Vacationing in Paris, where to take children

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

We will be spending thanksgiving in Paris and I would love to hear about great places to take a 5yo and 2 yo. My husband is on a business trip and may not be with us on most days. Any suggestions...I know I want to do the Eifel Tower and not sure what else is great for kiddos.

I'm so overwhelmed at all the choices of great places to go. 

I'm also having a difficult time finding a furnished apartment in the Paris area. That is with in walking distance of all the "important things". 

Any suggestions or FYI's or hints.

Thanks mama's

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

I'm also confused by the districts....is one any better than the other? I keep looking toward the north in district 1 or 2. Are these good places to stay?

[IsaFrench]

for places to stay with a kitchenette you could try the website of citadines.com and citea.com; there are not luxury places but I consider them good value for money when travalling with children

have a look too at

www.guideparispascher.com

was in Paris with 3 children 2 years ago .... the main interest of the eldest ones was "will you allow us to have ice-cream at the restaurant at lunchtime ? " ... my big plans to visit loads of places got scaled down quick basically ...

Besides the Eiffel tower (late afternoon = we had all the lights going on when we had finished, from outside), we also went up the Arc de Triomphe (good view in all directions) + went up Sacré Coeur by the back by these long long flights of stairs - after eating in a North African restaurant near the metro - mothers with young kids are usually well taken care of in these types of restaurants, children are looked upon kindly ... I carried the empty stroller up the several flights of stairs (nice photo opportunities) whilst my eldest helped the youngest & we ended up in a quiet play area (with sand and some forgotten toys) so our "goûter " lasted quite a while since the children were so happy playing there & not so much in a hurry to go inside a church ....

[NicaG]

Be sure to go to Luxembourg Gardens.  There is a very nice playground there, and the park itself is beautiful.  There is also a wonderful classic puppet theater near the playground, I think they do performances on Wednesdays and Saturdays, maybe more.  Even if your kids don't speak French, you can understand what's going on visually, and it's fun to watch the kids getting so excited about the performance.

Another fun thing to do is ride the Batobus (or maybe Bateaubus) up and down the Seine.  It's like a water taxi that stops at all the major sites along the Seine, so you can hop on and hop off.  There's no tour commentary.  You can buy a day pass, or a two or three day pass, I think. 

We have rented from this place a couple of times:

http://www.vacationinparis.com/

Have a great time!

[NicaG]

You can look at a map of the districts, if I had my choice, staying with kids,  I would probably stay near the Sorbonne/Luxembourg Gardens, in the 5th.  It's a fun area, with lots of quick places to eat (good for kids) and accessible to everything without being overly touristy.  Good metro access, good walking access. I have stayed in the 2nd, near Les Halles, and I wasn't crazy about that area, a little dodgy at night.  I have stayed in the 7th, a nice quiet upscale area, but a little far from the sights.  15th and 18th are nice and fairly convenient, but you probably want to be someplace closer to the center if you have kids with you.

Also btw, I was in Paris in September, and the apartment we rented had bedbugs!  This is a huge problem in New York, so I had been reading scary articles for months and identified the problem immediately, but it's only starting to be a problem elsewhere, so there's not as much awareness.  Anyway, you might want to read up on what they look like and how to check for them before you go, because it's not something you want to deal with or bring back home. 

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

The website you mentioned..vacationparis....is that website where the apartment had bedbugs? I'm so overwhelmed at this point. I thought I had found a great apartment....but the owner wants me to wire transfer the deposit and I dont feel comfortable doing that....I need a site that takes credit cards or paypal. 

So the 5th area....i'll be checking it right now.

Thanks

[NicaG]

No, the bedbug apartment was not through that website (but bedbugs can happen anywhere, upscale hotels, rentals, etc. just be aware).  It really wasn't the owners' fault, they were extremely nice and had no idea that they had a problem, and they refunded our money, but it was a huge hassle.  I am probably scaring you without meaning to.  It was probably a weird fluke, but it happened to me, so I thought I'd encourage you to be aware.

You shouldn't have to wire transfer money for a deposit, that sounds like a scam.  Or if there's anything wrong with the apartment you have no recourse.

I like Vacations in Paris because you pay in dollars, so there's no issue with fluctuating exchange rates. They are based in New Jersey.  They also send you the keys before you leave, so you don't need to contact anyone once you get to Paris, you can just head straight to the apartment.  They may be all booked, but you could give them a call. I've rented from them twice (would have used them in September but they were completely booked).

Have a fun time!

[NicaG]

This website has some useful information--a lot of it is food-related, but there are some good general Paris tips here too. http://www.davidlebovitz.com/  This post is especially helpful: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/04/ten-great-things-to-do-with-kids/#more-938

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

Thanks for all  the great advice, I did find a website....www.Ricksteves.com....he has some really great resources.

I'm so excited...just a bit nervous if we have the right type of clothing to keep us warm...lol

I'm also trying to figure out if I should carry a backpack or what to carry a few diapers and wipes and that sort of thing.