Paris with kids (11 and 10)

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Help! Heading to Paris on Monday with the DSs (and my DF) for three days and no idea what to do. Have been to Paris a lot years ago but not at all since they were born.
Please hit me with ideas of things to do and good places to eat not including Disneyland because we did that last year.
thanks so much

We went last year with DC, then aged 8 & 11. They loved the open top bus tour, wandering Monte Matre and seeing the sun set from the step in front of the church, going up the Eiffel Tower and a boat trip. They were also surprisingly interested in the Arc di Triomphe. We did galleries etc as well, and Musée d'Orsay was definitely their favourite. Luxembourg Gardens were a much appreciated break, as was a trip to the Lego Store! We also enjoyed these ChocoStory museum, but probably only worth it if you have lots of time.

Watching this thread as was about to post my own as I have unexpected day in Paris on Friday with 11 and 13 year old kids so would love to hear your tips recommendations for what we should do.

very helpful thank you

ours loved seeing the mona lisa

Treasure hunt in the Louvre https://thatmuse.com/louvre/
Seine sightseeing river cruise
They might be a little on the old side for Jardin d’Acclimation but I think they’d still enjoy it https://www.jardindacclimatation.fr/en
They’re probably just old enough for the Catacombs
It’s a cliche but climbing the Eiffel Tower was one of my DC’s highlights. Also, watch the light show https://www.toureiffel.paris/en/the-monument/lights
On our recent visit, Atelier des Lumières was a big hit with my dc.

Angelina is famous for hot chocolate, but it also does some incredible pastries and desserts. Definitely a ‘must-do’.
You can get good savoury and sweet crepes from Breizh Cafe, Au P’tit Grec, Creperie du Clown and La Crème de Paris.
Happy Caffe is very convenient. Excellent prices, especially given the location next to the Louvre.
Ephemera is an immersive, under the sea themed dining experience. Not just a gimmick and actually decent food.
Cocorico is a nice understated restaurant with all the French classics (Croque monsieur, omelette etc…) but also burgers, chips…

gosh, your kids must be more cultured than mine. I can't imagine them being interested but I might try them with the Orangerie. i distinctly remember being totally underwhelmed by the Mona Lisa aged about 10.

Try and do a search, as I’ve posted several times with info on similar threads.

Jardin d’Acclimatation is great; my 13 yo still loves it. Top tip: visit the Fondation Louis Vuitton next door (current expo is David Hockney); it then gives you free entry into the gardens. A good way to combine a bit of culture.

Second Atelier des Lumieres.

The Musée de la Prefecture du Police is free and very interesting for both adults and kids alike. Lots of exhibits ranging from ancient to modern, like drones and machine guns. Just need to book a slot. It’s inside the actual police station, which is quite cool. It’s only in French, obvs.

Other free museums: Carnevalet in the Marais. Basically the museum of the city of Paris. Maison Victor Hugo on Place de Vosges: small, compact, nice art. Archives Nationale in the Marais.

Catacombs is good.

Tour Montparnasse is much cheaper than Eiffel, easier to book, and gives just a good views.

Best museums for kids imho: Citeco .. Museum of Economy. Don’t be fooled by dry subject. Starts off with tour of original Banque de France gothic building. Finishes with totally interactive exhibits that are really fun to do. We all enjoyed. Musée de la Chasse et Nature in the Marais is absolutely fascinating. Think taxidermists dream.

If you have to do the Louvre, be warned queuing times even with a timed slot are mad. Allow extra half an hour. Personally, I’d skip the Sully wing (Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo etc) and visit the Richelieu wing. Current expo is Louvre Couture, and the haute couture dresses are stunning.

Petit Palais is free, full of nice art and sculptures, has decent cafe with a lunch formule and courtyard garden, and good loos. Great pit stop half way down Champs Elysées.

Ladurée on the cheap on the Champs E…. Order your takeaway coffee, macaron etc. Sit and eat/drink on the provided seats. Cheaper than going into the restaurant.

Favourite boat trip is the Vedettes de Pont Neuf. Combine with Notre Dame; it’s absolutely stunning. Book advance (free) slot via the app, 3 days ahead, as the non ticket queue is mad.

Restaurants: any of the Bouillon chain for cheap eats. Bouilon Pigalle can be booked (essential to avoid the queue) and is v handy for Montmartre (take the back route up: Mur d’Amour/Bateau Lavoire/Moulin/buste de Dalida/Maison Rose etc).

Bouillon Julien is a stunning Art Nouveau restaurant and can be booked.

Chartier is a classic bouillon; can’t be booked but is fun to queue for the experience.

