Family Travel Guide – Paris, France

During the last two weeks of August in 2019, we traveled around France with our children ages eleven and six. The previous two summer vacations in Italy had built up our confidence and motivated us to keep traveling as a family. Our sights were set on France, with the intention of spending some time in Paris before heading to the south of France. We stayed four nights in Paris, took a train down to Aix-en-Provence where we rented a car for five nights and then drove to Nice for seven nights before returning to New York City.

This family travel guide is a breakdown of our four days in Paris. Our mission when planning all of our family vacations is to balance the needs and interests of the children and adults while also prioritizing safety, comfort and ease. For more on the basic parameters for planning and implementing a successful family vacation in general, take a look at my complete family travel guide.

Flights

Our Delta flight into Paris from New York was supposed to have us in the air overnight to allow us time to sleep. But our flight was changed to a late afternoon departure and the length of the flight was about an hour less than expected. We arrived in Paris first thing in the morning which gave us plenty of time to take a quick nap before heading out for a day of sightseeing in Paris.

I booked this August flight in November using Delta credit that was applied to our accounts to make up for an error made by Delta the previous summer. I was able to use that credit to cover almost all of the costs for four Delta comfort seats arriving in Paris and departing from Nice. We ended paying about $600 total for these flights.

This was the first time that we flew in and out of separate airports. This strategy gave us more flexibility and proved to be successful, so much so that we plan to use this approach for all upcoming vacations because it will allow us to cover more ground during our vacations.

Hotels

Through Hotels.com and about nine months ahead of our trip, I booked our four nights in Paris at the Hyatt Paris Madeleine, a boutique hotel in the 8th arrondissement. I chose it because it appeared to be in a convenient location but found its neighborhood to be lacking in character, especially at the end of August when many businesses are closed. When my husband and I were in Paris in 2007 for our honeymoon, we stayed in the the Latin Quarter, the 5th arrondissement, and found that neighborhood to be much more lively, quintessential Paris. When we do return to Paris, which I hope will be soon, we plan to stay in the Latin Quarter. For more about the neighborhoods and arrondissements in Paris, take a look at this helpful article.

Boring neighborhood aside, the Hyatt Paris Madeline provided a comfortable and safe place to call home while in Paris. The customer service was excellent and we were relived that the hotel was able to offer us an early check-in on the morning of our arrival. This was crucial because it gave us time to nap, freshen up and proceed with a full day of sightseeing. We had a premium room with a king size bed and a double sofa bed. The contemporary decor of the room and sleek bathroom design complete with a stall shower and soaking bathtub all appeared to have been recently updated. The sheets, pillows, towels and toiletries added to the comforts of this room for which we paid $2,632.57. We were within walking distance to many sites of interest and despite my preference for another neighborhood, I do recommend this hotel.

On a couple mornings when I was up and ready before the others, I went out to the local grocery store and coffee shop to pick up fresh fruit, juices, croissants and coffee. This morning ritual when the streets were quiet but beautiful took me back to my youth when I found myself wandering around and acquainting myself with new cities and neighborhoods. These moments of solitude brought back old sensations that were linked to earlier phases in my life when there were still so many unknowns. It was a thrill to be reminded of these past experiences and there was a sense that they all led up to this moment of contentment knowing that my beautiful family was waiting for my return in the hotel room.

Museums and Tourist Sites

When visiting any major city, it is impossible and not ideal to arrive with the intention of going to every popular tourist site and museum. Travel with realistic expectations and take into consideration the interests of you and your family or travel companions. I prefer to create practical itineraries that do not include waiting on long lines but do give us the opportunity to explore and appreciate new places on our own terms. We live in New York City and have yet to do all of the “must-see” tourist attractions, however, we are regularly discovering new things to do and see. Our perspective of living in a city that is also a major tourist attraction has contributed to our philosophy that it takes a lifetime to see and do it all.

When creating a schedule for sightseeing allow your personality to come through when choosing where to go and what to see. Do not mindlessly follow a checklist of must-see things to do as tourist.

Paris in August

We were in Paris the third week of August and knew ahead of time that many businesses would be closed because it is common practice for Parisians, as well as for most Europeans, to take vacation during the second half of August. This meant that in some areas, the streets were quiet and felt a little desolate because many cafes, restaurants and shops were closed. Regardless of this mass exodus, there were crowds around the major attractions. Although it was a little quieter in some parts, Paris did not fail to shine because the locals who were around to keep the city alive and running were warm and welcoming.

Day 1 – Musée de l’Orangerie, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Dinner Cruise

Since this was a second visit for my husband and I, we decided to leave some places off our list to create opportunities for us to try out new things with the kids. On the day of our arrival, we made our way on foot from our hotel to the Place de la Concorde and into the Jardin des Tuileries to make a quick visit to the Musée de l’Orangerie. This museum features two oval-shaped galleries that beautifully showcase the panoramic canvases of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies. This was a perfect museum stop to kick off our stay in Paris. We purchased tickets upon arrival and there was no wait to enter.

After the museum, we spent a little time in the park taking a moment to appreciate the surrounding beauty of this city before walking over to the Eiffel Tower by way of the Pont Alexander III. We went into this vacation knowing that we would not to go up the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe for a couple of reasons. My husband and I had done so on our honeymoon and the experience of going to the top of the Eiffel Tower was terrifying. Turns out I have a pretty significant fear of heights. We also felt that even with skip-the-line tickets it would be time-consuming when there were plenty ways to appreciate both monuments from other vantage points.

