Paris with 8 year old

[TedLasto]

I was reading the Paris thread with interest as we are heading there for 3 nights in the summer with our 8 year old daughter. One day will be at Disney, she wants to see the Eiffel Tower…other than that does anyone have any recommendations for places to see/ eat (she is vegetarian and very fussy so I can see this being tricky in France)? She is happy to visit museums/ galleries but generally gets on better with those that have trails/ activities. Very grateful for expert advice!

I remember when I went to Paris at that age there was a carousel in one of the parks where you a had stick to catch rings as you went past. I loved that. I also really loved having a Citron Presse at every bistro / cafe because I loved mixing the sugar, lemon and water for some reason. That's all I can remember other than looking at the Mona Lisa surrounded by a million other people trying to see her above their heads. I remember enjoying the people miming outside the Pompidou centre. Those are my memories from 40 years ago .
I've been since but those are my childhood memories.

Cite des Sciences has a brilliant gallery for kids www.cite-sciences.fr/en/explore/permanent-exhibitions/cite-des-enfants/cite-des-enfants-5-12-yearsThere’s an English audio guide that goes with it www.cite-sciences.fr/en/explore/permanent-exhibitions/cite-des-enfants/cite-des-enfants-5-12-years/free-audioguide-on-your-mobile-the-5-12-year-olds-cite-des-enfants

Here’s a treasure hunt for the Louvre thatmuse.com/louvre/

Jardin d’Acclimation is amazing www.jardindacclimatation.fr/en

For places to eat:
Mama Shelter
Pizzeria Popolare
Creperie du Clown
Angelina
La Felicità

Following. Visiting Paris in July with 8 and 11yos.

Creperies and the ilk are good because you can get just cheese and egg or similar. Otherwise nice sandwiches are available from places like Paul and all proper boulangeries, but avoid la Mie Caline and Brioche Dorée because they are not proper boulangeries. Pick up food from a Monoprix too for lunch and picnic.
Take her on a boat trip.

I’ve posted reccos on several other threads, so won’t repeat here. The Catacombs are interesting; my son really liked. I know you’ll want to, but the Eiffel Tower is so underwhelming and not worth it. The Tour Montparnasse is much cheaper and more interactive for kids.

I did Disney this weekend; no plans to do again. Bring sandwiches for lunch and avoid the restaurants if you can; so expensive and dire food. Get there by 9am as there will already be queues.

La Sarassine on Ile St Louis does a 3 course lunch for €15.50 which includes crepes and galettes (savoury). Lots of menu choices in a pricy area.

Jardin d’Acclimation is lovely but the attractions are expensive and if you’re doing Disney, I’d avoid. Go to Jardins Luxembourg or Plantes instead.

Musee des Arts & Metiers is good. If you’re there on 1st Sunday in month, a lot of museums are free. The Cité de l’Economie would be my top shout for kids; very interactive and super interesting. Nearby is Park Monceau which is a great place for a picnic.

Agree with previous poster that the Big Mamma chain is good fun (Pizzeria Populare, La Felicità etc etc). Also Breakfast in America does great all day breakfast and brunches.

We went to Paris last year with seven year old DD. She really liked just wandering around and taking in the atmosphere, sampling the hot chocolate at different cafes etc. Montmartre was a hit and she loved getting her portrait painted in the main square (a total rip-off, I know, but it was really special for her, and we now have the picture framed at home!). She also liked the Jardins de Luxembourg which has the oldest carousel in Paris, as well as pony rides and a lake where you can sail wooden boats. The Jardin des Plantes has a lovely
small zoo with wallabies and red pandas. Another surprise hit was a raclette restaurant where you cook the raclette yourself on a hot plate at your table!

We got a hop on hop off weekend bud ticket, which included boat. We doodled around on the bus/stopping etc up to the Eiffel Tower, then a boat from Eiffel Tower to Notre dame. Found vegetarian options in bistros as well as suggestions Bove

Oooh. Fabulous thread. I'm going for just the day in August with my 10 year old, as we're staying nearby for the week. Watching with interest. He also wants to go up the Eiffel Tower.

Another tip - go up the Eiffel Tower at night if you can. The tower itself is lit up and looks beautiful, and the view from the top of all the lights of Paris is stunning.

The Rex cinema do a really amazing back stage tour.

We were in Paris last week. The queues for the Eiffel Tower were insane. I don't know whether they were all people that hadn't booked, but even so - you have to queue to get through the gate, then again for security, then again to go up.

We didn't go in/up, as we went years ago, but we had a nice wander around it and then walked all the way back to the Louvre and beyond - about 3.5 miles in all. There were great street food places along the river bank - we had lovely gallettes in deckchairs, watching the world go by.

The Muser d'Orsay is lovely. Is your daughter a dancer? The have a lot of Degas' works and the 'Little Dancer' sculpture. Lots of other classic works and artists.

There are two sets of queues; one for people with tickets (and there’s not really a queue, you just show your pass, walk straight into security and then there’s a separate by pass queue to get in), and then the huge long queue you see is for people sans tickets.

The online tickets sell out immediately. We got the second floor stairs tickets which are cheaper and more availability.

This is wonderful, thankyou everyone. And yes she is a dancer so Degas sounds good. I’d skip the Eiffel Tower (we actually took her up when she was 2) but it’s the one thing she really wants to do. The food tips are especially helpful! And the cite des sciences and cite d’economie look great and I’d never have thought of those. I’ve been to the catacombs previously, and loved, but she is super sensitive to any gory stuff so probably not this time sadly. Thanks for all your help, lots to look at!

The Picasso museum has an exhibition on that’s curated by Paul Smith the designer. It has a real focus of getting children more interested in art and I think they offer discounted adult tickets if you go with a child.

It looks really good! I wish I was going to Paris to go myself

Luxembourg gardens look beautiful and you can rent toy boats that sail around the small lake. It’s in the Latin quarter near the pantheon and looks idyllic

How far in advance do you need to book I wonder? And for entries in general?

The tickets for 2nd floor stairs get released 14 days beforehand; you should be able to get online and buy. Tickets for top floor go on sale a couple of months (but check website for exact info).

How about a trip to the palace of Versailles?

We went in feb with a 6 and 9yo. They LOVED the Eiffel Tower and going to the top they were blown away with how high it was etc.
The Louvre and specifically the park just outside was excellent and they enjoyed that it had a really great climbing frame.
They enjoyed walking up the champs elysee to the arc du triumphe.

Disney was obviously the highlight which we all loved. Take your own lunches and snacks so you just have to buy dinner as food is extortionate.

Eiffel Tower, definitely go at night, beautiful when the lights come on and it twinkles, we just did stairs and it was cheaper and still beautiful views.

Thank you very much.

If you're not there for long, I wouldn't bother with the science place. It's quite a mix of good and not-so-good (or not working) - read the reviews on TripAdvisor - a real split! As we have some great hands-on science places in the UK and there are so many other amazing things to do in Paris, I'd stick with those.