Paris with a four year old

[BigWheels]

I will probably be in Paris for a few days in October with my four year old son. My son wants to see the Eiffel Tower and he likes boats so we will probably do one of the boat trips on the river but apart from that I have no idea what to do. Im not bothered about seeing Notre dame, Louvere or versaille and think my sons probably wont be that interested either. Ive seen all the major tourist sights before and im not particulary bothered about seeing any of them on this trip unless its something a child would particularly enjoy. Any reccommemdations are welcome. I speak no french so we are probably best off sticking to the main tourist areas.

Yes.

The Natural History Museum is good and my dc especially love the Gallery of Evolution. The NHM is in Jardin des Plantes which also has a little zoo and a carousel with dinosaurs!
There’s a brilliant playground in Jardin du Luxembourg. You have to pay a small fee to enter but it’s amazing. There are also puppet shows (Wed, Sat and Sun from 2pm), pony rides, remote control boats and a carousel.
The Pompidou has specialist galleries for children
Jardin d’Acclimatation has lots to do with kids including various rides, playgrounds and more puppet shows!
Palais de la Découverte has loads of fun interactive exhibits and a planetarium. Everything’s translated into English too, and I definitely recommend the new Acoustics room.

Do you want to spend all your time in Paris visiting children’s play areas and activities? Just avoid king queues. Book ahead if you want to see something with queues. DD came with us when she was 3. It’s just a case of pointing out things they like.

I took my ds a few times to Paris when he was that age and he absolutely loved the Cite des Enfants inside the Cite Sciences & Industries. It’s not in the centre but it’s very much worth a trip, very interactive and fun.
www.cite-sciences.fr/en/explore/permanent-exhibitions/cite-des-enfants

Pretty much. Ivd been to Paris plenty of times and there is nothing I want to see. Im not a fan of Paris and it wouldnt be my choice of destination. I just want my son to have a good time rather then me dragging him around all the tourist must sees that neither of us will be particularly interested in. If I was alone I would be sitting in a park reading some books for most of the duration of the trip. I dont think there is anything wrong with wanting my son to have a nice few days.

My dd loved the carousel in the Jardins De Luxembourg. You could catch a toy to get a free go. Also the bateaux mouches and the Eiffel Tower all lit up. There's another carousel near the river there too.