Nice/Paris with Kids and Grandmother Trip Report
Jul 21st, 2009, 10:58 AM
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Nice/Paris with Kids and Grandmother Trip Report
Just wanted to drop a quick trip report in as I always gain such useful knowledge on this site for our trips.
Basics
My mother (DM) was kind enough to take myself and two boys (8 and 6) to France this year. We decided on Nice and Paris as I had been there with DM nearly 20 years ago while on an exchange program in Paris. We flew on British Airways.
Nice
We arrived in Nice at 2 pm on a Friday and checked into the Hotel La Perouse. Loved this hotel. We were upgraded to a suite overlooking the Baie des Anges with a terrace that had a huge bed and a large comfortable pull out sofa. It also had a small sitting area, table, hallway and large bathroom. The staff was excellent and their restaurant was lovely as well. La Perouse is under the old Chateau which was fun for the boys. It's just a remanant and ruin of an old Chateau with large playground, souvenir shops and an interesting cemetery and great view over Nice.
I was a bit concerned with going to Nice with kids and DM in light of concerns over pick pockets and my recollection of the area years ago. However, we did not encounter any problems and the area was much nicer than I recalled it. The beach was directly across the street from our hotel and there were two nice beach restaurants where you could rent chairs and have food and drinks. The beach is the typical rocky beach for the area but the boys loved looking for interesting rocks and swimming in the clear water.
The hotel scheduled a half day tour for us of Eze, Monaco and Monte Carlo. Boys loved Eze (quaint old village on a mountain top). We visited the acquarium in Monaco, which was pricey but nice and the boys loved it. Saw the changing of the guards which was interesting.
Had great dinner at Le Safari in Nice. Average price and on the Cours Saleya. Boys likes it so well we ate there twice.
In retrospect, we wish we had spent the majority of the trip in Nice. Instead we had 3 days in Nice and 7 days in Paris.
TGV to Paris
I booked the iDTGV in advance on the iDTGV website which was very simple and efficient. We had 4 first class tickets that I was able to print off before we left for 242 euros one way from NIce to Paris. The ride left Nice at 6:40am and we were in Paris by 12:10 p.m.
Paris
Took a taxi from Gare de Lyon to the Volnay apartment booked through Paris Perfect. As indicated in this forum, Paris Perfect is very easy to deal with and they provide loads of written information. The apartment is in the 7eme and is on the 3rd floor. It has a view of the upper third of the Eiffel Tower. The apartment itself was a nice size (one large bedroom with large bed, large bathroom with separate toilet, living room with comfortable sofa bed and a kitchen with a dinette table). We were there over Bastille Day and had a wonderful view of the amazing fireworks. The apartment is about a 15 minute walk with young children and DM to the nearest metro (Ecole Militaire) and 10 minutes to the Pont d'Alma RER. The RER was undergoing some work while we were there so couldnt use it. Ecole Militaire stop is on a line that we frequently had to change to get to other locations so walking would normally be faster if you are not with young children. The area surrounding the apartment is very nice with loads of grocery stores, carry out food and cafes and restaurants. With that said, I actually prefer staying in the St. Germaine area. It is closer to the things I enjoy seeing. However, with DM and our kids the apartment was nice so that we could eat in, have a great view and wash clothes in the apartment. The only other negative I have to say about the apartment is that it can be a bit noisy. Although the windows are double panned you are on a corner and directly above a cafe so you can certainly here the daily operations of the city and the floors and doors between the apartments are thin. There was an extremely noisy couple in the apartment above us who kept unusual hours and a family next to us with a yound and teething baby.
Monuments/Museums
We did the standard touristy things (Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, Louvre, Bateaux Parisiens). We also did the Jardin D'Acclimatation and the Cite des Enfants. The former is a fun fair/petting zoo/kids musuem/park. It was nice and the boys had a good time but unless you need something to do, I wouldnt say it was worth the price (32 euros for each child to have tickets for rides etc). The Cites des Enfants is within another science museum. It was good as well, but again not sure it was worth the time and price unless you need something to do. We are fortunate to have a great science museum here so even though the boys liked it, I think we could have spent our time more wisely.
