Mar 16, 2010

Paris with Teens

France for the family

By Lisa T. Bergren

Are you heading out on a family vacation to Paris? Over Spring break 2009, I took my daughters, ages 13 and 10, to Paris after a sojourn in London. Here is a quick list of recommendations if you’re traveling with kids of your own:

Tours in Paris with Kids

Do the interactive or experiential type tours. My girls loved the boat ride tour on the Seine, the Fat Tire bike tours around Paris and to Versailles, and they probably would’ve liked the double decker bus tours too, but we’d already covered those stops on the bike tour.

• River boats can be found right by the Petit Pont bridge, near Notre Dame.
• See Fat Tire’s site—extremely family friendly, but call ahead to reserve bikes with toddler seats, tandem bikes, or youth bikes. We also did their tour in London…LOVE them!

The Louvre with Kids

Okay, this place is way overwhelming for an adult. My eyes glazed over after about four hours. So figure you have limited time, and commit to paying too much for lunch inside—it will give you another hour or two of attention.  My children’s father is an artist, one kid goes to art classes, the other one enjoys it, but really, they only had about two hours of interest in the subject, max. If your kids are normal like mine, be strategic. If you have kids with a mutant’s attention for art, thank your lucky stars and enjoy! Here are our high points:

• The biggies had to be done—The Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory—but then we moved as fast as we could, away from the maddening, hot crowds to the more sane areas of the massive museum
• Loved the excavations beneath the Louvre that show the tower bases of the castle that once stood here
• Napoleon III’s crazy luxurious apartments (this place served a number of turns as royal grounds)
• The amazing, jaw dropping Egyptian and Mesopotamian exhibits really captured the girls’ attention. If your kids have seen the Indiana Jones movies, they’ll dig these wings.

I would skip the MUSEE D’ ORSAY with kids. While our lunch in their café underneath a giant clock was one of our favorites, getting them to look at all the art was like pulling teeth. Unless, again, your kiddos adore the Impressionists…then that’s a whole other kettle of fish.

Notre Dame with Kids

This is, of course, the granddaddy of France’s churches—rent Disney’s  Hunchback of Notre Dame before you go so they have a visual to recognize, with the flying buttresses and all. I thought the audio guide was mediocre, so don’t bother with the 5 euro rental. Instead, spend the euros on the climb of the tower for another pretty view of Paris (but expect a long wait—line is at the side of the church). This is the place where Joan of Arc’s rep was salvaged (have them look for her statue), and the rose windows make for beautiful memory album pics (just don’t try and take your shot with a flash.) The medieval panels that line the choir loft are also really well preserved—see if the kids can recognize any of the scenes depicting Jesus’ life, from beginning to end.

The Eiffel Tower with Kids

It’s worth it to go to the top. We were walking 5-6 miles a day and biking some, so we paid to ride (but you can climb!). Expect lines to get to the first level and a line to get to the top—they’ll tell you how long the wait is at the bottom. We waited 45 minutes to get to the top but in the 24 hours since we’ve been home, we’ve seen three images of the Tower and the kids love saying, “I’ve been to the top of that!” If you’re the planner sort, you can reserve your entry online ahead of time.

Some interesting historical tidbits to share with the kids:

• It’s the #1 most recognized monument around the world—the one most people can name
• It was built for a world’s fair and narrowly escaped getting torn down for years; the military’s push to keep it as a big radio tower is the only reason it still exists today
• After the Allies freed Paris in World War II an American fighter pilot flew underneath it—and got in a huge trouble
• A woman once walked a tightrope from the Tower across the Seine—have them consider that when you hit the first level.

The Arc de Triomph with Kids

We walked from the Louvre all the way down the Avenue des Champs Elysees (takes about an hour to walk it with kids), to the Arc, stopping midway for overpriced ice cream sustenance. Again, this is a monument they’ll frequently see on the news or at the end of every Tour de France, so it’s worth it to go.  You enter underground, near the metro tunnel and walk underneath the crazy traffic circle and emerge inside. Pay to climb to the top—some minor exhibits partway up and another great view of Paris outside. Have kiddos note how many roads lead to the Arc, and the symmetry with the Place de Concord, all the way down past the Egyptian obelisk and the second arch down by the Louvre.  (Napoleon ordered it built to herald his returning, victorious troops, but did not live to see it completed.)

Sacre de Couer with Kids

Ride the metro to the high hilltop to see this “wedding cake” of a church. Beautiful inside and out, although fairly new, in terms of churches in Europe. Note that my two maps of Paris didn’t cover this area, so you’ll have to leave bread crumbs behind you if you want to get back to your metro stop—take note of where you are and street names! (Here’s a helpful link on getting there.)  And then just climb the twisting streets—you’re heading to the top of the village to get to the church. We easily did Sacre de Couer and Notre Dame in one day, touring from 10-4pm.

Conciergie and Saint Chapelle

This is a duo worth an afternoon, if you have it. You can purchase an adult ticket at a discount if you buy entry to both at once.  The Conciergerie was once a 14^th century palace, then a prison—most famously, Marie Antoinette’s prison during the French Revolution.  The kids can gawk at the lovely, palatial architecture, massive fireplaces, and then cruise through the prison exhibit that, barring any massive tour groups from Spain or Japan (of which, there are plenty), you can see in about 20 minutes. Then head over to the amazing medieval church, Saint Chapelle, with the oldest stained class in Paris, and a massive altar that supposedly houses relics you can’t view—the Crown of Thorns and drops of Jesus’ blood. Be advised you enter on the public level, down below, but you climb up stairs to the side to see the gem of a kingly church above—don’t miss the chapel above!

NOTE: A river boat tour right after a stop here works out nicely.

Paris at Night

You can’t get the full sense of this La Ville-Lumiere (City of Light) if you don’t go out at night! So bundle up and head out for an evening stroll as often as you can. Fat Tire Bike Tours even offers a night ride, complete with a river cruise and glass of wine! (We didn’t go because it was too cold, but a month later, it would’ve been wonderful.)

Related Posts: London/Paris Spring Break:

London, Part 1/3: Heathrow to London; Youth Hostel, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Fat Tire Bike Tour, Oyster Cards

London, Part 2/3: The Eye, Gastro-pub, Millennium Bridge, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Tower of London, Churchill Museum, Brass Rubbings

London, Part 3/3: Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor

Ferry vs. Chunnel: Paris via Calais

French People are Nice (and Paris is Safe)

Eating on a Budget in Paris

Versailles: Fat Tire Bike Tours

Click HERE to read our teen traveler”s report on Paris.

Have you been to Paris with kids? Tips? Advice? Comment below!