Paris (with 2 kids) - which neighbourhood? Tips?

[OneFootInTheDave]

We're taking the kids (12y + 8y) to Paris for 4 nights during the summer hols. Never been with kids before and only ever stayed in hotels (mainly for work trips years ago!), so have no idea where to stay in terms of neighbourhood. We want to do some tourist stuff (Eiffel Tower, Louvre etc) but realise it's going to be eye-wateringly expensive by the tourist hot spots..

Thinking probably an Airbnb or apartment/hotel type of place so we can self cater a bit for b'fasts/suppers (wishful thinking!).

Can anyone recommend any areas / specific streets / apart-hotels that are on good metro-lines?

Also dreading trying to work out the Metro - husband has no sense of direction and kids can't read French.. So all the logistics are on me to organise😅

The Metro is slightly complicated but you will manage fine. All you need to know is the line number and the destination at the very end of the line in the direction you want to go. It's actually more logical than London underground with eastbound/westbound etc. If you're not sure just pick the right number line and random direction then get off at the next stop if it turns out to be going the wrong way. 50 percent of the time you'll be right first time.

The biggest brand of apartment hotels is Citadines - we've stayed with them a couple of times in either Opera or the Boulevard Voltaire (former is swankier neighbourhood but the latter is nearer more useful shops for food etc)

Also don't let the kids get away with "not reading French". Either teach them to pronounce it, or just ask them to read the words as if they were English. Then they can help navigate too.

Given the current unrest I'd make sure you stay in central Paris ie nothing a train or RER ride away from the centre.

The Paris metro is actually very easy - as above you just need to know the line number and end of the line destination. So grab a metro map (or take a guidebook that has one in the back) and you'll be fine. Just watch out for pickpockets ...

We've stayed in lots of different locations, but central Paris is very expensive nowadays. Montparnasse is pretty central, on several metro lines and still not particularly fashionable, so you might something reasonably priced there. We stayed in the Novotel one year and it was good with kids - we got a very reasonable deal via booking.com - although travel has gone up a lot since the pandemic so I'm not sure how useful it is to compare before and after. We certainly found Paris last summer very expensive indeed.

This is where we stayed: www.booking.com/hotel/fr/novotel-paris-gare-montparnasse.en-gb.html

My favourite area to stay in Paris has always been around St. Michel (5eme). I love being able to walk along the Seine, great place for a picnic too. The Luxembourg Gardens nearby are great for kids and there are lots of relatively inexpensive restaurants down the side streets.