Paris - HELP

[CornishIrish]

So, last year we went for a long weekend to Copenhagen in December with our kids 9,13,14 & 15. They LOVED it. So this year I booked us a long December weekend on the Eurostar to Paris.

No one seems excited and I’m struggling to sell it. They are polite kids so they aren’t moaning they just don’t seem really interested in the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.

i need to get a move on booking accommodation and so wanted to ask for opinions on what to do in Paris that will be exciting for tweens/teens or if you think we should just adjust our travel plans, and see if we can change the Eurostar tickets or go on to DisneyLand? I am hovering of different apartments and not wanting to get it wrong…

Thanks!

Did they know anything about Copenhagen before they got there? Were they excited with anticipation and that's what's missing now?

I wouldn't say the Louvre is particularly exciting for children. The Eiffel Tower looks beautiful after dark when it's lit up and sparkling, and can be seen from many parts of Paris.

What did they like about Copenhagen?

Don't know if they are young enough to enjoy it, but the mini boats on the pond at the Jardin du Luxembourg is one of my faves.
Centre Pompidou is probably cooler than the Louvre for teens.
Shakespeare & co is very instagrammable.
Hot choc and mont blanc pastry at Angelina.
Père lachaise cemetery?
I'd recommend the petit train de Montmartre, cute and fun.
Seine boat cruise
Musee des arts forains - fairground museum.
Really recommend the restaurant mini chain called Bouillon - very well priced.

To be fair the Louvre is only amazing if you love art and want to spend many hours walking around and looking at art.

There are some great areas to potter. Not around the Louvre, that's a horrible area. All that "big" attraction area is just busy and built up and has lots of noise and cars. Best escaping to other areas with smaller streets to just potter and appreciate the architecture and people watching. Stohrer, the oldest patisserie in Paris is on a lovely street, full of interest best go early before the crowds and remember to look up.

The museums around the Jardin des Plantes are brilliant if you like natural history.

Victor Hugo's house is free and a nice potter in a nice area.

The Bastille area is interesting, the outline of the building is on the ground over the pavements and road which is an interesting way of doing it. You can get up on to the Coulee vertes there for a potter with a different perspective of the city.

Teen DD and I stayed near Place de la Republique which was a lovely area to potter of an evening and also walkable to just about anywhere we wanted to go. Lots of small museums around which are always more quirky and interesting than the big attractions and a lovely walk to Notre Dame.

I highly recommend the boat trip by Vedettes du Pont Neuf. Small boats rather than the cattle trucks of many companies and a fabulous commentary which made us laugh while being very interesting. I recommended it to a colleague too who said it was a real highlight. We did it around 5pm when many tourists are going back to hotels to freshen up and it was a delightful way to rest our legs.

What are they interested in, and what did they like about Copenhagen?

Took my DDs last year when they were 10 & 13. They actually enjoyed the Louvre (although we didn’t go around every bit). They liked the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. Also we did a river cruise on the Seine which they liked.
Not so keen on Versailles.
Yours might like the Catacombs?
We also added on 1 night, 2 days in Disneyland at the end of the trip too, which they enjoyed the most! Easy enough to get there from the centre of Paris, we booked one night in a Disney hotel because booking the park tickets and hotel as a package was the same price as just the tickets.

They liked how easy it was to get around on the Metro, the food, how clean everything was, the many LEGO stores, the rides at Tivoli and the Ripleys museum the most. I think the main thing was how easy and stress free it was (two of our children are Autistic). I did sell them on LEGO and Tivoli.

The Place de Bastille and maybe Palace of Versailles could be an option. They are interested in history and politics.

If they like spooky, then Pere Lachaise cemetery is a must see. Especially in Winter - December.

There will probably be some Christmas markets somewhere, you can check where.

There will be ice skating at the Grand Palais.

Other than that, the usual sights are going nowhere! A boat cruise on the Seine is worthwhile though. The Pompidou Centre is a great place but unfortunately it's closed for a five year refurb, here are suggested alternatives. Some might appeal.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/paris-centre-pompidou-is-closing-here-are-the-best-museums-to-visit-instead#:~:text=The%20Centre%20Pompidou%2C%20Paris's%20largest,art%2Dlovers%20get%20their%20fill%3F

We enjoyed the Christmas Market beside the Louvre last December and an evening walk with hot chocolate/ mulled wine around Notre Dame. Slightly older teens with us, we stayed close to a metro so they could have some freedom.

We went up the tour de Montparnasse - great views and our ticket also included a river cruise

Provins hosts a medieval festival each December. It’s only an hour by train from Paris. Can’t imagine anyone not enjoying it.

