Steve

In a few weeks my wife and I will be taking our two kids(ages 11 and 9) to Paris for a long weekend. Our children will enjoy the usual sights; bateau mouche, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, etc... However if anyone out there has any suggestions on restaurants or other activities during the evening it would be greatly appreciated. Merci.

Susan Tache

Paris is very child friendly city. We were in Paris in June and the Jardin du Luxembourg had all kinds of great kids activities - pony rides, puppet shows, a carnival with rides. Most of the parks seemed to be open at least until 8:00 p.m. <BR> <BR>A boat ride on the Seine after dark is great - all the monumets are beautifully lighted including the Eiffel Tower. On the briges and near the plaza there were all sorts of street performers. <BR> <BR>I hope your kids have a great time!

m

Check out info in Timeout.paris: kids section. (web site & book). We took the pariswalks tour & it was great! Canal ride up to LaVillette was great. If you are "progressive" check out the Pompidou.

Nano

Steve, <BR>I will be anxiously awaiting your trip report. We are taking our three kids, of similar ages, to Paris in July. Have a great trip. Nano

elaine

Hi Steve <BR>I have some notes on Paris that include quite a few suggestions for kids; if you would like to see them, email me <BR>

Pat M

Hi Steve, We are also taking our boys, ages 13 and 10, to Paris early November. We have had a tough time finding accommodations for a family of four. It never occurred to me that we couldn't get a room for 4 or a reasonably priced suite. We ended up with an "apartment" in a hotel which sounds like a US suite. This was quite a rarity! How did you fare with accommodations?

Nano

Just FYI, Pat, I had to book two rooms, a double and a single, when I booked at Champ de Mars, for the five of us. Now I'm thinking, oops, can I leave the kids in the triple by themselves or will my husband and I have to split up and each take a room with a kid or two. In the US, I would get two rooms with an open door between them, but I bet in Paris it doesn't work that way. C'est la vie.

Nano

I MEANT a double and a triple! Sorry.

Kathryn

On November 1, I am taking my 14 year old daughter, along with another mom and her teen daughter to Paris for a week. We plan on having lunch at the Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower for a "once in a lifetime" experience. We also will go to Versailles and will take the one day Parisvision tour to Bruges, Belgium. We also are looking into taking in a Parisian ballet. Can't wait!!! <BR> <BR>Kathryn

Patti

Kathryn, <BR>I will also be taking my teen, now 15, (we went to Paris together when she was 13) next spring. We will also be dining at Jules Verne and have thoughts of going to the ballet or opera (of course she's hoping The Backstreet Boys will be there then). I haven't been successful but I'm still in the planning stage, for the opera. What does the trip to Bruges involve? Is Parisvision a tour operator? By the way, when I told my daughter we were going back to Paris she asked, "Mom, do we have to make plans while we're there; can't we just "kick it" and enjoy the city." She may have a point! <BR>Have fun. <BR>Patti

Annie

ParisVision is indeed a tour operator. People say they are expensive. I don't think so. I think they can give you a "feel" for the city and you can decide what you want to go back and see at length. Their Versaille tour is good too. CityScope is the other tour company. Very similar tours check the bourchures at the hotel. Reception can make the reservation for you. A Van picks you up and drops you off at the hotel usually with 4-6 other people. Have a wonderful time!

Kathryn

Patti, <BR> <BR>I plan on booking Bruges on-line. If you go to Parisvision.com, you can see all their excursions. Bruges is one of the excursions and costs 710ff--which will be under $100 pp--that seems a good price to me for a day in Belgium. There are some posts on this site about the tour--search on "Brugge" or "Bruges." Some Fodorites who took this very tour really enjoyed it. Will let you know how we liked it upon our return! (My daughter studied the Middle Ages in 6th grade and is dying to see a medieval town!) <BR> <BR>Kathryn

Marsha

You may want to check out the book "Kidding Around Paris." It is out-of-print, but your local library may have it. (It is from a series for 8-15 year olds regarding visiting big cities of the world.) It will get your kids thinking about what they want to see and do in Paris. My daughter (8) liked the ParisVision evening tour, until she fell asleep! She also like les Jardin de Luxembourg, but got bored at Versailles because she does not have any European history background. You may want to talk about the Kings of France if you are going to Versailles.