Child-friendly accommodation in central Paris?

[OldieMum]

We've just decided to take DD(4.1) and DS(7 months) to Paris in April. Can anyone recommend a child-friendly hotel or, better, self catering accommodation? We would prefer to be reasonably central, to cut down on travelling. Some friendly/cheap restaurant recommendations would also be great. Thanks.

Just a thought, and might not be your cuppa, but I'm signed up to a houseswap site and I've had a few offers for family homes in Paris. Houseswaps are great if you have kids. Anyway, just an idea. Good luck.

We live in a place that tourists love to visit, so this might work. Can you give me the web address? Thanks.

I'd still like to hear about rentals, however, if anyone can help.

when we've stayed in paris, we've gone for the smaller hotels and they have been really good - provided cot and extra bed for DDs.

the french love kids and are generally very accommodating, although dont expect highchairs and non-smoking areas to be common place. and there are alot of stairs on the metro so not the greatest places for prams/buggies.

but paris is great for having a kids play area EVERYWHERE. even in the smallest green area, there will be at least a sandpit and climbing frame. there are also loads of roundabouts (maneges). so there will be loads to keep the kids happy.

have a great time!

we also found that the most child friendly restuarants tended to be chains and the food wasnt that great. we liked the bigger cafes that often did food instead, and cheaper.

hope that helps.

homeexchange.com, costs about £35 to join, but is one of the cheaper ones and has alot of members. Costs nothing to search, only to put your details on and exchange.

We have just come back from Australia with our 3 children (5, 4 and 2) and had a fantastic swap through Geenee.com which is free. Have had offers in Europe from both sites. Kids were at home straight away. Saved us an absolute fortune in accommodation for 6 weeks. Definately the way forward for large families without heaps of cash!

There are some good places on www.vrbo.com. Last time we ended up on a boat in the Seine, near Pont d'Austerlitz. Not a very salubrious location, tbh. But nice to be on a boat.

Just some general pointers following our experience of doing this last year. We stayed at a large budget chain hotel in Paris with one child - can't remember which one, sorry, but they are usually pretty standard.

The room was absolutely tiny, which would make it difficult with two, so I would definitely check the room size or go for a family room on booking.

Driving - we drove there and thankfully the hotel had parking - essential if you are planning to do the same. Mind you, I wouldn't ever drive again if I could help it - driving round Paris at 11pm on a Friday night was one of the most hair raising experiences ever. How we didn't get killed racing round those roundabouts I will never know.

If you take a backpack style carrier for the baby, it will greatly increase your access around the place, particularly the metro, although they do get heavy for very long trips out.

As per the restuarants. We found Paris on a Saturday night a very child unfriendly place to take a child out for dinner. Mainly because it was so busy, the general very smart, sophisticated ambience and big city kind of feel. Probably just our paranoia!

I was given a tip, which is that in Paris, it can be seen as rude to just turn up at a restaurant and ask for a table. It is worth trying to book somewhere earlier in the day then you are reassured that they are child friendly and that they have space, saving a huge tour round with babies.

This is all really helpful, thanks. We did something similar about 10-12 years ago, with DH's step-children, when they were about 8 and 10. We stayed then in a Pierre et Vacances flat in Montmartre. It was OK, but the metro ride was a bit of a schlep. The Pierre et Vacances places further in now look a bit pricey. If anyone knows of small flats to let further in, or can recommend a specific hotel, I'd be extremely grateful.

Hello Oldiemum, nice to see you I haven't been to Paris with the children, so this isn't a very specific recommendation, but have you had a look at Citadines ? We've stayed in one in London and although it wasn't the lap of luxury it was very convenient. Much better than a simple hotel room because of the small kitchen. They seem to have loads in Paris, so it should be possible to choose a central one.