Anybody have suggestions for making this a meaningful experience -- books, tours geared for kids, any other ideas. Mine will be 6 and 9 when we are there.

One idea I found interesting is to head first to the museum shop, let them pick out postcards of paintings they like, then go on a "treasure hunt" for them in the museum. Although, as vast as the Louvre is, this sounds a little daunting to me.

I also plan to get some kids books about art before we go, but if anyone has any helpful hints or suggestions of other museums (in Paris) you have enjoyed with your children, I'm all ears!

I STRONGLY suggest you hire Michael Osman for the day!!! You will be absolutely captivated and your kids will have a learning experience unavailable other ways.

Thanks for your response Gretchen. Can you give me more info about Michael Osman?

For the Louvre, follow the walking tour in the Rick Steves book. It is pretty brief and hits the high points. If you have anybody into ancient Egypt, include their ancient Egyptian section,too...it's amazing.

Once outside the Louvre, spend time in the Tuilleries. There is a carousel, a way cool playground and even trampolines. Get a crepe and let them burn off their engergy. My kids were 13, 11 and 8 when we took them to Paris and when we asked what they wanted to do on the last day, they all wanted to go back to the playground at the Tuilleries!

As for the Orsay, I hate to tell you, but my kids were bored. One is a dancer and I thought sure she would eat up the Degas, but she too was bored. They did perk up at the pointalism (sp?) but they didn't appreciate the art as much as I hoped.

I think it depends how long you plan to be in the Louvre. I don't know any 6 year old that can be interested in an art museum for long. The guide sounds like a good idea, but I think you have to decide if going to the Louvre is for you or for your kids. Sure, you can turn it into some kid-thing and games, but why does everything have to revolve around them? Spending your time going on a treasure hunt for one photo rather than seeing what you want to see in the Louvre seems like an incredible waste of time to me.

I agree with Christina about Michael Osman. Here is his website http://www.geocities.com/parisfinder/. His e-mail address is [email protected]. We just recently had him take us through the Louvre, and he kept our 10 year old son pretty well engaged. I can highly recommend him.

I strongly recommend the Cite des Sciences - most of it is geared toward kids. Their web site alone should convince you - go to www.cite-sciences.fr and click on the UK/US flag for English.

You might also want to go with your kids to the web sites of various museums you are considering, and let them decide (well, up to a point) which ones look interesting.

Our kids (just a year or so younger than yours at the time) also enjoyed the Rodin Museum. It was manageable - not huge, but fascinating sculpture, and an excellent sculpture garden where we had a small bench picnic as well.

If your kids, or one of them, are girls and they like dolls, consider the Musee de la Pompe (I think its called) - the doll museum of Paris.

This is in addition, of course, to the Louvre and Orsay, tho I'd avoid staying in any one of them for more than 1-1/2 hours. Don't forget the Pompidou as well - the fountain in front is a blast.

Here's another huge recommendation for Michael Osman - your kids will find him and art fascinating.

Thanks for the responses and the recommendation to contact Michael. He sounds wonderful (I did a quick search of the threads) especially in the way that he relates to kids.

While I expressed my own reservations about hunting down a particular piece of art in a place as large as the Louvre, I did think it was a novel approach to engaging a child's interest. I'm really not looking for ways to make the Louvre into a game or have the entire trip "revolve" around the kids, but I do want to involve them. After years of taking trips to Europe mainly without them we feel they are of an age to appreciate this trip.

Thanks especially to Missypie and jjg for the comments about their own experiences. I would love to hear from anyone else who has done this trip/these things with kids.

Thanks also to laughingd2 and djkbooks -- you must have been posting while I was writing.

My kids really enjoyed the Picasso Museum. It's not terribly large. I don't know if we were really "appreciating" the art, but we would look at a painting, try to guess what it was, then read the name of the painting. The kids got a big kick out of that.

Also, the Beauburg/Pompidieu (I can't spell) would have been great fun had it not been our second museum of the day. Lots of the art is very modern, fun, creative, etc.

