Paris with 13 year old and 3.5 year old ideas!

[rainybol]

Hello,

We are going to be getting into Paris around 3pm on a Friday and leaving Paris around 2pm on the Sunday. Just a short mini break!

The age difference may be an issue on what we could/should do but we could split up if needed with one parent with one child etc.

Eiffel Tower- is it worth going up? The top floor isn't open, only secondary is.

I think my teen would like the catacombs but probably scary for the 3.5 year old (even though she loves skeletons 😂) that might be the only thing we split for.

Any other ideas would be great thank you!

People give mixed views on the Eiffel Tower. Personally, I think it's fun but there are big queues on busy days, even if you've pre-booked tickets. The fountains are always magnificent though. The catacombs would be brilliant for both ages if your 3 year-old likes spooky things.

I recommend going on a sightseeing boat trip down the Seine and taking a picnic to one of the big parks.

Watching with interest. Going soon with 10 and 13 year old.
Eiffel Tower is something they both really want to do so we're doing that.
My 13 year old also really wants to do the catacombs so we're going to see what my 10 year old thinks nearer the time, if she doesn't fancy it we will split up and one of us will take her to a park instead.
We're going to do the hop on hop off boat instead just a tour because that seems like a really good way to get around and a nice trip too.

I'd recommend going to the playground in the Jardin du Luxembourg for your 3 yr old, it's a really good one. You can also sail miniature boats on the lake there, and there are pony rides available if you fancy that.

The view from the Montparnasse Tower is better than the Eiffel Tower.
The boat trips are good for all ages.

Monmartre would also be a good place to take both of them, there's lots to see & do there, great place for people watching.

A dusk boat trip so you can see the Eiffel tower lit up is more exciting than going up it in my opinion. Paris is a flat and boring skyline from above.

Batobus (hop on hop off ferry) is good if you only have a couple of days. Good way to get a feel fir the city and see a lot of the main sights.
Jardin des Plantes has an excellent natural history museum - our then 4yo loved it but I reckon a teen would enjoy as well.
Go up the Tour Montparnasse if you want views; go to Trocadero in the evening to see the Eiffel Tower lit up (flashing display is every hour on the hour).
Catacombs always have huge queues and are far away from other sights, so I'd skip that on a 2 day visit.
Ile de la Cite/Latin Quarter are worth a wander - and of course Notre Dame has reopened I think (although I expect the queues would be long...)

Jellycat patisserie?

Hideously overpriced but they make a thing of wrapping them all up and you get a pin badge and stickers.