Paris with Children

We are heading to Paris for a few nights in August and will be staying at the Hotel Tremoille (8er arr). Our children are ages 10, 8 %26amp; 2 and we would welcome some suggestions on places to visit and eat (casual) during our time there.

Many thanks,

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Of course, don%26#39;t forget DisneyLand, but if you want to stay inside Paris, you could take them to %26quot;Le palais de la découverte%26quot;, behind the Grand Palais, in the 8th, to the StarWar expo at the Park de la Villette (20th), to the %26quot;Parc Floral%26quot; with its wonderful zoo, or simply to the Jardins du Luxembourg, where a lot of Parisian children love to go.

Of course, I%26#39;m not telling about other famous monuments such as the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe,...

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Great thanks,

Any (casual) restaurant suggestions around the 8th %26amp; 16th arr.

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Creperies are nice with children, but unfortunately there are not many in the 8th and 16th.

You can try

Le Grenier à Pommes

19 r Longchamp 75016 PARIS

01 47 04 48 36

Chez Yanick

33 r Annonciation 75016 PARIS

Tuileries garden is nice with children (poney rides, little boats on the pond) and there is a pleasant outdoor cafe-restaurant in the middle of the garden.

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and not far from the Tuilleries cafe is a playground with trampolines set in the ground (admission fee) and there is usually a carnival with rides there in the summer. -- my favorite part though is the little boats that can be rented so kids can sail them on the pond mentioned above

the older kids might enjoy the canal boat ride (up through the locks on the Canal St. Martin -- this ends at the science museum which might be interesting to the older kids

my kids loved french pastries and we made quite a ritual of them getting to pick one out each afternoon while we were in Paris

and of course climbing the tower of Notre Dame to see all the gargoyles they met in the Disney film -- definitely have them see the film before you come -- kids like your older two are allowed to sit under the bell in the tower when the guide does his little spiel

give the two older ones an illustrated guidebook and let them pick one thing for the family to do, each

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The Parc Monceau is also nice for kids.

If your family likes Italian food, try Vesuvius; it%26#39;s on the Blvd. St-Germain right across from the church of the same name and opposite the St-Germain métro station. Good pasta, pizza, and French dishes too.

You could also try Le Pain Quotidien, a bakery/café that%26#39;s very nice for breakfast and lunch. Something else to look for are salons de thé, which offer light meals in a casual atmosphere.

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For easy family meals picnics can not be beat. the parents can load up on gourmet goodies while the kiddies choose their personal faves, all while exploring the Paris food shopping scene.

A good second choice is a light meal at a local cafe, salade au chevre chaud, hot dogs and croque monsieur are particularly popular among kids and very affordable.

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Oh Phread, you are funny, I can tell you have become very %26quot; Frenchified,%26quot;( and yes this is a good thing, ) if you think that average North American child would eat a hot goat cheese salad!!!

My kids eat %26quot; orange %26quot; cheese only! At least they do like old chedder and not %26quot; cheese food slices%26quot; that come in plastic!

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on my daughter%26#39;s first trip to France at 11 at her first restaurant -- a great little place on a square in Aix, her first meal was Escargot, frogs legs, and chocolate mousse -- she hadn%26#39;t had anything like that before but knew they were french and wanted to try them and enjoyed them (after the frogs legs of course danced around the plate )not all North American children have been raised to

eat fast food and %26#39;kiddy%26#39; food -- some won%26#39;t be adventuresome and there are plenty of choices in

a french restaurant -- but mine would have adored hot goat cheese salad -- and the OP%26#39;s may as well

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When we took our kids to Paris we hit the markets and let the kids pick food for picnics. They enjoyed trying new %26quot;mystery%26quot; items and could always play it safe. It was also inexpensive and did not require speaking French. There are lots of parks to visit and lay out a blanket and picnic. There is a large waterpark, aquaboulevard, on the south side of the city aquaboulevard.net/foresthill/…aqua1.html

At the Parc Andre Citeron (sp?) there is a large hot air ballon you can go up in and a water fountain area designed for kids to play in. There is a small book called %26quot;100 Things to do in Paris with Kids%26quot;. It saved us a few times when the kids were in melt down mode.

August will be hot, so carry water where ever you go, our kids loved the strawberry flavored volvic.

If your kids are bike riders look into the fat tire bike tour.

http://www.fattirebiketoursparis.com/

They have kids bikes, tandems and kid%26#39;s seats. It is a ton of fun, but can be a little stressful if your kids are not bike competent. You travel in large groups and everyone watches out for everyone else, so it is fun.

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Here%26#39;s to american kids who love good food. We took our 2 yr old to Normandy, and he lived on goat cheese, mussels and more mussels. Now, at 8, he won%26#39;t eat of the kids menu, but prefers adult food. For his birthday dinner, he requested me to make chicken in a creme fraiche shallot white wine sauce. He tasted chez wiz for the first time last week and spit it out. Restaurants with quality food will be enjoyable for everyone, even kids if you don%26#39;t underestimate them!