The covered passageways are beautiful. Passage Jouffroy and Verdun for shops; then Passage Panorama just opposite for restaurants and cafes.

Oh, and Ephemere Notre Dame VR experience by Notre Dame. Not cheap, but my son adores it; we’ve done it twice. A hit with our visitors. Really mind-blowing and worth every penny.

Thanks for all these suggestions, here now. The jardin d’acclimitation in particular has been a hit thus far

although, wondering if any very recent visitors or residents could advise, having a total nightmare with getting the metro tickets on the bonjour app. Getting separate ones for me and the kids on the same app is faffy but doable but once at the gates is literally impossible to scan more than one ticket per device. So many stations have no staff to help so we’re stuck having to go through extremely quickly and hope for the best. Guy I complained to agreed it wasn’t possible, some kind of technical oversight and offered no suggestions! Is totally bonkers. I can’t see a way to just use contactless like in London either. Tried to get old fashioned paper tickets but they don’t sell them anymore! Crackers. I can’t be the only person in Paris with kids with this issue!

Mine always like art and history so I'd say Musee D'Orsay and Picasso Museum. Out at Bercy (incidentally, a great place to stay cheaply) there is Musee Melies in the Cinematheque which tells the story of film and has some lovely interactive exhibits.

I love the Eiffel Tower, amazing and there's a nice restaurant famous for Bourginnon nearby.

Notre Dame will be good, not seen it since the reopening.

Re tickets for Metro - we used the machines to buy some sort of weekly ticket. It worked quite well

Regards the tickets. No, there's no contactless using bank cards. Your best bet is to buy individual Navigo Easy cards (€2 each) which you then add individual tickets onto. You can only use your phone with one linked Navigo card when scanning; I prefer to use a physical Navigo card myself.

Your first machine purchase usually gives you the plastic Navigo card with the additional €2 added on. It's then reusable.

Thank you

Right, this is helpful. There is no mention of this on the faq I have seen - where do you get the €2 cards and then do I use the machines to load them is that right? Almost all ticket offices seem closed.

Sorry you said the machine gives it, thanks I will try this

We wee there last week and got the cards at a machine. I was initially confused as well but once we got those it was easy to add more tickets.

my kids loved Luxembourg gardens, a seine cruise, Eiffel Tower and arc de triumphe. Also eating ice cream and crepes, lol. We had timed tickets for the Musee d’Orsay but still gat to queue a while and it was SO crowded. My 9yo actually normally likes walking around looking at art (in manageable doses) but the circumstances made it a flop.

Once you have your plastic Navigo card, you can then scan it on the phone to check ticket balance/add new tickets. You don't need to register it; the app picks up the new ticket (hold it to back of phone).

I don't use the Bonjour app myself; I have the IDF Mobilités app which seems to be the same thing.

Dead helpful I can see that now. So it’s all relatively easy once you know how but working it all out has been quite the learning curve. And that’s for a pretty well travelled French speaker.

I went in October.
The underground is really easy.
I just purchased 20 individual tickets at a time from the ticket machine.
Have a look at Les Frenchies on you tube. They have some great insights, especially re getting around.

Re what to do. We did the psg stadium tour, Paris Opera house (amazing), pompidou centre and an open top bus tour (brilliant for actually seeing everything).

They stopped selling paper tickets in January this year; old ones are still valid, but visitors now have to load tickets onto a plastic card, or the app on a phone.

This is what I understood, but one of the machines I had an argument with did actually spit out an old school paper ticket!

@Kaleidoscope101 if only

Second the tip for Montparnasse tower, much better for kids, and book a slot for when the Eiffel will be lit up

We also found the metro tickets confusing - we ended up getting separate Navigo tickets and just adding trips via the machines when needed. We should have tried to figure out the app!

Eiffel Tower and boat trip.
Paris can be really rough (worked there), so be cautious about street crime.

Picnic in Luxembourg Gardens if the weather is good. I would go to a bakery for bread, street market for cheese and fruit. It has the magical boating lake: https://secretsofparis.com/activities/vintage-toy-boats-in-luxembourg-gardens/amp/

The other thing to bear in mind is that paper tickets, if you are lucky enough to get them, will be more expensive.

Also keep them away from your mobile. They demagnetise really easily, hence the move to the cards.

A flat fare of €2.50 was introduced in January, across the whole network including RER. So great going places like Versailles, for eg.

I've got the Navigo Liberté + card, which is basically a payg where the cash gets taken from your bank at end of month. It's cheaper; I pay €1.99 per journey instead of €2.50.

It’s worth sussing out the app - saves a faff when there