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!

If any of them like science there's a small Marie Curie museum. I think it's near the Luxembourg Park/Gardens, which also has a Statue of Liberty. I think there's actually several in Paris so they might like to see those.

The Pompidou Centre has just closed for a few years for renovations but the Stravinsky Fountain seems to have been restored (we were there a few weeks back) and is worth a look. It’s also worth going to Chartier for lunch or dinner, mine loved it as kids and now as young adults.

If any of them are Pokemon/card collecting fans, a diversion to Rue de Rivoli and Rue Rampon will give them a few shops to browse.

Any design/fashion fans? Checking out the window displays around Avenue Montaigne is a good diversion around the Champs Elysees.

Trying to find small places that suit their specific interests could work: we managed to get a whole day of walking in, on the promise of all the Pokemon shops at the end!

If the weather is dry, a trip to the Parc D'Aclimatation is fun - queues are not on the scale of uk theme parks.

If you have football fans the PSG tour is not too long, and my pre/teens really enjoyed.

My kids also like a wander through a market - Marché de Grenelle is open on a Sunday and you can do a nice walk over the pont Bir Hakeim with excellent Eiffel Tower views, maybe head onto place de Trocadéro for more views (and tik tokers) and museums - the aquarium is good if it's wet, or the musée de l'homme (though mostly in French).
Marché alimentaire Bastille is also on a Sunday morning, and not far from Canal St Martin for a walk and coffee.

The metro means getting around is v easy. You can buy everyone a 'Navigo easy' card - to load with journeys. Uber is also easily available and cheaper than London. For six of you it might prove good value for some trips (metro is 2€50 a journey, though you can buy daily passes too).

Paris is a great city for wandering, and plenty of cafés to stop and warm up with a hot drink/croissant/crepe.

For something to guide your wandering you could look for the space invader street art - www.space-invaders.com/flashinvaders/

www.afrenchcollection.com/french-street-artist-invader/

Definitely plenty to fill a weekend and my advice would be to pick a few places you definitely want to get to, and then enjoy the journeys in between.

And you could do a day at Disneyland without needing to change your Eurostar tickets - you can take the RER (local train) to get there. Paris schools finish on Dec 19th so depending when you are going it might not be holiday time for locals yet.

There are some brilliant tips here thanks all. Am going with two teens in half term so sorting a brilliant itinery from here.
We have never visited Disney and they do like rides but I wonder whether that or Parc D'Aclimatation would be too young for them? I have form for booking things younger than their years so don't want a costly mistake!
Will anywhere have Halloween decorations up worth a look in half term?

To add The Terrace at Galeries Lafayette (spectacular view over Paris from the 8th floor of Galeries Lafayette,) great foodhall too! haussmann.galerieslafayette.com/en/the-terrace-at-galeries-lafayette/

@theswordinthestone re Hallowe'en

https://www.parisdiscoveryguide.com/halloween-in-paris.html

Great, thanks @Arregaithel

When we went my DS was 11, he enjoyed the cruise on the Seine. We didn't book one we just used the hop on boat taxi. Going up the Eiffel tower, Catacombs, wandering around eating crepes. Hot chocolate at Paul, PSG shops, NBA shop. Champs Elysses and just wandering around the streets.

I have had two days in Paris with mine, as part of different touring holidays, in different years. This year they were 10 and 15...I think before they were 7 and 12....?

They enjoyed: Falafel on Rue des Rosiers, ice cream at Berthillon, jumping around in the fountains at Trocadero (it was a really hot day), the flea market at St Ouen/ Clignancourt (which surprised me- DS2 is likely autistic and it was definitely chaotic and crowded, but they both showed a hitherto unsuspected enthusiasm for vintage jewellery), the Rodin museum (again, chosen for art loving DS2, but to my surprise DS1 also loved it- he's doing anatomy for PE GCSE and was impressed by Rodin's anatomical accuracy- and they both loved the calm beautiful surroundings).

