A beginners guide to Paris please.

[palomapear]

I'm going to be in Paris on Friday, Sat and Sunday just before Xmas with a vegetarian teenager and an 11 year old.
Help! We have a hotel booked allegedly 25 minutes walk from the Eiffel Tower.
It's a wonderful first world problem but I have no idea what to do or see to make the most of our time. I had no great desire to go but DH is there for work and will join us in the evenings so family friendly suggestions please.

Crepuscule is one of our favourite creperies and it's not too far from the Eiffel Tower. They have a good range of both sweet and savoury. We also like Happiz - the pizzas are amazing but they only took cash last time we were there. Le Cosmos is also worth checking out.
The Louvre is open late on Friday evenings. It has quite a few restaurants actually inside. I'd recommend going there for an early evening meal and then going round the galleries while every one else is dining. It's nice and quiet and makes the most of every second of your time in Paris.
The Pompidou is open until 10pm which makes it a good activity to do in one of your other evenings after dinner. It's quite a fun museum - there's something for everyone.
Another way to maximise your time and beat the crowds is to go to the Sacre Coeur early. The Basilica is open every day from 6am and the dome opens at 8.30. Try and get there as soon as possible after 8.30. Not only is is less busy, but you see Paris waking up and the street lights turning off which is magical. There are some lovely little cafes nearby which do a good breakfast afterwards. I'd probably do this on Saturday, because on Sunday I'd recommend going to the amazing bird market just by Le Notre Dame en.parisinfo.com/shopping-paris/73785/Marche-aux-oiseaux
Most areas of Paris get an extra dose of sparkle for the festive season, but for the most over-the-top display head to the Champs Elysées. other streets which go all out with the light displays include Rue Faubourg-St-Honoré with its chandeliers, Place Vendôme with its forest of sparkling pine trees, Avenue Montaigne and Bercy Village. You find some of the best festive window displays at Galeries Lafayette where there’s also a giant tree under the central dome.

Thanks Ricekrispie22 there are some lovey tips there.
Is the Metro easy to navigate?

The whole place smelt of piss to me.

And the French don't really 'do' vegetarian.

Good luck with the riots!

Thanks holidaylady! Very reassuring.

Sorry

Are you staying in a hotel? They should be able to advise you on where is good to go

The musée d'Orsay is my favourite place in Paris, and possibly the world. The St Germain de près area is lovely as is Montmartre. The French are getting better at vegetarian food, Paris in particular.

Keep an eye on the news if you are planning to visit the Champs Elysee area as it is closed due to protests at the moment.

Somehow holidaylady I don't think you have the right user name.

I'm hoping that anyone who has been to Paris recently or goes regularly or a Brit over there can help.

Thanks Frenchfancy.

The metro is really easy to navigate. When you get to Paris go to the kiosk in the station and get a carnet, that's 10 tickets valid for metro. Your 11 year old is classed as an adult so don't buy child tickets, this costs 14.90,ask for a map there and they will give you s multi lingual map with all lines etc. It's just like London a ticket is valid as long as you stay underground.
All under18 are free in most museums but take ID if there's any possibility of your teen being over that age as the ticket people sometimes get stroppy.

Yes, a carnet is the best way to get metro tickets. You can buy them from machines in the metro station.

Vegetarian selections can be limited, although I believe better than they used to be, but there are omelettes and salads on every menu or you could go somewhere that serves pizza.

Definitely visit Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur. My DC are younger than yours but liked the funicular railway. They might also like to see the pyramid at the Louvre and Notre Dame. You can walk between the two along the Seine. The Eiffel tower is enclosed by glass partitions now but you can still see it easily and you can go through and buy tickets to go up if you want to.

I agree with Musee d'Orsay being a must and I have also heard the Musee de l'orangerie is good if you like the impressionists.

