Paris - am I moaning too much?

[wasgoingmadinthecountry]

I have 3 older children - we travelled lots due to dh's job. No 4 has travelled less so over half terms etc (I teach) we're doing some mum/daughter away time. She's 15. Fancies Paris next during Easter holiday (Eurostar). I've been a few times but never really warmed to Paris for various reasons -probably mainly lots of small children with me! What am I missing? Where should we go? We'll probably stay 2 nights pretty centrally. Thank you! I really want to love Paris.

We usually stay at Montmartre in the TimHotel. Nice and central, the hotel's basic but comfy, and lots of eating places nearby. I'm sure there are better but we're easily pleased!

Looks like a good location. Any recommendations for visits - obviously I know about the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame etc. Actually Eiffel Tower was where I lost my shit once - ds then about 10 picked up a small model in the shop and the woman shouted at him.

I felt ambivalent to Paris, until I stayed more centrally and did less sightseeing but more walking and taking in Paris.
We stayed in a small hotel near Saint Sulpice, which is a really pretty area. Loved the Jardin de Luxembourg nearby for sitting and people watching.
Used batobus for the Seine, planning for the evening lights.
We also factored in an early start (much as I prefer a lie in) to visit a main tourist attraction such as the Eifffel Tower, Saint Chapelle or Notre Dame to get there at opening time. Then a cafe and park visit . I think planning a city break is best so you don't end up standing in queues. Also not cramming too much in, but putting in lots of cafes and sitting!

My dd and I loved wandering round the shops and bakeries and planned where we'd like to visit.
It's now one of her favourite places.
If you search old threads in here there is lots of great recommendations.
I also don't like the area around the Eiffel Tower. Although popular, Montmartre also makes me feel like I'm hemmed in by crowds. Both these areas had lots of the 'clipboard' people who are decoy often for pickpockets.

My 15 yr old dd adored Paris and had a brilliant time there a few months back.

We used Batobus a lot, perfect for (a) getting about (b) chilling out on the river when your feet need a rest. We went to Versailles (she loved it, especially getting mistaken for a French girl by the security staff, who said she 'looked French' ). Also the Musee d'Orsay, great art and hot chocolate too. Eiffel Tower, grands magasins (we were in the food hall of Galeries Lafayette for hours) and her favourite, the Opera - reasonable to get into and magical. Her top favourite activity was just walking around, finding yet another branch of Sephora...or a macaron shop.

Both my dds (the other is 13) loved it and are constantly hassling me to go back. If we'd had longer we'd have done the Jardin des Plantes, the Science centre in the 19th whose name I've forgotten, La Defense, Jardins du Luxembourg and rive gauche in general, Bois du Boulogne, the list goes on...

Oh, and we stayed in the Marais and should have gone to the Picasso museum and some of the smaller museums in the area, but time was against us.

Would definitely recommend the Musee d'Orsay over the Louvre, especially with a 15 year old. I second the Jardins de Luxembourg recommendation and take one of the Bateaux Mouches on the Seine early in the trip to orient yourselves, seeing where all the key landmarks are in relation to each other. Don't eat on a boat though(rip off) . Do a landmark where you can view Paris from on high (Sacré Coeur prob my favourite) because it'll give some appreciation of how beautifully planned and organised it is as a city.
Then walk everywhere to really see and experience it. Lots of stops for coffee :)

Bois de Boulogne...

Also, avoided Montmartre because it's so stressful, which is a shame.

Stressful? pavement artists, narrow cobbled streets, views over the city, cafe et croissants, market stalls,

Best Paris Hotel ever is a tiny boutique one near La republique called Le General. Sssh don't tell anyone though :)

Thank you - I'm feeling convinced! We'll research where we stay carefully.

I sometimes think I try to fit too much in. One of our best trips was Amsterdam where we just pottered and took in the atmosphere.

Tipsey that looks v nice!

Loving all these tips but would like to balance it out and say: it's okay not to love Paris.

I don't like it. I didn't as a child. I don't as an adult. Meh.

I know a few people who really dislike Paris. I think any city can be loved or hated depending on how you experience it, and with Paris I think it’s easy to hate if your only experience of it is droves of tourists and excessively bold street vendors at the main attractions. I think staying really central and just walking around, occasionally popping into shops as you come across them, and frequently stopping for coffee and crepes when you feel a little tired is a good idea.

Singlenotsingle, it was just sooooo crowded when I went there, plus very tourist-trappy if you wanted to eat, then the police descended on to the approach of Sacre Couer and there was a dramatic mass-flight of the gimcrack sellers. Interesting at least!

I don’t like Paris. I’ve been many times as my father worked and lived there for a while. So I didn’t even just do touristy things. I just don’t live it. I much preferred Vienna. I think Vienna and Austria are absolutely under rated and wonderful.

I'm going to give it one more try. If I don't like it this time, I'll accept it's not the city for me.

I've been to a few places I didn't love first time round (probably due to having 3 small children with me and often being on my own with them while dh was working) including Vienna, and Prague then gone back and enjoyed them much more the next time.

I think the trick is, as many of you say, just to wander round a lovely neighbourhood popping into shops and cafes.

I'm with you, have been on overnight trips with work more recently but for a break it's never appealed.

However our fave band are playing there and we got tickets so going at Easter for 2 nights. I think wandering will be the way. Thinking of staying in Opera area. Any recommendations? Also, how easy is it to get to Versailles? I loved it when I went on a school trip about a million years ago!

We have been to Paris many times and we love it. We brought dd there when she was 9, in fact I reckon we are due to revisit!
The last couple of times we stayed very close to the Eiffel Tower, tiny cobbled streets, lots of quirky shops and cafes etc and we used the batobus to get around.
We did 1 main thing each day and spent the rest of the time wandering about, stopping for coffee and ice-cream or crepes etc. We all LOVED it

I live in France and would really not recommend a trip to Paris until the Gilets Jaunes protests end. They are protesting every weekend in Paris and numerous protests have turned violent. Just this weekend 80 shops were attacked on the Champs Elysees.

Protests have taken place Saturday since last autumn.

As a result many places close in Paris on Saturdays now.

Here is a link to last weekend’s violence.

www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/16/gilets-jaunes-target-luxury-shops-restaurant-paris-protests

Very good point. I did think of that when I saw it on the news yet again.

I agree. We were caught up in this when it first started in November. It was really awful and quite frightening. DH was going to the Tour de France in July but has decided to give it a miss this year as he reckons it will be targeted. We will be avoiding France until this is over.

Wild horses couldn’t keep me away from France.
I am not being flippant here, but if you are in France with kids and the gilets jaunes are around that could be the beginning of an enriching conversation about government, democracy and the contrast between British and french attitudes. Just today I was in a meeting where a head librarian was doing a presentation and mentioned that around £240000 had been axed from his budget. Just murmurs and nods in the room. Imagine that in France, I think the reaction would have been more passionate.

Stressful? shock pavement artists, narrow cobbled streets, views over the city, cafe et croissants, market stalls
Pickpockets and prostitutes.
I would definitely avoid Paris with the gilet jaunes going on. You can have a conversation about democracy by watching on TV.
Also, who knows what is happening with Brexit but customs staff are striking on Eurostar.