We also went swimming in the Bassin de la Villette for free, but that's only a summer thing. They also wanted to go to the Catacombes, but this I vetoed as too pricey, whereas all the state museums are surprisingly affordable with kids, as they're free to under 18s.

We live here so I regularly drag my 13yo DS up for a bit of culture. What date? The 1st Sunday of the month is free for a lot of state monuments and museums, and a few museums do free nocturnes. In no particular order, these are the things my son liked doing.

• Christmas lights tour at night: we started at Arc de Triomphe and walked down Champs-Elysées to Dior on Avenue Montaigne, then up to CE again, Place de la Concorde and up to Madeleine. Ending up at Printemps and Galeries Lafayette to admire the windows and amazing display inside at GL. Dinner across road at GL food hall 1st floor restaurants.

• Catacombs. If you can bear to, check for last minute tickets as cheaper.

• 59 Rivoli is a great (former) art squat with floors of mini artists’ studios. You’ll see working artists and it’s great for ados. Free. Lunch or dinner at We Cantine just opposite (but loads of choice in this area as it’s Chatelet).

• Citéco (museum of economy). This is a really fun and interactive place. 1st Thursday (or Tuesday?) of month is free after 6 or 7pm (check this). Recommend dinner at Les Desmoiselles afterwards; locals restaurant in nearby Ternes with a resident golden Labrador.

• Musée des Arts Forains. Great fun. Need to book; it’s a guided tour in French but easy to grasp and the kids will love all the old carousels and games that you ride on.

• Hotel de la Marine on the Place de la Concorde is like a mini Versailles, full of gilded mirrors, if you don’t have time for Versailles.

• Vedettes de Pont Neuf is my preferred boat trip company. Have lunch before or after at La Sarassine on the Ile Saint-Louis for a bargain €15 for 3 courses.

• Dinner at Bouillon Julien for cheap eats in a gorgeous art nouveau setting. Also love the food court at La Felicità near Place d’Italie (bit out of way depending on where staying). Ados will love the loos.

• Brunch at Breakfast in America; the one by the Sorbonne is handy if visiting the Jardin des Plantes (booking essential).

I don’t recommend the Louvre: too big and busy, especially if you don’t have much time. My favourite museum is the Jacquemart-Andre; absolutely stunning art and beautiful building. Or go to the Petit Palais; just off the CE, it’s a great, free pit stop for a bit of art, loos and a decent cafe formule. The Rodin, and Gustave Moreau were also enjoyed by my son.

That’s just off the top of my head!

The Jardin d’Acclimatisation is lovely; if you take them to the Fondation Louis Vuitton for a dose of modern art, you then get in free to the gardens. My 13 yo son still enjoys it there.

We tagged a day and night in Paris onto a Disneyland Paris trip this summer. My 3 (9,8,7) loved it. First time doing a city break.

They loved going up the Eiffel tower and then seeing at night night later. They liked the hop on hop off bus with the children's history guide. Galerie Lafayette was a surprise hit - they felt very fancy!. They liked the food and the bakeries and enjoyed trying new things. Loved macarons, jambon beurres, pastries, hot chocolate, steak and chips and even tried snails. They loved going to see the original Chanel store and looking in the windows as they had learned about coco Chanel at school.

Most of all they loved just wandering round the little streets, going on the metro and exploring new areas. We were all sad to leave and they keep asking to go back!

The Musée Grévin is fun - waxworks, and a spectacular hall of mirrors created in 1935 where they put on a weird light show.

https://www.grevin-paris.com/en

Oh yes, the Grevin is good. Afterwards, exit into rhe Passage Jouffroy and then go to the Passage Panorama to eat. Paris' covered passages are beautiful.

I stayed in the Passage Jouffroy, in the Hotel Chopin. Tiny room, but fabulous views over Paris rooftops!

https://hotelchopin-paris-opera.com/en/

If you’re going in December there’s Christmas markets on. Rides in the Tuilerie Gardens.