E

I’m planning our first trip to Paris. We will be in Paris for 5 nights in April. I will be going with my husband and our 3 year old. I am looking forward to going to the Louvre, Jardin des Tuileries, Musée Picasso, Notre Dame, eating French food and just spending time strolling with my little one in the park. Is this too much for 5 days? Any other ideas? It’s so hard to plan a visit when I really want to see everything, but I think we will have a nicer time if we don’t cram too much into one visit. Thank you in advance.

s.fowler

I think you have a GREAT attitude! Pick a few "must-sees" and then let your [and your child's] energy determine the rest. You might read Adam Gopnik's "Paris to the Moon" -- for the things he did with his young son while they were living in Paris. They spent a lot of time in Luxembourg Gardens. You might also ask here for family-friendly restaurants -- I remember an edition of Frommer's Paris guide that had a short list. <BR>Traveling with a young 'un you see many fewer "things", but, if you just enjoy the pace you can soak up Paris itself!

jw

What a delightful time you have to look forward to. Please let me recommend the Musee d'Orsay, where you'll see works of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, and my favorite church, the Sainte-Chapelle (near Notre Dame on the Ile-de-la-Cite. What a magnificent city. I've always been there in June, so perhaps someone can tell you of their April weather. My favorite guide book for Paris is the Paris Dorling Kindersley Travel Guide (EyeWitness). Bon Voyage. JW

Jane

E: <BR>Have a wonderful time with your family! Another favorite place of mine was the Musee Rodin. The sculpture garden is wonderful with plenty of room for your little one to roam. <BR> <BR>I also second the Musee D'Orsay.

Dont

Don't forget the Rodin. It's a beautiful museum, and usually not too crowded.

mimi taylor

I'd like to add the Luxenbourg gardens.I've always wished I had a child to take there because of the popular marionete show, donkey rides and the Bois de Boulogne also with a marionette theater, zoo, amusement park and boating. The biggest zoo is in the Bois de Vincennes. The Tuileries where chlidren sail bathtub boats in a pond watching guignol in the puppets show. The parks are one of our favorite things about beautiful Paris

Bob Brown

Five days in Paris will go like this: <BR>POOOF. <BR>I am up to 10 days now, in terms of visits in recent years, and I still am working my way through the "must see" list. [Granted, it does keep growing.] <BR> <BR>My recommendation is to relax and take it at your pace. I am not sure what the trade off is between a painting at the Louvre and a strawberry tart at La Brioche Doree (or other goodie place), but there comes a time in the day when the strawberry tart wins, hands down. <BR>Quit pushing it and go to watching while sitting. <BR> <BR>You cannot see it all no matter what you do, so I see no logical reason to make yourself miserable by pushing it to the limit. Paris is forever changing, so you are not going to "see it all" [what ever that means] in one trip anyhow because some of it hasn't happened yet. <BR> <BR>And that 3 year old is going to dictate a lot of what you do. <BR> <BR>Just remember, you will want an excuse to go back. So take the Rick Steves style tour of the Louvre: hit the high spots and then exit. Otherwise, the Louvre can swallow a whole day in one quick gulp and leave you wondering what you saw. Save the detailed, comprehensive visit for your next trip. <BR> <BR>If you are an art lover, I do recommend the Musee d'Orsay and the Rodin Museum. <BR>The Rodin might not interest your youngster, but s/he will have a garden to romp around in. <BR> <BR>I would save the out of town trips to places like Fontainebleau until later. <BR>Also, I think taking a child of 3 to Versailles would be traumatic, given the crush of people that does a good job of emulating the mob of 1789. Even I, at 6 feet plus, was getting claustrophobic. I was tired of being pushed, squeezed, and bumped. <BR>Maybe you go inside one at a time, and the other stays with your child in the gardens. <BR> <BR>Just one final note on the Louvre. I consider myself to be moderately prepared to go to such a place. I have read up on art history, and I am mildly conversant with the styles of many of the great masters. We took the "highlights tour" in the morning, e.g. the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus, and a few others. Then we had lunch. <BR> <BR>After lunch, we started to see some of the other galleries. After about 2 more hours, my eyes glazed over and I was like a man in a hypnotic trance. My wife finally noticed my situation and called a halt. [She had long sense lost interest and was walking with me because she thought I was still part of this planet and had some idea of what was going on.] My chief recall of that last hour is wooden floors and paintings. Don't ask me what they were about because I don't know. <BR> <BR>So if you visit the Louvre, hit definite objectives, and then get the xyz out of there. Go back later for another small dose. <BR>

