When we travel, we don't see a lot of kids of any age in restaurants or other places, either. I know kids exist, so here are our theories (can you tell we've talked about this amongst ourselves?):
- We tend to travel during the school year (our kids used to be in year-round school; we've also taken them during their fall break), so the children living in the places that we're visiting are, as ours would be if we were at home, at home doing homework (even if their parents are eating out or going to museums).
- We mostly eat, visit and stay in tourist areas. In any city in the world, fewer children/kids live in those areas.
- We don't eat at "kid-friendly" restaurants on vacation, or, come to think of it, in the U.S. either. So we tend to eat at restaurant where fewer kids want to eat (though ours do, while on vacation).
- Even if we were at home, we wouldn't bring our kids out to eat at nice restaurants very often, and I assume others do the same. Same with stuff like going to museums and the like; even if parents bring the offspring, they probably don't do it real often.
- I'm a runner, and often run on vacation in the early morning - this is when I see the most kids, on their way to school. I also remember a somewhat-unpleasant ride on a London bus when the schoolkids were heading home.

We tend to assume that the kids are at home doing homework and other home stuff. When we do see kids, they are in the younger age ranger - we assume the teen-agers are studying or out with friends at places we wouldn't be interested in going.

The OP doesn;t say how old her grandchildren are - but I certainly wouldn;t be taking a toddler - or even a preschooler out to dinner in a restaurant. They simply don;t have the patience to sit through a 2 hour dinner.

If the kids are that young - not sure I would take them to Paris at all (if the trip is primarily for them).

We did London and Paris with my daughters when they were 11 and 14 - and they loved both places - including eating out. Not sure very little kids would feel the same.

My goodness, some of you are replying as though I said the French must keep their children in kid jail. We did eat earlier than the French do and did spend most of our time in tourist areas, however our hotel was in a mostly residential area. My grandchildren are 6, 7 and 9 so we will be doing more parks, carousels, and Jardins d'Acclimitation, so maybe we will see more kids there. My concern was that I did find several restaurant sites on the web (for all areas of Paris) that rated most of the restaurants as 'no' in the child friendly category. We shall see if my experience is the same this time as the other 2 times I have been to Paris. I still stand by my original statement. In Italy, children are everywhere at all times of the day and night. So we shall see about Paris with our little ones in tow. I'm surprised that this one little query turned into such a debate from most of the replies instead of being helpful. Thanks to those of you who were helpful instead of angry.

We were in the medieval town of Provins (well worth visiting) and walked past the local primary school. The lunch menu for each day of that week was displayed outside, and it was just like a typical French menu. There were several courses, including one labelled "dairy" which was sometimes cheese and sometimes yoghurt. French children are brought up to have proper meals.

I dont think the responses were angry - I think people were just either surprised or just offering reasons why it might be the case that you didnt see them (like mine).

I dont have kids so cant help with restaurants, but just wanted to give a reason why it may be that you didnt see them.

Anybody interested in this topic should check out travelforkids.com and see the travel tip for kids eating in Paris. Then you will see my concerns as rational.

I did follow that link to the travel tips for kids eating in Paris and didn't see anything in it that would make your concerns rational. Sure, one restaurant said it was full - they might have done that because you were inappropriately dressed, too - it wasn't definitely about the kids. ALL the other information was uniformly positive.

And I wouldn't give much credence to a travel/food guide who can't spell foie gras, either.

The site also doesn't address your very peculiar statement that you didn't see kids in public places in Paris.

Plus, (regarding the link) the experience of one couple at one restaurant doesn't indicate a wide-spread problem.

Meanwhile, take advantage of the plethora of experience available to you on this thread. I've taken my daughter to Paris at several different ages, including as a 14 month old toddler. It was never a problem.

I remember that when I was a little boy brought to France, I hated the fact that sandwiches were exclusively made with a baguette (not at all the case anymore). I would have preferred mushy white bread. And yet I also have a vivid memory of how much I liked the flavor of the ham, the butter and the bread. My only complaint was with the crustiness of the bread, but since I was hungry and needed to eat and knew that I was not at home anymore, I adapted.

Just my little anecdote of the day.

I was in Paris two years ago with my then 6 yr old granddaughter, and eating out was never a problem. Although we did not go to Michelin-starred restaurants, we didn't go to chains or typically "kid friendly" places. We are returning this April with her and her 5 yr old brother and don't anticipate any issues this time either.

We took a one hour boat ride at 9 one evening, and around 10:30 pm we were returning to our apt. via rue du Buci, and decided to have a late dinner at an outside cafe. Felt less guilty about having her out so late when we saw other young children with their families, also. We also had a very nice dinner (earlier!) at Le Petit St. Benoit on rue St. Benoit another evening; other children there, also. And these would probably not be categorized as "child friendly", yet they, in fact, were.

You will not have any difficulties finding places to eat with your grandchildren; have a great trip!

sharocee, why bother to ask the question if you will take one anecdote as the ultimate response ? The author used one example and it didn't turn into, "don't visit Paris with kids" did it ? It turned into - be smart and sometimes change your expectations with children.

I don't think people are replying with anger - I think they are replying with different experiences. But if you aren't willing to listen to those different experiences, why even start the thread ?

Is this answer better? "Absolutely no children in Paris eat out with their parents. They are pariahs. Don't even bother."

I can only give you my personal experience of traveling first with 2 girls - ages 5 and 7 and then three years later with 3 kids - ages 6, 8, and 10. We didn't dine at 9pm in fine cuisine. We rented an apartment to make our lives easier, but ate out every lunch and a few dinners. We found waiters extremely accommodating to the kids. We didn't eat in any chain restaurants that tailor to kids - instead we ate in the neighborhood-type bistros.

Have you thought about renting an apartment for this reason ? (along with other good reasons).

good luck. I can guarantee if you go to Paris looking for a problem, you'll find it. However, it will be contrary to many of our experiences.

sharocee, I apologize if I've typed some strong words - however, I fully admit that my bias is when people start a thread asking for opinions and when everyone doesn't agree immediately, they dig in deeper.

I can only share my experiences - and read those posted here.

Paris is a wonderful place for kids! My kids loved it and we had a great time. I wish more people would experience more than the Epcot version of France and actually take their kids there. It doesn't have to be a difficult thing - so kudos to you for taking grandkids and have a wonderful trip! Read trip reports - there are some good ones out here from people who have traveled with kids.

I only asked a question and got such strong opinions that I replied in kind. Hope I don't meet up with you in Paris. You are far too angry for the topic to be a good discussion. Fini et bonne journee.

so I try to apologize for my strong words and you reply as such ? I compliment you on taking your grandkids there and you ignore that ?

Why did I bother ?



I will ask this last question: Why did you register to ask a question and not bother to listen to the replies ?