1-2 nights in Paris 🇫🇷

MissingSummertime · 2025-12-20T17:09:46+00:00

Thought I would post and see if anyone has any ideas! So we can’t manage a winter sun holiday before back to school in Jan. I am dreaming (scheming) of a short hop to Paris for a night or two, to enjoy the Paris sights as a mini break. Looking for nice hotel ideas/ recommendations that are close(ish) to the main tourist sights. My ‘Boss’ night would be a two-bedroom hotel room so we can sleep in a separate bedroom to DC. Or a family room that has a sofa bed and bedroom (separate) again just so we can sleep better. DC ages 4 & 7 Happy to take recommendations for Paris best part/s to stay, or places to avoid! (I have only been to Paris when very young so can’t really remember it apart from seeing the Eiffel Tower, DH and kids have never been)

Cat1504 · 20/12/2025 21:21

One night with 2 small kids…I couldn’t be arsed

Philandbill · 20/12/2025 21:23

The metro is really easy to use so I'd book somewhere close to a metro station.

StarlightLady · 22/12/2025 06:13

OP, what is your budget?

Original poster

MissingSummertime · 22/12/2025 11:09

Philandbill · 20/12/2025 21:23

The metro is really easy to use so I'd book somewhere close to a metro station.

Thank you! I’ll have a look at ones close to stations

OP posts:

Original poster

MissingSummertime · 22/12/2025 11:13

StarlightLady · 22/12/2025 06:13

OP, what is your budget?

We have a bit of flex in the budget, would like to get it in under £2k ideally

OP posts:

Original poster

MissingSummertime · 22/12/2025 11:17

Cat1504 · 20/12/2025 21:21

One night with 2 small kids…I couldn’t be arsed

It is an effort but we weren’t able to go away in the summer and would love a chance to take DC away even just for a couple of days. I do take your point though- 2 nights is prob more realistic! (might be able to stretch to 3)

OP posts:

StarlightLady · 23/12/2025 07:02

OP, l used to live in Paris. For starters l would avoid accommodation near the main train stations.

You might like to look at Cittadines apart hotels which offer apartments and a staffed 24 hour reception. That way you can book somewhere with that extra bedroom.

Philandbill · 23/12/2025 10:55

StarlightLady · 23/12/2025 07:02

OP, l used to live in Paris. For starters l would avoid accommodation near the main train stations.

You might like to look at Cittadines apart hotels which offer apartments and a staffed 24 hour reception. That way you can book somewhere with that extra bedroom.

This is a great idea, Citadines are good and DC can go to bed at a reasonable time. If you're lucky there will be a bakery nearby and one of you can nip out and get pastries for breakfast. Paris is great for younger children I think. The DK eyewitness Family Guidebook for Paris is really worth buying. Our DC were 6 and 8 when we first went and loved looking through it. Some good tips about places to go for children in it and lots of pictures.
DD young adults now and have been several times and love Paris despite having no French language skills (German GCSEs not French 😀)

Clearinguptheclutter · 23/12/2025 10:58

I’d def go for 2 nights minimum

not sure if open in winter but check out jardin d’acclimatation which is a small old fashioned but lovely theme park of sorts not far from the arc de triomphe. All the rides are pay as you go so you can just go for a couple of hours
other than that

boat trip on seine
Eiffel Tower

on less positive note I found it a complete pain trying to navigate the metro with a kid because although the app (Bonjour
plus one other) works well for adults there is no easy way to add a kid ticket- or any person other than the person whose phone has the app. And there are no staff to help anywhere virtually all ticket offices have closed. The best (only?) way round it was to buy a refillable oyster type physical card which was €20 euros per child and add credit to it. You can get these at gare du nord and limited other stations. if your children are sufficiently small however they may be entirely free which would be great. I
found it entirely baffling how impossible it was to work out how to get a kid ticket on the metro. Eventually someone on here explained it to me. This was April this year.

StarlightLady · 23/12/2025 11:37

Clearinguptheclutter · 23/12/2025 10:58

I’d def go for 2 nights minimum

not sure if open in winter but check out jardin d’acclimatation which is a small old fashioned but lovely theme park of sorts not far from the arc de triomphe. All the rides are pay as you go so you can just go for a couple of hours
other than that

boat trip on seine
Eiffel Tower

on less positive note I found it a complete pain trying to navigate the metro with a kid because although the app (Bonjour
plus one other) works well for adults there is no easy way to add a kid ticket- or any person other than the person whose phone has the app. And there are no staff to help anywhere virtually all ticket offices have closed. The best (only?) way round it was to buy a refillable oyster type physical card which was €20 euros per child and add credit to it. You can get these at gare du nord and limited other stations. if your children are sufficiently small however they may be entirely free which would be great. I
found it entirely baffling how impossible it was to work out how to get a kid ticket on the metro. Eventually someone on here explained it to me. This was April this year.

Edited

Agree that is a pain in the bum and the logic seems to be why do something simple when it can be ultra complicated. But don’t let that detract from the smell of dirty socks that is the Metro. It’s efficient though.

Original poster

MissingSummertime · 23/12/2025 11:44

StarlightLady · 23/12/2025 07:02

OP, l used to live in Paris. For starters l would avoid accommodation near the main train stations.

You might like to look at Cittadines apart hotels which offer apartments and a staffed 24 hour reception. That way you can book somewhere with that extra bedroom.