It wasn’t delivered nicely but steering clear of the student areas in the 11ieme and 9eme isn’t a bad call. And place de la republique. Take the metro to Montmartre - if you get out at Abesses, there’s a lovely walk (the wall with “I love you” written in every language), up the hill to the moulin de la galette and on to the scare coeur - arguably a better view than the Eiffel Tower. It’s super touristy for a food reason and there’s are a few nice shops (one of curios like phrenology heads and butterflies in glass and taxidermy) and on the square, all the portrait painters. It’s the Paris of Ratatouille if they know that film! Rather than going in to Notte Dame, I’d suggest the less crowded Saints Chappelle which is a short walk away and is magical - you can check Notre dame from the outside unless you’re a gothic architecture buff.

(The champs Elysees is no great loss if shut - it’s like Oxford Street these days but the Tuileries gardens and place de la Concorde are stunning and the grands hotels will be fully decked out for Christmas)

I think the Eiffel Tower is closed this weekend due to civil unrest.

If the tower is shut when you are there, go to Trocadero and admire it from a cafe opposite- stunning view across the river

Thanks so much for all the lovely replies.

I am really hoping the rioters take next weekend off!

How are you getting to Paris? If you are landing at CDG airport a taxi is a standard 50 euro to Paris if you want to do the metro it's 10.30 each. You stay underground reusing same ticket to get to the nearest metro station to your hotel.
If you are Eurostar then just get carnet from station and go from there. Just for info metro ticket machines only take coins so you have to go to the station assistant in the little kiosk or use credit card if you only have notes

If you go to the Gallery Lafayette department store the view (free) from the roof terrace is stunning.

1. Your teenager is going to have to give up on being vegetarian for the length of your trip.
2. Don’t waste you time of the Eiffel Tower.
3. Avoid champselysees at all costs.
4. Marias is great for teenagers. I would suggest tour of vintage shops. Lunch of falafel from the rue de rosoix. Stop off at the Marriage Frere shop for some tea. And maybe spend your afternoon in the Pompidou.
5. The best gallery in Paris is the muse d’orsay. I would set aside a whole day for this.
6. Best markets are in the Latin quarter
7. Pere Lachaise is great if you have a few hours to kill. So is gallerie Lafayette.

There are some great veggie restaurants in Paris - Time Out usually has the best info on what’s good and current. I’ve been to a few fab places in the Marais.

Galeries Lafayette is usually gorgeous at Christmas and the view from the top is a good shout.

If you want to go to the Eiffel Tower, definitely prebook. With kids the ages of yours, I’d go at night.

I second Ste Chapelle, which is marvellous. I also love the Pantheon, which is in the Ve and as others have said, Musée d’Orsay. Going to the Louvre late is a good call.

It's very bad timing to be going to Paris, see if you can change your tickets to something else, otherwise grab your gilet jaune and hope for the best.

@racecardriver where abouts in Paris do you dine that doesn't do a veggie option these days?

Some good advice which I won't duplicate. What we often enjoy is just wandering the streets (ignoring the Champs Elysees) stopping at cafés and brasseries as takes our fancy. Walking along by the Seine looking at all the stalls, the shops in the Marais, the cafés and bars in Saint-Germain-des-Pres (which is the place to be in the evenings).

A Bateau Mouche is always a pleasant way to kill an hour while resting your feet. We normally just turn up at Pont Neuf and catch the next one.

@ricekrispie literally every Parisian restaurant I have ever been to doesn’t have a vegetarian option and staff who are incapable of understanding what vegetarianism is or offered something really disgusting like a salad with eggs in it randomly or sub par spaghetti with tomaties sauce/pesto from a jar. The obvious exception being the falafel restaurants but that’s just a bit niche isn’t it? Mind you I never dine in tourist traps so perhaps those places cater better to vegetarians.

Mind you I never dine in tourist traps so perhaps those places cater better to vegetarians.

Cutting!

My experience is very different but it’s a fair-sized place...

Here's a good vegetarian restaurant to get you started.