AD | Collaborative post
John and I were lucky enough to visit Paris back in 2014. We spent a couple of days there for my birthday and tried to pack as much in as possible. We had the luxury of being able to do things at our own pace and picking what we did and when. Next year we have a holiday to Disneyland Paris booked as we wanted to do something amazing for Erin after her first year at school. We wanted a really exciting adventure during the summer holidays so we decided to add some time in Paris on either side of our visit to Disneyland. If you’re looking for ideas for city breaks to Paris, you can check out the Voyage Privé website.
Visiting Paris as a family, rather than a couple, is a very different thing. I’ve been doing some research about the kind of things that we might like to do and what we might like to see.
The Eiffel Tower
Erin might not know much about Paris but she does know that it is home to the Eiffel Tower. As John and I have been before, we have a print in our living room and it’s something we talk to Erin about quite often. Erin wants to go right to the top so we’ll definitely take her as high as we can in the lift. The Eiffel Tower is also a great place to get some food and to sit and have a bit of a picnic if the weather is nice. There are loads of food trucks dotted around and it can be a really nice place to people watch.
The Lourve
We didn’t go here on our last visit so something I would really like to do is to get Lourve tickets. Erin does like a museum, although she tends to zoom around them quite quickly. Maybe we could get some postcards beforehand of some of the artwork we can see and get her to play a game of finding them around the museum. I think this is a really fun way to get children interested in art without them being so bored just having to walk around.
Pere Lachaise Cemetery
Visiting the Pere Lachaise Cemetery was a highlight for me and John. Away from the busy streets of the city, we found somewhere really interesting to explore. There is so much history here and there is so much for children to get excited about. This isn’t your average cemetery though as along the cobbled paths you will find famous names like Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde. The cemetery is a really beautiful place to visit… and pretty great for a game of hide and seek.
Paris Catacombs
I’m not sure you would call this the most child friendly of places to visit but John and I loved the Paris Catacombs. Underneath the city are over 6 million bones and skeletons, people who sadly didn’t survive the plague, the French Revolution and the guillotine. Erin really enjoys anything a bit strange and weird so I have no doubt that she would love a trip here.
Of course, there are lots of other things you can do with children in Paris. There is a great aquarium, plenty of beautiful parks to play in and some wonderful streets to walk along and explore. Maybe an open top bus tour would be a quick way to see a lot of the city! I think it really depends on how much time you have in Paris to what you plan to do. As we will only have a day each side we will be quite limited and have to choose wisely.