Thanks so much for this, great idea! Is it this one? https://www.discoverasr.com/en/citadines/france/citadines-saint-germain-des-pres-paris/apartment?utm_source=google&utm_medium=maps&utm_campaign=hq-google-maps-alwayson-20240531-all-all-eu-fr-citadinessaintgermaindespresparis-yext-gbp&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22674371965&gbraid=0AAAAAC_gTw_4PJdF0nTIPZZx8mn2NIRgr&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIudfwxc_TkQMVQ5NQBh3piCsMEAAYASAAEgKOuPD_BwE

Comfortable Accommodations - Aparthotel Citadines St Germain des Pres Paris

Discover our apartments, combining comfort and functionality at Citadines St Germain des Pres Paris, perfect for extended stays.

https://www.discoverasr.com/en/citadines/france/citadines-saint-germain-des-pres-paris/apartment?gad_campaignid=22674371965&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAC_gTw_4PJdF0nTIPZZx8mn2NIRgr&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIudfwxc_TkQMVQ5NQBh3piCsMEAAYASAAEgKOuPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

OP posts:

Original poster

MissingSummertime · 23/12/2025 11:45

Philandbill · 23/12/2025 10:55

This is a great idea, Citadines are good and DC can go to bed at a reasonable time. If you're lucky there will be a bakery nearby and one of you can nip out and get pastries for breakfast. Paris is great for younger children I think. The DK eyewitness Family Guidebook for Paris is really worth buying. Our DC were 6 and 8 when we first went and loved looking through it. Some good tips about places to go for children in it and lots of pictures.
DD young adults now and have been several times and love Paris despite having no French language skills (German GCSEs not French 😀)

Show quote history

Ooo love the idea of a bakery nearby! Going to see if we could get one like this 😍 AThanks for the guidebook tip as well 👍

OP posts:

Original poster

MissingSummertime · 23/12/2025 11:50

Clearinguptheclutter · 23/12/2025 10:58

I’d def go for 2 nights minimum

not sure if open in winter but check out jardin d’acclimatation which is a small old fashioned but lovely theme park of sorts not far from the arc de triomphe. All the rides are pay as you go so you can just go for a couple of hours
other than that

boat trip on seine
Eiffel Tower

on less positive note I found it a complete pain trying to navigate the metro with a kid because although the app (Bonjour
plus one other) works well for adults there is no easy way to add a kid ticket- or any person other than the person whose phone has the app. And there are no staff to help anywhere virtually all ticket offices have closed. The best (only?) way round it was to buy a refillable oyster type physical card which was €20 euros per child and add credit to it. You can get these at gare du nord and limited other stations. if your children are sufficiently small however they may be entirely free which would be great. I
found it entirely baffling how impossible it was to work out how to get a kid ticket on the metro. Eventually someone on here explained it to me. This was April this year.

Edited

Wow this has saved me so much hassle, thank you! A refillable Oyster type card is a plan 👍 will check the age for free kid tickets before in case they qualify.

Did you enjoy your trip? Do you mind me asking where you stayed and if you would recommend it?

OP posts:

Original poster

MissingSummertime · 23/12/2025 11:51

Will also check out if the jardin d’acclimatation is open in winter, thanks @Clearinguptheclutter

OP posts:

Clearinguptheclutter · 23/12/2025 12:05

Hi we had a great time but it was April and warm and my kids were 9 and 11. The jardin was a big hit and it def has lots for smalls

we stayed in a Novotel near gare de Lyon (not all station areas are rough, Gare de Lyon area is decent albeit not touristy and well connected). It was nice and had a small pool that the kids love but it’s wasn’t cheap. There are plenty of cheaper hotels around.

crackofdoom · 24/12/2025 09:33

Clearinguptheclutter · 23/12/2025 10:58

I’d def go for 2 nights minimum

not sure if open in winter but check out jardin d’acclimatation which is a small old fashioned but lovely theme park of sorts not far from the arc de triomphe. All the rides are pay as you go so you can just go for a couple of hours
other than that

boat trip on seine
Eiffel Tower

on less positive note I found it a complete pain trying to navigate the metro with a kid because although the app (Bonjour
plus one other) works well for adults there is no easy way to add a kid ticket- or any person other than the person whose phone has the app. And there are no staff to help anywhere virtually all ticket offices have closed. The best (only?) way round it was to buy a refillable oyster type physical card which was €20 euros per child and add credit to it. You can get these at gare du nord and limited other stations. if your children are sufficiently small however they may be entirely free which would be great. I
found it entirely baffling how impossible it was to work out how to get a kid ticket on the metro. Eventually someone on here explained it to me. This was April this year.

Edited

Yes, child tickets on urban transport systems that you are briefly visiting can be an utter pain in the arse now things have gone app based. I miss the old carnets (pack of 10 little tickets)- they were so easy in comparison!

But you can buy a basic Navigo pass for 2 euros and load it with journeys on machines in the Metro quite easily. There's no day pass rate which is quite annoying, each journey is 2.5 euros. If you're travelling by Eurostar, you can buy Navigo cards pre loaded with 2 journeys in the bar.

Mydadsbirthday · 24/12/2025 10:20

Are you planning to fly or take Eurostar? If the latter it's horribly expensive to book last minute.

MaybeNotBob · 26/12/2025 23:52

My default hotels are with the Accor group (join their membership scheme for free and you get ~10% off, and also book on their app to make it even cheaper!).

The ones that I've found that have found that have adjoining rooms are;

Pullman Paris Montparnasse
Hotel Mercure Paris Gare Montparnasse TGV
ibis Paris Gare Montparnasse Catalogne
Aparthotel Adagio Paris Buttes Chaumont
Mama Shelter Paris East
ibis Styles Paris Nation Cours de Vincennes

Good luck