We relaxed in the Champ de Mars around the base of the Eiffel Tower where we observed the long lines and felt confident that our decision to opt out was the right move for us. We came across a carousal, of which there is no shortage in France, where my daughter and husband went for their inaugural ride. Then we hopped in a TukTuk, a fun alternative to a taxi, to go over to the Arc de Triomphe. We bypassed the long lines stretching through the tunnel as we walked underground to get onto the small island where the arch famously stands in the center of a very busy intersection. We jumped into another TukTuk that took us along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées back to the hotel. Zipping around in the TukTuks was a fun way to zip along the picturesque avenues of Paris.

We spent our first night in Paris with the kids on a dinner cruise along the Seine. The adults were content with the prix fixe meal but the limited options were not appealing to either of our kids who ended up eating at another restaurant after the cruise.

We did hit a few obstacles when it came to fine dining with the kids while in France. Our son is a vegetarian and my daughter is picky and we quickly learned that not all restaurants offer the plain pasta alternative that we have come to rely on in most situations. To circumvent this, we made it a point to either feed the kids at restaurants with kid-friendly options before heading over to a restaurant more appealing to us adults or to simply find restaurants that had options for all four of us. The kids were content watching videos on our phones while we ate and enjoyed a bottle of wine or two at the “adult” restaurants.

Day 2 – Louvre

Even though it was the end of August, the weather was surprisingly cooler than we expected and it was pouring the day we went to the Louvre. I had purchased skip-the-line tickets about a month before out trip and we were prepared to spend a couples hours walking around this monumental museum. Upon entry, we stumbled into a queue of amusement park proportions snaking through galleries towards Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. After this bizarre process of standing before the Mona Lisa at a distance and behind velvet ropes where we took awkward pics, we broke away from the crowds and wandered around the galleries freely. The Louvre is massive and it takes a while to get oriented but we eventually found our way around to some of the galleries I had hoped to see.

After the Louvre, we took a taxi to the Île Saint-Louis where I had planned for us to have lunch followed by ice cream at Berthillon but my plan overlooked that it was August and Berthillon was closed. Thankfully there were other places selling Berthillon ice cream so it was not a complete miss. We walked over to the Île de la Cité and past Notre Dame Cathedral surrounded by barriers and closed for restoration due to the devastating fire that had happened a couples months prior.

Later that night we went to Bouillon Pigalle just down the street from the Moulin Rouge and in the Pigalle neighborhood right next to Montemarte. There is always a line to get a table at this restaurant but since the restaurant is large and the staff is efficient, we did not wait too long for a table when we arrived around 9:00 pm on a Sunday night. It was worth the wait, inexpensive and a fun place to eat with the kids.

Day 3 – Atelier des Lumières, Promenade Planteé, Grande Mosquée de Paris, Panthéon

When we were planning this trip, my son had learned in school about a Van Gogh experience at the Atelier des Lumières and wanted us to go when we were in Paris. I was thrilled by his enthusiasm and jumped on getting tickets for this immersive experience inside a large warehouse space filled with animated projections of Van Gogh paintings accompanied by music. I do my best to incorporate requests from the kids when planning a vacation and we were glad that our son had let us know about this experience.

I had planned for this day to be a little off the beaten track. After the Van Gogh experience we walked along the Promenade Planteé (Planted Promenade) also called the Coulée Verte (“Green Stream”), an elevated park built along an abandoned rail line and viaduct. This park was the inspiration and model for the High Line in New York City, so I was naturally curious to check it out. It was a quiet and beautiful walk taking in the Parisian streets from above and admiring the landscaping along the way. This was a perfect outdoor space for that day considering the grounds of most parks were still soaked from the rain of the previous day. The kids loved having the freedom to run, jump and just burn energy without having to be contained.

Our next stop was the Grande Mosquée de Paris in the 5th arrondissement right next to the Jardin des Plantes and the National Museum of Natural History. The mosque is in the neighborhood where my husband and I had been anxious to return and retrace our footsteps from our honeymoon. The mosque is also in a neighborhood with South Asian and Middle Eastern restaurants similar to our neighborhood in Queens. We followed our noses to Allo Cury where we had a tasty lunch. Indian food is our comfort food and we have found that as much as we love to dive into the traditional cuisine of the places we visit, we also appreciate the infusion of other cultures.

Since we were near the Panthéon we took kids inside to check out Foucault’s pendulum and then to look for a restaurant where we had one of the most memorable meals in 2007. We had forgotten the name of this restaurant and for years had searched online with no luck but on foot found Le Coupe-Chou. We were thrilled to find that it was not closed for the summer vacation that many restaurant owners take in August. We made reservations to return the following evening for our final night in Paris, where we had once last trip down memory lane before leaving Paris.

Being in the Latin Quarter felt like home and we decided that we have to stay in this neighborhood for all future trips to Paris which I hope will be many!

Day 4 – Fondation Louis Vuitton & Jardin d’Acclimatation

Our last full day was a sunny day spent at the Foundation Louis Vuitton located within a luscious stretch of the Jardin d’Acclimation where there happens to be a large amusement park. According to the kids, this was their favorite day in Paris. I think that the combination of the beautiful weather, the dynamic design of the Frank Gehry building and the amusement park just steps from museum made for a magical day. I will discuss this museum and park in further detail in a later post but this was the perfect way to spend our last day in Paris with our two kids. Click here to read more about our day at FLV and beyond.

Even though we still had a good chunk of vacation ahead of us in the south of France, we were already daydreaming of returning to the city of lights soon.

Other Museums

We did not have the chance to return to the Musée d’Orsay or the Centre Pompidou because our time was limited but I also to avoid jamming in too many museums into a short period of time fearing that the kids would feel museum overload too soon in the vacation. Even though I could personally spend day after day wandering around different museums, I have to be mindful of my travel companions. Other museums on my short list for our next visit include the Gustave Moreau Museum, the Palais de Tokyo and The Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris.

Recommended Reading

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