Paris - with a 7 year old.

[Intothevalley]

DH and I love Paris, we both speak French, and are very comfortable there. We'll stay in le Marais.

This year we feel like DD is old enough to have a nice time there (and not spoil it with constant "tired legs" or nagging).

We're going at the end of August for 5 nights (at the very end of the Paraolympics). We plan to do the usual things, art, food, see the main sites (the latter we wouldn't do if it were just us).

Do you have any hot tips for things a 7 year old would enjoy?

She's arty (will happily spend a couple of hours looking at art), she loves outdoor play (playgrounds, parks etc.), she is reliably behaved in restaurants, the thing she's most likely to nag for is ice cream 🍦

Well, she sounds much easier to take out than my 8 year old 😂 - he and I visited Paris earlier in the year. I’m like you, speak French, very comfortable with getting around. He has ASD and is, shall we say, not as open minded as your DD sounds.

We went on the bateaux-mouches, up the Eiffel Tower (limited tickets released for the very top 60 days in advance; tickets available on the day but you have to queue), the Tour Montparnasse (could buy on the day), and wandering around Montmartre. He is not great at mooching but enjoyed the funicular in Montmartre. Has he been in a different mood, we might have done the Tuileries as it has a big wheel. The Jardins de Luxembourg apparently has a good playground but we didn’t go there.

He is not great with food but we managed a bistro meal at Chartier, which is superb value.

Just been with 12yo DD. We loved the pop-up Jellycat patisserie at Galeries Lafayette. Not cheap (€40) but a fun experience if your DD’s into them (or quite interesting toy shop up there anyway just for a look - the terrace and the suspended photo platform are quite fun too).

Is there anything on the Paris Plages programme that would appeal? They’ve expanded to the canal area that’s just up from Marais this year. There’s an Amorino there for ice creams and I noticed a teeny park next to the canal.

https://www.parisdiscoveryguide.com/paris-beaches.html

There’s a science museum a bit further north from there but not been in 20 years.

I took my 10 year old last year - she loves museums ect but the Louvre took it out of her. There was definitely tired legs as it’s massive. She bottled it half way up the effel tower. The red tour bus is good and you can get tuctucs back.

Keep an open mind at what your 7 year old is actually capable of. Blistered feet, hungry, tired, grumpy, bored.

I’d definitely book a hotel with a pool because a 7 year old is going to need something to look forward to after all the walking.

We stayed at the Royal Madaline hotel & spa and it was lovely. I have an nearly 8 year old and I wouldn’t take her yet as it would be too much ( and a bit boring for her)

I was in Paris with my 6 year old DD earlier this year. Things she enjoyed: exploring Musee d'Orsay, shopping at the Galeries Lafayette children's floor, visiting Sacre Coeur and getting her portrait done by a street artist, wandering around Montmartre and finding a nice cafe for lunch, going to the top of Eiffel Tower.