avalon

ANother place the boy might like the Musee of Magic

http://www.lebestofparis.com/for-kids/musee-de-la-magie

suec1

Personally, for that amount of time, I'd want to do a 2 or 3 night trip away. Maybe another poster could suggest a beach in Brittany (I've not been there) OR the chunnel to London or perhaps Brugges or Amsterdam. I would have said Nice but if you are going in August I wouldn't head south. For a 9 year old, I'd think a train trip to another location would be fun. Also Fat Tire Bike has an outing where you bike to Giverney - that might be nice. But you already have a lot of great suggestions if you decide to stay in Paris the entire time!

Be_Cre8ive

Avalon: thanks for the Musee de la Magie suggestion. My son is so into magic at this age. Will definitely check it out!

Suec1: we will be going to London after the 10days in Paris. Sadly, I cant ride a bike so bike tour is out. But still considering another day trip - perhaps Disneyland Paris.

taconictraveler

Great report for the Paris bound even sans children, ( or no matter what age the children are LOL)
I'm going to use many of these to get my darling DH more interested in planning our days in Paris in the fall!!! Merci mille fois!

Be_Cre8ive

My DH doesn't like planning either taconictrav ... So I will plan and he will just go along with my plans lol. But I do know what his interests are, so I plan around that...

Gretchen

I would try to engage Michael Osman for at least one day with your family--and particularly your nine year old. He is a natural teacher, in my opinion, and would totally enthrall all of you. You could let him suggest where to go. I'd REALLY get him for a day of museums for a real art history level on everyone's learning curve.
As for that amount of time being too long, who knows. You could easily do a day trip to the Loire and show your child the big "castles". I certainly wouldn't go back to Versailles--or to Disneyland.

Gretchen

I would try to engage Michael Osman for at least one day with your family--and particularly your nine year old. He is a natural teacher, in my opinion, and would totally enthrall all of you. You could let him suggest where to go. I'd REALLY get him for a day of museums for a real art history level on everyone's learning curve.
As for that amount of time being too long, who knows. You could easily do a day trip to the Loire and show your child the big "castles". I certainly wouldn't go back to Versailles--or to Disneyland.

avalon

YES to Michael.He is wonderful with children! And 9 days is too short not too long. We go to Paris for 2 to 3 weeks twice a year for the last 25 years and never are bored or not have something to do.
Bcre8tive, if you go to the Musee de la Magic on rue st Paul, there is a very nice bistro cafe for lunch on the corner or rue St Paul and Rue St Antoine, La Bouquet St Paul.It is right across from our apt and we dine there several times on each trip...and they serve Berthillon ice cream!!

Be_Cre8ive

Thanks Gretchen. Will look him up.

Avalon: I Appreciate the info. I will definitely try the bistro you recommend. We had such a bad experience with French food on our 1st trip there, I actually lost 5 lbs in a couple if weeks. We kept getting raw steak no matter how many times we sent it back, and shrimp that stared at us. I hope this time will be a little different - since I've gotten a few recommendations of where to dine and have also grown and have a more distinguished taste in French cuisine.

Be_Cre8ive

Anyone in Paris now? I heard they've Been having terrible weather recently - windy, rainy ! Should I leave my summer dresses home?

adrienne

<< shrimp that stared at us >>

Shrimp includes the heads all over Europe, not just Paris.

Judy

Looking at weather.com, the current weather is not the norm for this time of year.....so difficult to predict if it will stay inclement or change. I'd take the summer dresses and a sweater or two to layer if necessary.

Have a fantastic trip! We've been close to 20 times, stay 1-2 weeks at a time, and have yet to run out of things to do. We, too, recommend Michael Osman. He customizes his tour to your interests and we still use him as a guide every trip.

Be_Cre8ive

Yes Adrienne: I NOW know about the heads on shrimp lol. but on my 1st visit, it sure did freak me out enough not to go close to them.

thanks for the advice Judy

Be_Cre8ive

Any suggestions to calm my nerves? How can someone who loves to travel hate flying so much ???

LuLu

Another vote for Michael Osman. He can be reached at [email protected] but you have to be persistent, i.e. bug him!!

Be_Cre8ive

Lol Lulu. Ok!

klondiketoo

<Any suggestions to calm my nerves? How can someone who loves to travel hate flying so much ???>



I'm right there with you! Fortunately for me, Dramamine makes me sleepy, so a couple of those 1 hour before take off and I'm more relaxed than with prescription meds I've tried. I also listen to my favorite "calming" music up until it's time to turn off all electronics. My husband also knows to let me alone and not have a lot of activity/talk leading up to takeoff-makes a world of difference for me.

gardendiva

A third vote for Michael. However, do not be disappointed if he is unavailable. He is usually booked months in advance. We did a one day tour with him. He took us on an "express" tour of the Louve and then to shopping areas off the beaten path. We all found Micheal to be very interesting, informative and FUN. You can tell him exactly what you want to see or just give him an idea and he runs with it. That was one of the best days of our trip.

We also took a day trip to Reims for a tour of a champagne house. I am not sure of the transportation to this city because we were fortunate to have a friend that lives there and he drove us from Paris to Reims and back.

tdk320n

TTT