About 14 hours into our journey, I realized bringing four young kids to Paris may have been a little crazy. But am I glad we did it? Yes. And we learned a lot. I have gotten so many questions about our trip, so I thought I would break it down here for you. Here is our Paris with kids itinerary and answers to the top questions we got asked like where to stay in Paris with kids, how long to go for, where to eat in Paris with kids and the best activities to do with kids in Paris.
Is Paris a good place to bring kids?
I don’t think Paris would be my first stop to take kids in Europe. I think a lot of the beauty of Paris is in spending hours at a cafe, wandering around the beautiful city, shopping, and taking in the museums. There are definitely ways to make it family-friendly, which we did, and I think it’s a wonderful place to be able to take your kids. But I think if I was just going to go to Paris to enjoy the city, I would leave the kids at home and throw the money on the childcare so I could enjoy with my husband or girlfriends. There are many other places in Europe that are more fun to tour with young children, and if you dream of savoring long meals or going to the Dior exhibit or visiting Chanel and Hermes, it’s probably best to leave the little ones behind. With that said, if you make a stop in Paris part of a larger trip like doing a few days in London and then a couple in Paris or stopping in Paris on the way to another destination like we did, it can be a great place to visit with kids.
How long would you go with kids?
We went for five days, and it proved to be two days too long. We would have gone for fewer days but ended up staying longer in Paris due to the wildfires in Bordeaux, and our kids were done with city life after a few days. It also happened to be a heatwave in Paris, so walking and touring around the city was a lot. Even without a heatwave, I think three full days is the sweet spot with young kids. It’s enough time to explore the key parts of the city without feeling rushed and dragging the kids around too much. But just enough time before they get tired and bored. Cities are a lot for kids (and parents!) and after a few days, they’re ready to rest and relax.
Where did you stay?
We rented an apartment, which is what everyone told us to do with four kids, and I have mixed feelings about it. I wish I could say we loved the apartment so I could recommend it to all of you, but it wasn’t anything to write home about. The location was excellent and we had air conditioning, an elevator and three bedrooms, which wasn’t easy to find, but the actual apartment was charmless, a bit tight, and felt like a Marriott tbh. It didn’t measure up to the pictures/listing or frankly, price. With that said, it may just be par for the course if you go that route and I think if we had just been there for three nights, it would have been great. I am also spoiled from my days visiting Paris for work and staying at the Ritz. If we were to go back, I would get a recommendation from a friend who had actually stayed there before booking an apartment.
What is a good Paris itinerary with kids?
We didn’t follow this exactly because I took a few meetings for work while we were there, we got a sitter for some of the afternoons and evenings, and we ended up extending our stay in Paris, but this is how I would structure it if I were to do it over.
Day One:
- Head to the Eiffel Tower, walk around the area, and go up to the second floor or top if you’re brave!
- You can take the kids to eat at Joules Verne if you want to enjoy the views but you can also get ice cream and crepes in the area around the Tower.
- Let the kids burn energy at either of the Eiffel Tower playgrounds
- Take a Seine River Cruise – the dock is right next to the Tower and a great way to see the city (we preferred it to the bus tours).
- Visit the food halls for lunch – there was a temporary food hall with all different kinds of food and other vendors next to where you get the river cruises while we were there and a great spot to eat before taking the cruise
Day Two:
- Start the morning at the Louvre. If you go early, the lines are shorter. You can also book a scavenger hunt tour geared towards kids. This is better for older kids. Brooks is four and lost steam during the tour.
- Grab something to eat and let the kids play in the Jardin des Tuileries – there’s a playground and carousel
- Stroll past Notre-Dame Cathedral for a few pics if the kids still have it in them
- Take a bus or uber to the Jardin du Luxembourg. Rent the vintage sailboats to race in the grand central pond
- Grace pastries to eat in the park
- Visit the Ludo Jardin playground (there’s a small entrance fee but totally worth it).
- Go on the nearby carousel and treat the kids to ice cream in the park
Day Three:
- Visit the Fête des Tuileries, a carnival right in the Tuileries in the summer with rides, games and food.
- Visit the Arc de Triomphe for photo opps and some history
- Walk the Champs-Élysées and do some shopping. You could also do some shopping at some of the department stores with good kids departments like Bon Marché, Printemps, and Galeries Lafayette
- We didn’t do this because it’s quite hilly and harder with little kids, but you could head to Montmarte and walk around and step inside the Sacré-Coeur Basilica.
If you are there for more than 3 days, it’s worth taking a day trip to Versailles or if you really want to be your kids’ favorite persons, there’s always Disneyland Paris.
What are the best places to eat at with kids?
Okay, so I think if you’re going to Paris with young kids, you can’t expect to have lots of nice long leisurely meals at all the nicest restaurants. Or maybe your kids can hang late and do all that, but ours cannot and with four, it’s just too much. We got a sitter for most of the nights. The kids were exhausted after walking around all day and with the time change etc, it would have been too much to expect them to sit through nicer dinners and we still wanted to get in some favorite spots. So we ate at The Ritz, Loulou, Ralph’s, Girafe without them. Well, we actually took James with us to Loulou and at nine, he was great and we had the best time with him. Charlotte probably would have been fine too, but she was really tired that day. We ate at Fouquet’s with Grace and it was fine too, but there were times when she was a bit loud and squirmy. With the kids, we mostly skipped the reservations and ate at cafes near where we were when they got hungry. We also picked up food and snacks in parks and at different spots as they needed breaks and something sweet to keep going. I think this strategy worked well. We didn’t feel rushed to get anywhere at any specific time, we didn’t have to stress about the kids being too loud or energetic anywhere really nice or romantic. They still got to eat a lot of delicious meals and try french food, but we didn’t make this a culinary tour for them and that worked for us. There aren’t necessarily a lot of kid-friendly restaurants in Paris but everyone was accommodating everywhere we went and super nice to the kids. And if your kids are a bit older like James and even Charlotte, you can totally go to the nicer spots and just go on the earlier side or let them hang late.
Did you bring a stroller?
We actually brought two Yo-Yo strollers rather than a double. They are what everyone in Paris uses – they just maneuver so well, they’re lightweight and they’re easy to fold up at restaurants, on buses, etc. We definitely needed a stroller for Grace and Brooks at times as well, but James and Charlotte also got tired throughout the trip and would hop in. We didn’t bring the kickboard for the YoYo — I find it hard to push with it on and it’s bulky to travel with. We sometimes had two kids sitting in a stroller at a time and it was fine. And I also brought this carrier (which looks chic) and wore Grace at different times to free up stroller space or get her to nap on the go.
Okay, I think that’s all but let me know if you have any other questions or need recs.
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