Buy your tickets to Paris; buy the kids' tickets to Panama.

What time of year are you going? For how long?

I can't help with how to travel with children, but I can suggest that you not worry about sticking out because you will and there's little to be done about it.

I'm thinking that visiting the major sights with four kids pretty much guarantees sticking out. But don't worry. I dropped my purse in Paris and had it returned intact, weeks later. I always feel safe in Paris. Pickpockets can strike anywhere, but if your stuff is safe, you'll be OK.

What to see? You have five weeks; you can see just about anything you want.

My only advice on packing is don't take too much. Weekly laundry visits will make it all a lot easier. Take enough for a week and do laundry. Six people including a baby is already a load of stuff, so cut way back on what you planned to take is my best advice.

I'd love to hear more about your trip. We are you staying?

we will be leaving in about 3 weeks! We will have access to a washing machine so am only planning on packing 1 weeks worth of clothing...but am wondering about the weather and should I plan on palcing toys and such? Afterall 5 weeks will mean some down days in the rental apartment I'm thinking. Also - do I need to bring baby food for all that time!

Londoners will know this: Can visitors use the library? And where to get baby food?

I see a lot of charity shops were games and books are available. That might be a good place to pick up some toys and amusements.

Why did I say London? Please excuse me. I am dopey.

We travel with our now 4 yr old daughter and always pack toys, usually small things that are good for the plane. We often take a water painting book for our destination. It has sheets you tear out, and you can use water directly on the pages; when the water hits the paper it reacts with pigment to make a kind of watercolour. Not sure if I explained that well, but all you need to take is a paintbrush, as you can always use a cup of water from your accommodation. They are dirt cheap (in Australia I buy them at The Reject Shop). Another toy that is not bad is an inflatable beach ball or soccer ball. Packs flat and can be used in a square, a park, in the pool.
For the plane we have given my daughter Polly Pocket dolls. Fantastic size, eminently packable but the little clothes end up on the floor of the aircraft. Better for the destination. I haven't yet tried them, as you can't get them in Australian toyshops, but I hear Wikki Sticks (mouldable wax sticks) are a very good travel toy. I will try them out for our next trip.

If you click on my name, my first trip report talks about the toys we had in the plane for our then 16 month old. We had a great deal of success on that trip and most of the toys don't take up much space. Might be interesting for your youngest.

Lavandula

some basic info here
http://gofrance.about.com/od/travelwithchildren/a/babies.htm

http://www.babyabroad.co.uk/Travelling-With-Baby-To/France/baby-food-on-holiday-france.html

Well I had three kids, by one year old you don't need to pack baby food ( unless your child has some very specific dietary restrictions),, just mash/cut up your food for a child that old. I would bring a box of their favorite pablum but Milupa is available everywhere in France so you can easily pick that up.If you feel the need to feed child baby food, of course you can get baby food in Europe, since there are in fact babies there.I would bring enough for plane ride and first day , just so you don't have to shop right off the bat.Baby food is easy to find in all normal stores, there are tons of them all over Paris, main names to look for , Monoprix,and Carrefour.

Pack light, no use struggling with baby, three young kids, and too much luggage in train stations etc.

Children do not usually get pickpocketed at that age since most pickpockets assume 7 yr olds aren't carrying a wallet with money in it,, but do be careful if your kids have cameras.

When I took my 11 yr old to Paris and Rome she carried a purse as she normally does, but she only would carry 10 euros of her spending money , I carried the bulk of her money in my money belt if in transit, otherwise we left bulk of our money locked in hotel safe, when I stayed in apartment last year we left it in apartment, there was like 3 locked doors to get in.. lol so pretty safe.

For a very young child I always brought a few toys, not much , because at that age you are their best toy, but for your older kids its not a bad idea to bring a few books and some coloring items. I brought lego one year and regretted it, I was always stepping on it, because its not like your house where they may have a seperate play room, but you can figure that one out. A few toy cars. My kids from age 3 or so always carried their own towns in little napsacks,, plus a few snacks.

For you and hubby , do be aware of pickpockets, do keep bulk of money, credit card and passport in a moneybelt worn UNDER our clothes, but carry days worth of cash in more assessible place ( I use cross body purse that zips and snaps closed) since you should not access your moneybelt in public ever and you will want to pay for admissions and ice creams etc throughout day.

Most of the time there are board games and cards in the apartments we rent; in one Paris apartment our children had a great time with a weeklong European Monopoly game after dinner. You might want to ask the owner what they have. Our children also bring their soccer ball if we know the apartment we're renting will be near a green space, too, and our youngest always brings a new notebook to write her own trip report in.

If your baby is currently eating mostly tinned or jars of baby food, can I suggest that you start changing that ASAP. A sudden change could result in an upset tummy (and messy nappies) which won't be fun for any of you. Trust me, I found that out the hard way, although in reverse. I thought I would make my life easy one holiday by using jars of baby food (instead of homemade fresh food) which my son wasn't used to. It was disastrous!

Thanks for the all the timps, especially the baby food ones...she has many dietary restricians (dairy, gluten free) but we are re-introducing some food to see if she can handle any now that she is older and behold, she can have cheese (great happiness) her diet is about half and half reg food and those squeezable baby foods (with quinoa).

has anyone done Arc Astriex???

Parc, not Arc!

Haven't done Parc Asteriex but it looks like a fun place for your older kids, especially since you will be in Paris for such a nice, long period.

There is a playground in Luxembourg Gardens that always looks like fun when we visit the Gardens.

