If you’re planning a European vacation with kids (I’d suggest age 8 or older for the best experience), Paris should be on your list. When my kids were 12 and 15, we did our first family vacation to Europe with them…starting in London, then Paris, Venice, and Rome. Ten days in total. Since we were packing so much in, we just spent three nights and two very full days in Paris. It really was enough to fit in all the highlights! If you’ve read my other posts, you’ll know that we aren’t a family that spends a lot of time in museums (you could spend all day in the Louvre if you wanted to), so that helped us fit more in. If you want to spend more time touring the Louvre, Notre Dame, or to make it to Montmartre, I’d recommend adding another day or two to your trip. You’ll need your walking shoes for this one…allons-y to Paris!
Here is a sample 2-day itinerary for Paris, based on our family trip with teens in July:
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DAY 0: TRAVEL DAY…TAKE THE CHUNNEL TO PARIS!
Before planning your international trip, be sure to read my post on 32 Tips for Traveling Overseas with Ease…there are a lot of helpful tips here, including everything from currency, cell phone use, transportation, and more.
Getting to Paris: This trip to Paris was really three nights and two days. On Day 0 (travel day) we were coming from London (highly recommend this route), and the coolest way to travel between the two cities is via the Chunnel (Eurostar) Train…this is the one that goes under the water across the English Channel, and then pops back up in the French countryside. It’s not necessarily the cheapest option, but the further in advance you book, the lower price you should pay. There are also three classes of service; we chose the middle one (Standard Premier) that came with a nice meal and larger seats. The ride is about 2 hours and 15 minutes, and the huge benefit is that you travel from London’s City Center (St Pancras Station) to Paris’ City Center (Gare du Nord Station). So no need for a taxi to/from the airport, saving you time and money.
Metro Train Passes: If you do take the Eurostar and arrive at Gare du Nord, take the opportunity to buy Metro passes for your crew from one of the kiosks or ticket desks in the Metro Station. I recommend buying the unlimited ones, as they aren’t that expensive and it keeps things easy. You can then take the Metro to the station nearest your hotel, or take an Uber if you prefer. The Metro is very easy to figure out, and a great way to get around Paris.
Where to Stay: If you are traveling as a family and have kids younger than 16, you’ll probably need to find a “family room” versus two separate rooms. This can be challenging in Paris, especially if you want to be in the heart of the city and have air conditioning (I highly recommend both!). It is possible to find, it just takes a little extra searching! We stayed at the Hotel Le Royal, which was a great option. We had real beds for everyone, wifi, air conditioning, good breakfast, and great location. I also found these hotels that have great reviews and family rooms: Timhotel Opera Blanche Fontaine in the Montmartre area, Hotel Astra Opera – Astotel, and if you have smaller kids or are ok with one bed and a pull-out sofa bed, the Courtyard by Marriot – Paris Gare de Lyon.
Travel Tip: If you’re planning to visit a several of the “usual” tourist destinations in Paris like we did, I recommend buying a city pass in advance, like this one from Turbopass. It includes everything from the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, and more. It also includes hop-on / hop-off bus access, a Seine River Cruise, and several guided tours as options as well. Plus in many cases you get to “skip the line”….this saved a lot of time at the Eiffel Tower and Versailles.
By the time we arrived in Paris and checked in to our hotel, we were ready for some dinner! When in Paris, try to visit a Le Relais de l’Entrecôte for steak frites (steak with pepper sauce and french fries)…it’s one of the best places for steak frites in Paris, and there are a couple of locations to try. There happened to be one just a short walk from our hotel. We finished our evening off with some gelato from Amorino (there are several of these in Paris too)…look at how cool this flower cone is…and then called it a night. We also saw this awesome parking job on our walk back to the hotel..ha!
