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Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

cod and ds1 off to paris in tow weeks

91 replies

ocd · 01/09/2006 19:20

have just booked th eirostar.
ok so we have all day fridaya dn all day saturday
please suggest itinerary
he is 8
he wants to do.........
eiffel tower
louvre
champs elssyes

OP posts:
bundle · 05/09/2006 11:26

I found the eiffel tower quite scary, the lift was vertigo-inducingly-fast

coderoo · 05/09/2006 11:28

need i take a tena lady?

bundle · 05/09/2006 11:30

I would. and Don't Look Down..
(it was windy when we went for my birthday..eeek)
do buy a few Paris snowstorms...good stocking fillers. fnar. x

alexsmum · 05/09/2006 11:46

if you walk up the louvre from the place de la concorde there is a fountain with a pool round it, and you canhire boats to sail on it.2e for an hour or something.they give the kid alovely wooden sailing boat and a stick to push it round.
ds1 is 6 and he really enjoyed it.

coderoo · 05/09/2006 12:48

am thats a very ds ish thing to do ta

have bought him a flexi map to look at and plan

KTeepee · 05/09/2006 12:56

Make sure you check opening times at museums before you visit (I'm sure your ds will anyway!) A friend went recently with her family and didn't check and kept turning up to places and finding they were closed. (I think it is Sunday and Monday though that might be a problem so you are probably ok)

coderoo · 05/09/2006 12:57

yes am contemplatingthe musee pass for me
my cod freanch(!) i launch into the minute i hit le gare de waterloo wil be lost on ds

coderoo · 05/09/2006 20:15

have foudnt his fromt he times website
they ahev other cities in there too

"PARIS

YOU COULD stick the Eiffel Tower in Redditch and kids would still clamour to go there, but Paris?s appeal to children is about a whole lot more than the 1,058ft icon. What makes the French capital such a great place to go with children is that it?s a city that lives on its streets: flea markets occupy the squares, skateboarders and street performers mass about the monuments ? even a croissant and café au lait is an opportunity to sit out and soak up the joie de vivre.

Morning: Paris?s attractions are spread out, so public transport is a must if mutinies are to be avoided. The Métro is cheap and good, but by far the best way to get around with children is by open-top bus (www.paris-opentour.com). At £17.25 per adult, £8.25 per child (ages 4-11), it?s no snip, but you can hop on and off at the best sights and buy tickets (valid all day) on the buses themselves, which are never more than 15 minutes apart. Best of all, kids love them.

Start with the Eiffel Tower (9am-12.45am daily) ? it?ll save the inevitable nagging ? but make sure you go to the ticket booths on the Champ de Mars side of the tower, which nearly always have the shortest queues. The tower has three levels: you can go all the way to the top if you must (£7.60 adults, £4.15 ages 3-12), but I wouldn?t ? it?s cramped, the views are really no better than Level 2, and the wait in the extra lift queue halfway up will sap your will to live. Better by far to get to Level 2 and enjoy it (lift £5.30 adults, £2.30 ages 3-11; stairs £2.60 over-25s, £2 under-25s), and pre-empt the grumbles with a glace at the snack bar.

Once down, you could watch the skateboarders and street artists outside Palais de Chaillot or even head to the excellent playground at the southern end of Champ de Mars, with pony rides and go-karts. Then it?s straight back onto the bus, next stop Les Invalides.

Lunch: just opposite Les Invalides, on Rue de Varenne, the garden cafe at the Musée Rodin (www.musee-rodin.fr) is my all-time favourite place to eat with kids in Paris. Shaded by a canopy of leafy plane trees, it is a serene retreat surrounded by some of the best of Rodin?s works, so while you?re polishing off your pud, the kids can go in search of The Thinker. Access to the seven-acre garden (9.30am- 6.45pm) costs 70p.

Afternoon: back on the bus, you could stop off at the Louvre (£5.80; 9am-6pm daily, except Tuesdays) if only to tick off the Mona Lisa, but I suggest staying on board until Ile de la Cité, where even the sulkiest brat will be blown away by Notre Dame (free; 8am-6.45pm daily). The 387-step tower is a worthwhile climb for close-up views of the gargoyles, while the pigeons in Place du Parvis, in front of the cathedral, are a handy distraction for little ones ? remember to bring any leftovers from lunch. From Notre Dame, the bus heads back west along the south bank of the Seine. More spacious and child-friendly than the Louvre, the Musée d?Orsay (£5.20 adults, under-18s free; 9.30am-6pm daily, except Mondays) is a possible stop for a quick impressionists blitz, though you may need to dip into your box of bribes. If so, get off at the next stop, Place de la Concorde, and walk through the Jardins des Tuileries to the funfair opposite the Louvre, running until August 30. Entrance is free, but rides cost about £2.50. Pièce de résistance is the Ferris wheel (£4.50 adults, £3 children), with fabulous views from the top.

Best bribes: in-line skates (£6.25 half-day) and bikes (£6.90 half-day) can be rented 300yd from the Eiffel Tower at Roulez Champions (5 Rue Humblot; 00 33 1 40 58 12 22, www.roulezchampions.com). Alternatively, and for the price of a Métro ticket (£1 adults, under-11s 50p, under-4s free), the funicular up to Sacré Coeur is always a winner
"

soapbox · 05/09/2006 21:45

Buy a ticket for the hop on hop off boat, that way you can cover all the main attractions reasonably easily.

I agree that the Musee D'Orsay is much more interesting for little ones that the Louvre. My DS loved all the statues and sculptures on the ground floor - plenty of room to look around too. The view through the clock on the top floor is good too - across Paris towards the Sacre Coure.

I would do the funicular up to Sacre Coure as well, if you have time - watching the pavement artists can be fun for them! And the Salvador Dali exhibition up there is interesting too.

coderoo · 06/09/2006 19:00

soapy!! i was thinking about the funicular...i loved it as an adult

coderoo · 09/09/2006 15:18

Please note: The Children's Cité will be closed from Tuesday 6 to Sunday 18 September 2005 inclusive

GRRRRRRR

JoolioTooterini · 09/09/2006 15:20

how annoying - the Aguille du Midi was bloody closed when we went to Chamonix!

coderoo · 09/09/2006 15:20

shite

JoolioTooterini · 09/09/2006 15:22

have you seen this? any use?

coderoo · 09/09/2006 16:42

yes ta

youknowyouloveitCOD · 13/09/2006 16:47

off tomorrow
will repot in sunday
htanks to lal who l helped

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