Depending on where your apartment is, check out the nearby parks on a good map of Paris. Also, there are innumerable threads on this forum to check which discuss things to do in Paris with children. A search might be informative.

I cannot imagine anyone trying to pickpocket kids - what could kids be carrying that is possibly worth them sealing. (Do NOT allow kids to wander around streets with video game consoles - this is madness.)

With 4 kids I would definitely rent an apartment - preferably 3 bedroom with 2 baths - so you have room for the little ones to sleep in peace while others are playing. Definitely be sure you get one near a park with a playground so the kids have room to just run around. This will let you do breakfast and snacks at home - saving money and hassle (getting 6 people anywhere is much more complicated than doing it with a couple - esp if 4 of them are kids.)

As for what to bring you will need a stoller - or perhaps more than one - depending on the ages of the older kids. Also plan to divide up into groups - since older kids will be able to do a lot more than toddlers/infants.

For a hotel you will have to get either a suite or two separate rooms - and the kids re too young for the latter.

Urban legend has spread horror tales of clusters of children serving as pickpocket lookouts or distractions, rather than as targets. Still, herding your brood is sure to be distracting by itself, which can make you a target. Read up on general urban security.
Your kids are more at risk from the chaotic street traffic so discipline is vital.
Children probably enjoy activities more than trudging through the Louvre. Little things will involve them just by being different, such as going down into the Metro or looking at the Eiffel tower. They might like a boat ride, or shopping at a street market for a picnic. There's even a tour of the sewers which should satisfy the juvenile icck reflex.
Along the right bank of the Seine just up-river from Pont Neuf are several pet shops. You can look while knowing you have the perfect no-you-can't-have-a-puppy excuse, if the extraordinary prices are not persuasion enough.
Plenty of American movies run in English when marked VO (version originale).
If the adults want a taste of fine dining, going at lunch rather than the evening could be more practical. Parisiens tend to do family meals at home but on weekends they may take their offspring along for the traditional Sunday mid-day spread. Ethnic restaurants are another story. Along the old rue Mouffetard are several Green bistrots with flaming cheese and even flying dinner plates, although hardly haute cuisine. Seeing dogs and cats, well behaved and welcome under the table, will be a bonus for your kids.
The big science museum in Villette park has a kids' section and there is lots more to see http://www.parisdigest.com/paris_information.php?parisdigest_source=http://www.parisdigest.com/museums/lacitedessciences.htm&url=http://www.cite-sciences.fr/en/cite-des-sciences Or check these sites http://en.parisinfo.com/the-top-events-in-2013/for-the-kids/
http://www.timeout.fr/paris/en
http://www.paris.fr/english
The city runs 38 swimming pools. This site has most of them http://paris.angloinfo.com/af/751/paris-and-ile-de-france-municipal-swimming-pools.html Check for family hours.
Paris at the start of spring will rain on you but don't stay indoors; the locals don't. Be prepared, and enjoy Paris through youthful eyes.

One activity my six-year-old loved was the carousel and the park opposite the Musee Marmottan in the 16th. The carousel came complete with a jousting game, where the children are handed pointed sticks (!) and try to snag brass rings. The children have such fun.

The playground was terrific, too. We made a deal that if he was patient in the museum, I would be patient at the park. All I will say is that every art museum should have a bribe park outside....

There is a guide book by Cadogan Guides called Take the Kids: Paris, that proved pretty helpful for me.

Have fun!!

We spent a month in Paris when our kids were 3 and 6 (now both in college - hard to believe). It was a life highlight for all of us and I wish we could have stayed longer.

Mr. Crosscheck was there for work and many of his colleagues also brought their families, so we had a community of kids in the same hotel apts., which was terrific. But interactions with local kids were the best - at carousels, parks, marionette shows, etc. Our apt. in the 11th, not far from the Place de Voges in the Marais, a super cool location for kids and adults - went to the small park there daily.

We did visit the Parc Asterix (twice, very low-key and manageable compared to hyper theme parks here), as well as every other kid attraction/activity listed in Time Out. But our boys liked the iconic places just as much, especially sailing remote-controlled sailboats at the Tuileries - we were regulars there.

The key was to visit just one place a day and have lots of downtime and park time. We also found an English-speaking babysitter (there are agencies in the guidebooks, or you can call a hotel concierge) who came often in the evenings so we could go out to dinner or a concert. Other nights we went out with the kids - they stayed on a mid-Atlantic time schedule, so we sometimes went to street carnivals, boat rides, cave restaurants, etc.

No issues with pickpockets - but make sure your children carry business cards with your phone number and the address of your apartment. (Haven't read this whole thread, so not sure where you're staying.)

At the time, my boys were obsessed with Pokemon cards, baseball cards and small dinosaur figurines, so those were the only "toys" we needed to take, plus some books and playing cards. We bought soccer balls, board games, puzzles, sand toys and an abundance of Legos there.

I did take a folding stroller (but it would have been easy to buy one there). No food necessary - Everything there is superior and I'm certain you can anything you need for dietary restrictions. When my three-year old returned to his pre-school class, he reported that "the bread is better, the butter is better, the cheese is better and you can watch your clothes get clean through a window in the washing machine."

Forgot to say that at museums we would visit the gift shop first and each child would pick out 5 postcards of art/artifacts in the collection. Then we would go on a "treasure hunt" through the museum trying to find the pieces they had chosen. The kids loved this "museum game" and begged to go back to the Louvre.