If you have time, you could tour a museum a day, starting at the Musee de Moyen Age (PLEASE forgive my spelling) for the middle ages, then move to the Louvre, then the Orsay, then the Picasso, then the Pompidieu. You'd have covered several centuries!

By the way, if your kids are familiar with the first Harry Potter book, Nicholas Flammel's house is just a few blocks from the Pompidieu (the "oldest house in Paris&quot.

Take your children to the Sacre Coeur where you will find vendors selling mechanical birds that fly.

Then take them to the Tuilliris (sp) and let them fly their birds. It's not a meaningful activity but it will be memorable for them.

http://www.travelforkids.com/Funtodo/France/france.htm

What I like about this site is the many book suggestions after the travel info.

My 14 yr old son and I loved the little zoo at the Jardin des Plantes and also Musee de l'Armee.

http://www.parismuse.com/seminars/lo...re.shtml#Clues

Haven't done it but looks interesting. I've seen mention of Paris Muse tours of the Louvre on the message boards so you may find some info.

I contacted Michael Osman and although he wasn't available on my requested day he set me up with his friend Scott. I whole heartedly endorse the two as well.

My kids really enjoyed it when we handed them the museum map and asked them to navigate us to whichever room we next wanted to visit. Your postcard idea is good but would probably work better in a museum much smaller than the Louvre. We did follow Rick Steves' tour suggestion which worked well for us and then branched out further on our own. Michael Osman, however, sounds very worthwhile.

We found taking a snack break (even if it is a bit expensive) at one of the cafes in the museum refreshed us enough that we stayed longer and saw more than we had originally planned.

Our family enjoyed the Rodin museum much more than the Pompidou (although the building is interesting.) I think we tried to see too much at the Orsay and should have probably limited our time there more than we did.

Have a great trip!

Michael's approach to art museums is as a teacher. I told him he really should be a teacher (he is an artist) because he has the most engaging way of explaining things. We did not spend a lot of time at the Louvre (by our choice) but he showed us things we had not seen on previous trips (I know that is not hard to do) that made the art come alive.
You also need to be aware that not all the Louvre is open every day so a picture on the post card might not be available.
One very interesting thing Michael did was to show and explain the archaeology and history of the building.

Thanks to all who have responded with ideas and personal experience with kids in the many museums -- I truly appreciate it. Fodorites never fail to come through with fun and useful suggestions! (and I love that "non-meaningful" but memorable bird flying idea)

Amwosu -- great links, thanks for posting them.

I highly recommend ParisMuse Clues.
www.parismuse.com.
We did this with our son when he was ten and it was great. An art historian will take you through the museum, starting with Egyptian Art and get as far as time will allow. Your child will be given "clues" along the way and have to solve a word problem in the end. Once the puzzle is solved, they will then go to the baggage claim and will have to, in french, read their messeage to the clerk. Once succesfully communicated, they will get their "prize", which is an educational CD on Art History.
If possible, ask for Ellen.

I would do some research and reading with the kids before ever going to Paris. My daughter (age 8) and I read "Kidding Around Paris" and some other children's books about the sites and art found in Paris. One book was the story of Degas' "Little Dancer," so of course that was the item she had to find at the Musee d'Orsay. She also loves clay sculpting, so she was fascinated by the Egyptian Antiquities at the Louvre. She was also intrigued by the 18th century French painters - who knows why? I would go early and visit only one museum a day - a couple of hours at the most and then eat lunch there. (Great people-watching!) We have followed this schedule with both kids in Paris and London and we survived.

One more thought - you may have people say "why take the kids to the museums etc. etc." Every so often, our kids will mention some thing they noticed or enjoyed at one of "big people" museums - "hey, do you remember the mummies at the British Museum? That one was all curled up. Why was he different than the other mummies?" They understand more history and art than you would think. So even if they appear tired, cranky or bored, they are picking up something. My daughter, now 14, has a broader appreciation of art, music, history and culture than most 14 year olds.