is for kids.
OTOH most Europeans use public transportation a lot and very few European moms work outside the home with pre-school age children SO don't expect anyone on a bus or subway to "make room" for little kids, strollers or noisy youngsters -- you will probably NEED to rent a car. You can arrange for the rental to have a car seat, it might be a requirement.
Driving in Paris is not something you just jump into. People tend to drive very fast in the cities and are very accustomed to roundabout& traffic circles. It is less intimidating in the countryside, but then you have to be able to read French maps & road signs -- which are nothing like US signs.
French people like food that can be a quite a bit different than the chicken nuggets, pizza, and hot dogs that American kids are used to. Fortunatley there are sandwich places are bakeries all over Paris that are perfect for summertime carryout, though many of them don't like to deal with credit cards -- learn to carry a lot more actual paper money. Then learn to be sure you don't over pay...
You really need to get some books. Check on Amazon or the library for "Fodor's Around Paris with Kids".
have fun! |
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| pisay87 |
| Went to Paris last May and did tons of research before the trip. I'm sure you get a lot of advice here, but do yourself a favor and get this book . Rick Steves gives so much detailed and valuable information your head will hurt. His books usually have sections regarding trips with children. Once you're there, you'll realize you don't want to go anywhere without his book. :) |
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| KenF |
We're living in Spain right now so it's only a two hour flight up there. I recommend you check out the citadines chain of apartment hotels, they are very kid friendly since they have full kitchens and suites that aren't much more than other hotel rooms. Novotel is another Europe chain that is known for being kid friendly.
Finding enough for a week won't be a problem at all. Once you've finished downtown you can go out to Versaille, Euro Disney, Normandy, or many other places around Paris. Supposedly the museums aren't very stroller friendly, so we're bringing a backpack to carry the baby.
http://www.citadines.fr/ukindex0.htm
I think Novotel is just www.novotel.com but you can find both chains through expedia or travelocity.
I wouldn't rent a car unless you've driven in Europe before. learning in Paris isn't the place to do it. I would get a downtown hotel, take advantage of the metro, and then use a tour company to see the things outside the city you want to see. Would you rent a car to visit NYC? If you do decide to rent, go by AAA and get an international driving permit. It's basically a translation of your US driver's license. |
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| ygnition |
We live near San Francisco, another world class tourist city, but we (my wife and I) loved visiting Paris a LOT.
Although it is not as kid-friendly as going to a resort at Hawaii or Orlando, i think that it'll be an experience that your 11 year old will remember for the rest of his/her life. As a bonus, I'm sure that you and your wife will too.
Unlike reports you may have heard, Parisians are as friendly as you are to them. We had no trouble at all, and people were very nice to us as long as we made some attempt at french and were polite.
I would not rent a car. It's silly, when it you can go on the Metro which takes you anywhere you want to go - get a 10 ride Claret (book of tickets). the only time we took the bus was the connector from the train to Versailles. Parking looked tough, unless you had a smart car. We did not miss driving at all. That said, if you're used to carrying everything in the X, you're gonna have to learn how to travel light.
We stayed at an apartment for 10 days on the Ilse St. Louis, found through the Lodgis site: http://www.apartment-paris.com/ . It was WAYYYY cheaper than a hotel, and it was very very cool to live in the middle of the city, away from the tourist hotels. At night, we'd walk to the Norte Dame cathedral after all the other tourists had left. Living in the middle of the city among all the other Parisians also is a great experience itself.
Normal Kid things are easy to find - if they can't do museums for more than a few hours, take them to Euro Disney (quite wierd if you've been to the US ones just to compare), walk around the outside of the Louvre, check out the artists at Montparnasse or Sacre Couer, the bird market at Norte Dame on sundays, the best damn ice cream I've ever had at Berthillion (sp?), the wild department stores with living models in the windows, and make sure to stroll down rue Mouffetard from the top to the plaza (that I can't remember the name of), the Stravinsky fountain outside the modern art museum, or visitng any of the weekly market plazas that are in every neighborhood. It's easily the world's greatest walking city.
Also check out fodors.com and their very helpful forums (like this one!) and just do a search on paris.
Finally, I've been to many places (I'm a born tourist!) - and Paris is a favorite. HOWEVER - if you are looking for a vacation, take the kids to Orlando. If you're looking for a cultural, educational, and fun adult & Kid experience, then by all means, go to Paris.
I'm jealous.
- Tom |
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| ygnition |
the stroller thing is true. I do not recall seeing any strollers at all outside of the parks. Smaller kids were in kidpacks or hand-in-hand. If your 4 year old is used to walking, you're set. Otherwise, a week is probably all they'll be able to tolerate.
Food should not be a problem, though avoid the 'american' burger places - they are mostly mediocre. go for ethnic stands like kabobs, falafels, and great sandwiches. We didn't enjoy french food as much as we did the asian food there. Pizza was fine. Mostly we just dropped in to supermarkets and did a lot of bread/cheese/sausage lunches. Baking there is at another level compared to the states.
Be prepared for ubiqitous smoking. Outside the U.S., it's still very smoky. That was the only negative. sorry about the book. |
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| KenF |
We took the stroller and the backpack. It was a good thing, they don't allow child carrier backpacks in the louvre, so we had to use the stroller. The Eiffel tower doesn't really like either, but we took the backpack to the top and only hit a few people when turning around.
Spent one day at the Louvre, then the second day visited the Eiffel tower, Notre Dame, Sainte Chappel and walked around a bit. Went back into the Louvre this morning for an hour or so before catching the ride to the airport. If you go to the museum, be sure to enter at the underground mall on rue de richelue, it's much faster than going through the pyramid in the middle. Today was the first Sunday of the month, and all museums are free, so the line was insane for the regular entrance. |
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