Do they like stationery and art materials? BHV department store has a whole floor - think John Lewis on stationery steroids. Also a whole floor of DIY in the basement.

La Samitaine department store has reopened, which is an Art Nouveau building so should be worth a visit.

It will be the lead up to Christmas so lots of lights and window displays. Le Marais area is nice, lots of small shops and not much traffic.

I don't particularly like the Champs Elysées but I was there in December a few years ago and it had lovely light displays which was nice for a stroll after dark, up to the Arc de Triomphe.

Musee d'Orsay - former train station so interesting inside and lots of Impressionist art, which is easy on the eye.

illuminateartofficial.com/blogs/modern-art/flashinvaders/#whatisit

www.parcasterix.fr/en

ballondeparis.com/en/

These are just a few ideas taken from this reddit

I'd recommend staying in St Germain (left bank) - we go each year with tween DD - she has enjoys:

La Samaritaine for shopping/browsing.
La Duree or Pierre Herme for macarons.
Musee D'Orsay as an alternative to the Louvre.
If you guys like Japanese/Sushi - there's a number of fantastic Japanese restaurants in St Germain (we like Jun).
For standard French faire, I recommend Brasserie des Pres (always book, it gets busy).

Most of all, we just like BEING in Paris, it's such a beautiful city, so even a walk through the park on an Autumn morning is exquisite!

If they’re into history, Invalides and Napoleon’s tomb might be of interest. And the Catacombes! I’m an art lover but wouldn’t recommend the Louvre- such long queues and so crowded. The Rodin museum and garden is charming. I second PP that Luxembourg gardens are lovely. I have good memories of going at similar age and eating roast chestnuts in the park. If they like pancakes, Breizh Cafe is a contemporary take on traditional creperie, with savoury galettes and dessert crepes.

We went to the catacombs which they may find interesting.
Also Galeries Lafayette is a beautiful shopping centre and on the top floor is a free view of the Eiffel Tower.
We went up Montparnesse Tower to see the Eiffel Tower twinkling at night, dd loved it.
Carette was also a hit, a cafe that does amazing pastries and hot chocolate. The trocodero one is the TikTok one my teen found.

Musee d’Orsay and the gallery of Monet waterlilies in Tuilleries gardens, Bateau Mouche along the Seine, Eiffel Tower illuminated after dark, Notre Dame. You can get out to Disney in about 40 minutes by train if you feel the need.

I ended up on the edge of the Christmas markets 2 years ago and would NOT recommend it for 2 autistic kids/teens

If your children are interested in history, then Musee Carnavalet is brilliant, and free too.
Musée Des Arts Et Métiers is amazing too for all the techie things, including the Foucault pendulum.

Bike tours are a different way of seeing a new city - it was the best part of my trip!

www.fattiretours.com/paris/

We stayed in montmartre with teens - they really liked wandering around the area. Went up the Eiffel Tower at night- it’s all sparkly and beautiful at that time. You can take a high-speed train to Marne La vallee-chessy in just over 10 minutes which takes u immediately outside of Disneyland Paris. Absolutely no need to stay in a Disney hotel.
Have a fab time 🇫🇷 ❤️

The catacombs are great !

My kids 12 and 14 liked Notre dame and sacre couer and the big grass area in front of the Louvre for a picnic, the museum is very big so we didn't spend that long but did see the Mona Lisa. They also enjoyed the Eiffel tower and just walking around eating crepes and croissants.
You can get the train from chatelet les halles to Disney, takes around 40 mins, I'd recommend at least a day there, loads of Airbnb and hotels at Val d'europe which is 5 mins away. We are Disney lovers though so split our time between the city and Disney.

Rowing boats at the Palace of Versailles is fun!
https://en.chateauversailles.fr/plan-your-visit/facilities/rowing-boats
Funny sketch too about rowing and rowing (as in arguing) but can’t bring it to mind.
The additional tour of Le Petit Trianon, royal apartments, gardens and tennis court are worth the trouble too!

There’s a cafe in La Louvre which has an outdoor seated balcony which overlooks the pyramid. This makes for a good base to let teens go off by themselves.

Second Parc Luxembourg; there’s an M&S food hall nearby so easy to prepare a picnic.

The tour up to see the bells at Notre-Dame de Paris is very worthwhile too!

finally, Musée de l'Orangerie: Monet’s famous Water Lilies is a must to see and just wonderful!

I could go on about Berthillon ice cream too - you’d have a great time!

We stayed in Paris and went to Disneyland (we drove though so easy for us to drive to Disneyland from central Paris). Kids loved it.