Paris with 11 year old DGD

[Lizsmum]

I'm taking my DGD to Paris next month for three days in order to fulfil her current ambition of going up the Eiffel Tower. That's all booked but I'm wondering what the best things to do with the rest of our time would be.

A bus tour? A boat trip on the Seine? What would be best do you think? She like art galleries for short visits but I'm not sure about a huge trip to the Louvre!

All suggestions welcome.

I'd go for the Musée d'Orsay over the Louvre. Far more manageable and doesn't tend to have such horrendous queues. The building is fab (old railway station) and in a short visit you will find plenty of classics to look at.

I'd recommend getting a three-day batobus ticket. Its a hop-on, hop-off boat service that stops at all of the major tourist sites (including the Eiffel tower). The boats are frequent enough and its a lovely way to travel. This kills two birds with one stone: getting around and doing a boat trip.

If the weather is bad I'd recommend the Cité des Sciences up in the 19th arrondissement. The planetarium is fab and there would be plenty that is good fun to keep you occupied on a rainy day.

The Musée des Arts et Métiers is fabulous and interesting, with industry things from planes to printing presses to telephones.

A tour of the Opéra Garnier is worthwhile as there are some interesting stories about that place!

I consider myself to be quite childish about culture; I get bored in museums and galleries easily, but all of the above are doable in an hour or two and are interesting enough to keep even me engaged

I absolutely second getting the batobus ticket: www.batobus.com/en.html. We used it for the whole weekend we were there and it gave my ds, then 12, a really good sense of the city. Another thing he loved was going up the Arc de Triomphe, the views are amazing and he got some great photos and if I remember correctly students are free (the Eifle Tour had been already sold out 6 months in advance when we went so we stood under it but couldn't go up). We didn't do the Louvre but did do the Musee D'Orsay and then I carefully picked the rooms so we didn't do too much art. We also went up on the funicular railway to Montmartre and had breakfast up there then walked down. The DGD may not appreciate the army museum at Invalides in quite the same way my ds did, I have to admit, but it's very interesting.

Another very popular thing was the Pompidou Centre - we didn't pay to go in but DS really enjoyed the area with the fountains just in front of it. We walked there from Notre Dame having found a very good ice cream place on the Isle de Cite. It's worth getting hold of a copy of the Eyewitness Top Ten Paris Guide - lots of handy tips, a really good map and not too big to be easily carried in a handbag.

DS also loved the cafe culture so we did a fair bit of sitting in cafes watching the world go by. And he ate a lot of crepes!

Have a great time.

Thanks, that's given me some great ideas. I know Paris fairly well but not from the viewpoint of an 11 year old. Can't wait!

Just been with my 11 and 13 year old ds's. Highlight for them was lunch on Eiffel tower which they loved.

We did a seine cruise with Vedette du ponts the first night - loved it - Eiffel tower was all lit up - very special.

Next day we did a foxity tour around the city first thing - also good.

They weren't that interested in the museums to be honest - we did orsay and louvre and it was a bit too much.

Also did Montparnasse tower - loved that too and the Catacombs - fascinating!!