Paris with a 9 month old - advice/recommendations

[kookykalki]

Hello!
We are taking our 9month old abroad for the first time next week. It's only Paris but it feels daunting for me as I do not go abroad very often. (Maybe once every other year...)

I imagine it'll be fairly chilly. And I wonder if anyone has any nice recommendations for what to do with a baby?

There are some cafes etc we hope to go to and the Louvre.

Also, if anyone is living in Paris, is the bedbug situation very bad?

Thank you x

Sling and a cheap lie back buggy..

Where are you staying? Take a travel stroller rather than a big pram, and I would plan on buses not the metro because few stations have escalators/lifts. The buses are pretty easy, and it’s simple to track your route as you travel.

We haven't yet booked a hotel but hoping to stay very central eg. Near champs elysees

@Santaisscouringindeedfornewjob and @QueenOfWeeds we were hoping to take our big pram as it is lots warmer with a fleece foot muff and do most of our travelling in taxis. Or is it better to use public transport?
Thank you xx

We used public transport.. Snow suit and mitts!! Big pram will be a nightmare ime..

Personally I would not do the Louvre with a baby. The queues are very long and it gets extremely busy, even if you pre book.

I love the Rodin Museum which is more manageable and has a beautiful garden. There is a museum in the Luxembourg gardens which is usually fairly quiet and is also a lovely place to stroll around. If you like modern art, the Palais du Tokyo or Pompidou centre are worth a visit.

It will be cold but Paris a lovely city for walking about and you'll just have to make stops to warm up at cafes!

Honestly, I wouldn’t bother with taxis. I think it would be easier to buy a cheap footmuff for your travel pram? Restaurants are often quite crowded inside and little room for bulky prams.

Also, without wanting to seem too negative, the area around Champs Elysées is busy, overpriced, and I would say not actually that nice. Have you checked prices if you haven’t booked yet?

I used to live there but don’t any more. I would always choose to stay on the Left Bank for nice strolls and a bit more space, and walk or bus over the river. If your DD is anything like mine, she’ll like looking at nice lights and windows, and walking through the parks, as much as anything else. A river boat tour might be nice, because you could sit inside and stay warm.

I would second stroller over a pram for overseas travel especially if flying. We went to Paris in December a few years back and added a footmuff to our stroller. Our daughter was snug as a bug.

We only used a taxi to and from the airport otherwise we were on foot or metro. Traffic in central Paris like other big cities can be awful.

Have a great trip!

The metro is a nightmare with a pram, lots of stairs which are very narrow and steep. Step free access is few and far between. I wouldn't even bother with a stroller, but it depends on how good a sling you have.

We took our toddler earlier this year and I was struck that every parent has a Babyzen Yoyo - then it became obvious why! I would really recommend against taking a big pram, it'll be a nightmare in shops and restaurants and they aren't particularly accommodating of prams so you'll really want something you can fold down easily. Plus as others say public transport is tricky with buggy.

Oh yikes, we will stick with the stroller then!

@QueenOfWeeds we would like to be in the most convenient place for touristy sites and be able to get back to the hotel quickly if we might need it. Happy for recommendations anywhere really!

@kookykalki it depends which touristy sites you want then! Champs Elysées isn’t particularly close to anything except Arc de Triomphe. Musée d’Orsay, Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower, for example, are all in different bits of the city.

We did Paris 15 years ago with a toddler. It was bloody hard work, but hopefully things have improved with regard to public transport.

I do agree with @QueenOfWeeds that the Left Bank is a great place to stay. Near to Saint-Germain Des Près, Saint Michel or Odéon Metro stations- or Cluny-La Sorbonne or Luxembourg would be my preferences, as then you can go to the nice cafes around Saint-Germain and walk around the Luxembourg gardens (park). But it's also easy to walk along the Seine, to the Louvre, to Ile de La Cité, if you want to walk to the Zoo... basically nice areas to walk around. The Champs Elysees can be a bit more like the busy part of Oxford Street, not very ambient or relaxing.