DAY 1: TOUR OF ALL THE PARIS HIGHLIGHTS…EIFFEL TOWER, THE LOUVRE, AND MORE
I hope you are well rested for this day, because it’s a marathon! Grab breakfast at the hotel (or a cute cafe along the way), and head to the Louvre. This is THE museum to go to if you can only choose one in Paris. If you have a city pass, be sure to check the fine print in advance, because you might need to reserve a time slot to enter the museum in advance. The museum itself is absolutely beautiful! But warning, it will probably be packed. Unless you want to spend the whole day there, map out what you really want to see in advance (I suggest The Mona Lisa (it’s much smaller than you’d think!), Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo for sure) and go from there.
Next, backtrack just a tad and head over to Notre Dame Cathedral (or start here if it makes sense from your hotel). Normally, you can tour the inside of the Cathedral or attend a Catholic Service any day of the week. Due to the fire in April 2019, Notre Dame is still under construction and plans to reopen in December 2024. It’s still worth walking around the Cathedral and admiring the Gothic Architecture. If you have a hankering for American food, there’s a Subway sandwich shop across the street from Notre Dame…we grabbed lunch there.
From either Notre Dame or The Louvre, take the metro (or the hop-on / hop-off bus) to the Eiffel Tower. If you’ve purchased a city pass, you will likely need to book a time slot in advance, so you can adjust if it’s not time for your visit to the Eiffel Tower. With the City Pass you can skip the line and go directly to the second floor. There’s a restaurant there, observation decks, and typically an exhibition of some sort. There’s also an option to take the elevator up to the top, which I also recommend. Amazing views all around! I do recommend making your way back in to the vicinity of the Eiffel Tower at night. At the top of every hour from dusk until 1AM, not only is the tower lit up, but it also twinkles…definitely worth checking out!
From the Eiffel Tower, head toward the Champs-Elysees…this is one of the premier shopping streets in the world. Every luxury brand can be found there, as well as some affordable ones too! There are some restaurants to stop along the way, but it’s simply a beautiful and historically significant walk from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe (about 30 minutes). Again, if you have the City Pass, it includes entry in to the Arc de Triomphe. Built in 1806, this iconic structure houses the tomb of an unknown soldier from WWI, beautiful sculptures, and if you’re up for it, take the 284 steps up the spiral staircase to see the amazing views at the top!
By the time you finish all that walking and climbing, you’ll probably be ready for dinner or a nap (or both)! As mentioned before, I’d suggest making your way back to the Eiffel Tower (at least get close) after dusk. Grab a fresh crepe at one of the stands on the way, and enjoy the twinkling lights!
DAY 2: PALACE OF VERSAILLES AND SEINE RIVER TOUR
The Palace of Versailles, just outside Paris, was the residence of the Monarchs of France from 1682 until 1789. To get there, you’ll need to get to Line C of the RER regional train system to the Versailles Château Rive Gauche station. Once exiting that station, it’s about a 10 minute walk to the entrance of Versailles. Plan to get there early, as the line to get in can be very long (up to 2 hours!). With your City Pass, you can go directly to Entrance A for a shorter wait, but note that you do need to reserve an entry time in advance. I recommend purchasing tickets that get you full access all of the parts of the palace and the property…check out the hall of mirrors, sculpture gallery, and gallery of coaches.
Be sure to make time to check out the gardens…we spent as much, if not more, time in the gardens as the palace. They are enormous, and there are places to get food, fresh orange juice, ride bikes, paddle boats, and there are fountain shows in some of the ponds…and it’s not so crowded. It’s a great way to spend a beautiful day!
When you’ve seen all you want to see at Versailles, or you can’t take the crowds anymore, head back to Paris on the RER C Line. Your City Pass comes with a Seine River Cruise. I believe we were able to just walk up and select a time, as they run very regularly (double-check the City Pass fine print to be sure though). The boat rides start at the base of the Eiffel Tower, and run about an hour. It’s a great way to see all of the main sights from a different perspective, and you’ll learn a little history along the way as well! This is also a great way to see the Eiffel Tower lit up and twinkling if you time it right…an awesome way to end a whirlwind tour of Paris!
