Age 13 - Don't miss in Paris?
 

What should two 13 year old girls and their dad not miss in Paris? They like art and culture, but are also just 13.... They also love cafes and shopping. They will be staying near the Louvre and only have 4 days.

Who knows? My two kids (10 and 13) responded very differently to Paris. One loved the night life -- watching people and being in the thick of things. The other was overwhelmed.

3 things they agreed on: This sounds obvious, but the Eiffel Tower after dark. I've been to Paris a number of times, have never gone to the top, had no intention of doing so. We went during the day and the line was too long. The worker at the information desk said to come back after 10. After 10, we were tired and almost didn't go -- but we did. Of the 3+ months we spent in Europe, it was the #1 highlight. (For them, not me!)

They both loved Ste Chappelle. They both hated Musee d'Orsay. We had a museum pass, so it wasn't the wait to get in. It was just too crowded inside. From their perspective, that was the biggest waste of time of our 3+ months in Europe.

And your daughters will probably have entirely different reactions!

Jeanm, thanks, that's helpful. What was appealing to them about St. Chappelle? Did you do a boat ride by any chance? thanks!!

Dad may not be as thrilled but the girls would probably like the fashion show at the department store Galeries Lafayette. It is held once or twice a week and is mostly attended by Americans but my teenage daughter and I enjoyed it. We also enjoyed seeing the ballet at the Opera Garnier (the old opera house).

The boat ride is a good idea too. I haven't done one at night, but it is apparently dramatic as the lights are coming on. I have gone during the day, using the Vedettes de Pont Neuf. They leave from two places: near the Eiffel Tower and at the tip of Ile de la Cite. They are smaller than the Bateaux Mouches and the commentary is live rather than taped, although I found the commentary difficult to hear in any event.

Nikki, thanks for that; I had heard about the fashion show and will check it out; and great tip re the boat. Did you do the wax museum, or Invalides?

no, and no.

This past June I was in Paris with my 13 years old grandaughter.We went back to all our familiar places, to the sacre Coeur in Montmartre, Saint Denis Cathedral,her favourite, the Eiffel Tower, the museum D'orsay, the Louvre etc.., we also took the boat ride..We just walked around the city, have lunch at small places etc..,
This was the fourth time that Brooke went to France, the first time was when she was 7 years old, therefore is quite familiar with Provence, Cote D'Azur and Paris..
We did not go to any fashion shows in Paris,because she is more interested in the arts , of course now she has a new great passion,Dillon, her horse.

My 14 yr old son and I really enjoyed the little zoo at the Jardin de Plantes. Interesting architecture of the housing for the animals and some animals we'd not seen before.

When mine was 13 she loved the Conciergerie (did a lot of reading abut Marie Antoinette beforehand), St-Chapelle, the Impressionist floor in the Musée d'Orsay, the bâteaux-mouches and the Batobus, the ferris wheel on the Place de la Concorde (it's only there certain months of the year), ice cream at Amorino, hot chocolate at Angelina, citron pressé at any café, and shopping at Zara, Pimkie, Etam, and Gudule.

Why not get the girls a guidebook and have them figure out what they want to do?

Excellent advice from StCirq.

((I))

Last summer I was in Paris with my 14 year old daughter and 12 year old sons.

We wandered, saw the usual sights, river cruise, found shopping for teenage girls is good on Rue de Rennes. Monoprix has some bargains. There have been some threads on this subject so try a search here.

The highlight of our trip was an evening bicycle tour of the city.

www.fattirebiketours.com

and they also do segway tours which are probably more fun, but more expensive and you don't get to see quite so much.

Have a great trip!