Hello,

I am taking my daughter (14 yo) to Paris for a fun mom/daughter week. We are planning to go next spring for 7-8 days. I am at the very beginning of the planning process. Looking for hotel/restaurant/activity recommendations.

Thank you!

Does your daughter have any special interests?

If your daughter is into clothes and fashion like mine is, I would suggest 3 unique activities:

First, a stop at Diedre Ludot the vintage designer clothing store where Reese Witherspoon, Demi Moore and other actress have purchased vintage dresses. It is located at 24 Gallerie Montpensier in Les Jardin du Palais-Royal. He has two stores, one that is just all black dresses (Le Petit Robe Noire). When we were there it had black dresses from famous movies in the window.

Second, I would also suggest Musee Galliera, a fashion museum. It has temporary exhibits, so check before you go that there is an exhibit going on.

Third, one of the free fashion shows a Galleries Lafayette.

If she is at all interested in history, I would strongly recommend a daytrip to Normandy. It was a highlight of our trip for all of us, incl. my kids who were 13 and 10 at the time.

Thank you for the replies. My daughter is very much into Art/History. I was planning a day at the Louve and one at Orsay. Perhaps a trip to Givernay to tour Monets gardens. I love the fashion suggestions. Those are the type of things I am looking for.

How about hotels or restaurants? Do you think a trip to the Opera would be fun??

thanks again!

Give you daugher a few guide books or articles on Paris. Rents some movies which were filmed in Paris. Have her plan an activity a day or each of you do a list of want to dos and the organize the days from the list. I found this a very successful with my kids (3 boys) as it made them take ownership of the trip and it became a joint project...and they found some wonderful activities that I wouldnt have thought of!

badger..re hotel what is the budget? Would you consider an apt?

Badger - you are going to have an amazing time!

Please do share your hotel/apartment budget - it will help us to recommend.

Best,
Dawn

I recall seeing a Samantha Brown Passport to Europe show that talked about a street in paris that showcases all the up and coming designers that looked quite fun. You migh be able to find more about it on travelchannel.com. Giverny is beautiful and should be in full bloom in the spring (we saw it in august and it was still beautiful). As for hotels, you might to first look at venere.com and plug in your budget (they will show the prices in both dollars and euros if you ask). You may also want to investigate either a bike or segway tour. Both are fun, the segways are unique and a great way to see the city.

Our hotel budget will be generous. Looking for something very convenient to major sites as I do not want to rent a car. Planning on taking the Metro or taxi to most places. Have not really considered an apt. since I will probably rely on having a concierge help us with many aspects of our vacation ie restaurant reservations etc.

Thank you!

There are 100 hotels with rates that start at $300/night in Paris. If you want to be in the $150-300/night range, there are another 200 or so. You may want to narrow down the area and ammenities you're looking for first. The star rating system in europe for hotels is different than here - its more of a yes/no checklist. For example, a beautiful, a/c, well maintained hotel may only be 2* if it doesn't have a onsite restaurant or room service. Conversely, a place with small rooms with an onsite restaurant could be listed as a 4*. Its all based on the sheer number of criteria it meets - not about the quality of the criteria. Does that make sense? In other words, look carefully.

Badger, please define generous..for some this might be 200 euros for others 800! Again not having a car in Paris is the only option IMO..a car is nothing but an expensive bother.

Badger-

< Our hotel budget will be generous >

It'll be best if you give us an actual $/€ amount for hotel per night. What is generous for you may be extravagant for others. I mean, is generous = €200/night or €500/night or €800/night???

< I do not want to rent a car. >

Good idea. The last thing you'd ever want (or need) is to drive a car in Paris.

My favorite hotel in Paris is Le Meurice. It has the perfect location right on the Jardin des Tuilleries. You can walk straight across the park to the Orsay, go east to the Louvre and west to the Place de la Concorde.

I stayed there for a night in April, and this is an elegant but comfortable palace hotel wonderfully restored to its traditional grandeur.

http://www.hoteldulouvre.com/en/?

I stayed here with my family in June of 07. We really liked the property - it had a Paris feel to us - the staff was wonderful.

Be sure to get the breakfast included if you stay here it is fantastic.

Ha ha ha -- the concept of a car for visiting Paris!

I take it you have never been to Paris before, Badger5?

Here is a google map to some of the luxury hotels in Paris: http://tinyurl.com/4vvn87

Hi

Maybe you can find some useful info in my Paris trip report with pictures, links, maps etc on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com/Paris_France.htm . Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Our son, now 13 but 10 when he first visited Paris, also loves art and history. Of course, he loved the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay (he's a big fan of the Impressionists).

What kind of art/history in particular does your daughter like?

My son had read the Hunchback of Notre Dame before our trip, and we talked a lot about the history of Notre Dame, and Victor Hugo. It made our visit to the church, particularly the towers, even more special.

My son discovered that he loves modern art, so on our last trip, we visited Pompideau. We also went to Musee Marmatton, a smaller museum in a former house (beautiful building) with a large collection of Monets. To my surprise, our son didn't like this museum as much (I loved it!)

Give your daughter some guidebooks, and have her partipate in coming up with ideas. I like Eyewitness Guides for the planning phase, as they include many pictures.

On the restaurant recommendations, you'll find many, many, many suggestions here if you do a search. What kind of restaurant do you have in mind? Is your daughter an adventurous eater?

I live in France and did this sort
sort of trip with my niece as a treat for her birthday.
The vintage fashion of Ludot ? At 14 I am not so sure and the prices are just staggeringand I don't think their windows are that exciting . Their location however is superb (Palais Royal) and just 3 minutes walk from the Louvre so why not have a look.
One whole day in the Louvre might be a lot to take in .
Of course both le Louvre and Orsay are wonderful.
As a 14 year old you would like a lively Parisian brasserie for dinner I would say.
I can recommend several but one of my favourties is the "Grand Colbert" (Diana Keaton and Keanu Reeves +Jack Nicholson have dinner in the movie in the movie) You have to book and ask for a centrally located table, if not there is a risk the put you more or less on a side. It is a very lively wonderful brasserie the interior is just so beautiful.. Don't go too early.
I took my young niece to the Lido and she absolutely loved it, it was the memory of a lifetime.You can book on line they have packages including dinner. The food is not great but nice enough, there is always half a bottle of champaigne per person included and the show is great. Of course be aware that the famous lido dancers often have nude breast , but this has honestly nothing to do with topless girls in nightclubs. There is nothing shocking about it.
In the same range you also have le Mouling Rouge of course, but IMO the Lido is nicer.
If she is at all sensitive to that have a tea or coffee at the famous 'Laduree' tearoom (on Rue Royal near Place Madeleine; this is a real institution very very old , angels on the ceiling etc. A lot of tourist nowadays OK, but also business people and chic French ladies showing their jewelry. The "macarons" are just delicious and are also sold in the most lovely boxes. Talking about jewelry to do something less cultural than the museums stroll around Place Vendome for the beauty of the architecture of the place itself and to see the beautiful of real "Haute Joaillerie".
Well of course there are just too many suggestions for Paris, but I had a huge success with my teenage niece with the suggestions I gave you.
I agree that le Meurice is a rather ideal location, you can easily "do" Rive gauche AND Rive droite from there. Have never stayed there though. The "bateaux mouches" are a nice way to visit and see the city from the water.
I gave her a sort of program booklet that I made with photos and clippings. For instance we had a 'cultural day', a 'luxury day'
an artistic Rive Gauche day etc,
I hope you'll have a great time.
You'll have a great time together.

Sorry for my typo with that double 'great time' sentence...!