Surlok

On the same day you're going to Picasso Museum, take your little one to Place des Vosges, it's nearby, and have lunch or tea in a cafe there. You'll all love it. Then head southwest, towards the Seine, and look for La Samaritaine. It's a department store. Take the lift to the rooftop floor, and watch the views of Paris from there. <BR> <BR>Surlok

s.fowler

Wow! This is all great advice for any age

Leslie

Of course you will visit the Eifel Tower won't you? Even ride to the top for the view? <BR> <BR>If you are lucky, your child will fall asleep in the stroller while you are in the art museums. My experience with children ages 8 - 12 is that they hate art museums and complain the whole time we are there! So I limit my time there to the minimum and bribe the kids with a 'next stop' promise of something they really want if they behave themselves. In the Uffizi in Florence, their reward was gelato! In the National Gallery in London, the reward was a visit to the brass rubbing center next door! But a cranky 3 year old probably couldn't be bribed in this way..so I'll just wish you lucky timing and suggest you not miss the Louvre or the Musee D'Orsay and save the others for your next trip.

Julie

It's been a while since we've had a 3 year old but I think they're able to ride on carrousels with an adult standing near so take your little one to the Park Ranleigh where they have an old fashioned, hand cranked carrousel where children are actually handed a stick with which to try to grab gold rings as they pass by. It's so delightfully old=-fashioned. Then treat yourselves to the Musee de Marmatton just across the street which is a lovely old mansion housing some of the larger Monet waterlilly paintings.

E

Thank you very much to everyone who has given me their advice. Five days I am sure will go by much much too quickly. I’m worried now that this is going to turn into a trip where we see spend too much time sightseeing and don’t slow down to relax. That’s exactly what I wanted to resist doing. <BR> <BR>We are very lucky that our daughter is easy to take many places… trips, moderately long dinners, even museums as long as we don’t overdue it. She usually can handle 2 or 3 hours in an art museum as long as we do things like talk to her about the paintings, show her things that she can relate to like paintings of horses or mothers with babies… I think the Musée Rodin that someone else mentioned would be relatively easy to visit with her and I guess we will just have to see about the Musée d’Orsay. As for the Louvre, I hope I can make 2 visits there, one as a family and one alone while my husband takes our little girl to the park or something. Even in 2 visits to the Louvre, I expect only to get a good overview, but hopefully this won’t be my one and only trip to Paris. As patient as our daughter is, I think so many museums in such a short visit might be a little much for her and maybe too much for me and my husband, too. Something will probably have to give. Also, I want to see more of Paris than just the museums. The suggestion to go to the Park Ranleigh with the carousel and the Musée de Marmatton is perfect for us. That sounds like a nice balance between the a relaxing time at the park and sightseeing. <BR> <BR>Whatever we decide, nothing is carved in stone before we get there, and I am sure we are going to have a wonderful time. Thanks again for everyone’s advice. <BR>

E

I just wanted to add that I plan get Adam Gopnik's book "Paris to the Moon" (and Peter Mayle's "French Lessons: Adventures with a Knife and Fork") Thank you for the book recommendation!

Mr. Go

A self-guided tour of the Opera House is a good way to kill 2 hours. And you must - MUST - take the little one for an ice cream on the Ile St. Louis. Best I've ever had. <BR> <BR>My 7-year-old had a fine time playing in the little park on the western tip of the Ile de Cite with a young Dutch child. Neither spoke a word of the other's language, but they played for an hour. <BR> <BR>Oh yeah, take an evening river boat tour, too. And a stroll through the pedestrian-only streets of the Latin quarter.

nbale

Check out the Trocadero Gardens across from the Eiffel Tower. I spent several hours there just people watching. The fountains go off about every hour, very entertaining. Lots of families, little ones playing in the fountain pool (this was mid-May & very warm) and lots of young people on skates showing off their skills. I think a small child would enjoy this. <BR> <BR>There's a great sidewalk cafe called Le Depart (something) at Blvd St Michel & the Seine - has the best ice cream sundaes and great people watching. Saw a few children enjoying the ice cream. Might be a nice rest stop after Notre Dame, etc.