More to come...
Basics
My mother (DM) was kind enough to take myself and two boys (8 and 6) to France this year. We decided on Nice and Paris as I had been there with DM nearly 20 years ago while on an exchange program in Paris. We flew on British Airways.
Nice
We arrived in Nice at 2 pm on a Friday and checked into the Hotel La Perouse. Loved this hotel. We were upgraded to a suite overlooking the Baie des Anges with a terrace that had a huge bed and a large comfortable pull out sofa. It also had a small sitting area, table, hallway and large bathroom. The staff was excellent and their restaurant was lovely as well. La Perouse is under the old Chateau which was fun for the boys. It's just a remanant and ruin of an old Chateau with large playground, souvenir shops and an interesting cemetery and great view over Nice.
I was a bit concerned with going to Nice with kids and DM in light of concerns over pick pockets and my recollection of the area years ago. However, we did not encounter any problems and the area was much nicer than I recalled it. The beach was directly across the street from our hotel and there were two nice beach restaurants where you could rent chairs and have food and drinks. The beach is the typical rocky beach for the area but the boys loved looking for interesting rocks and swimming in the clear water.
The hotel scheduled a half day tour for us of Eze, Monaco and Monte Carlo. Boys loved Eze (quaint old village on a mountain top). We visited the acquarium in Monaco, which was pricey but nice and the boys loved it. Saw the changing of the guards which was interesting.
Had great dinner at Le Safari in Nice. Average price and on the Cours Saleya. Boys likes it so well we ate there twice.
In retrospect, we wish we had spent the majority of the trip in Nice. Instead we had 3 days in Nice and 7 days in Paris.
TGV to Paris
I booked the iDTGV in advance on the iDTGV website which was very simple and efficient. We had 4 first class tickets that I was able to print off before we left for 242 euros one way from NIce to Paris. The ride left Nice at 6:40am and we were in Paris by 12:10 p.m.
Paris
Took a taxi from Gare de Lyon to the Volnay apartment booked through Paris Perfect. As indicated in this forum, Paris Perfect is very easy to deal with and they provide loads of written information. The apartment is in the 7eme and is on the 3rd floor. It has a view of the upper third of the Eiffel Tower. The apartment itself was a nice size (one large bedroom with large bed, large bathroom with separate toilet, living room with comfortable sofa bed and a kitchen with a dinette table). We were there over Bastille Day and had a wonderful view of the amazing fireworks. The apartment is about a 15 minute walk with young children and DM to the nearest metro (Ecole Militaire) and 10 minutes to the Pont d'Alma RER. The RER was undergoing some work while we were there so couldnt use it. Ecole Militaire stop is on a line that we frequently had to change to get to other locations so walking would normally be faster if you are not with young children. The area surrounding the apartment is very nice with loads of grocery stores, carry out food and cafes and restaurants. With that said, I actually prefer staying in the St. Germaine area. It is closer to the things I enjoy seeing. However, with DM and our kids the apartment was nice so that we could eat in, have a great view and wash clothes in the apartment. The only other negative I have to say about the apartment is that it can be a bit noisy. Although the windows are double panned you are on a corner and directly above a cafe so you can certainly here the daily operations of the city and the floors and doors between the apartments are thin. There was an extremely noisy couple in the apartment above us who kept unusual hours and a family next to us with a yound and teething baby.
Monuments/Museums
We did the standard touristy things (Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, Louvre, Bateaux Parisiens). We also did the Jardin D'Acclimatation and the Cite des Enfants. The former is a fun fair/petting zoo/kids musuem/park. It was nice and the boys had a good time but unless you need something to do, I wouldnt say it was worth the price (32 euros for each child to have tickets for rides etc). The Cites des Enfants is within another science museum. It was good as well, but again not sure it was worth the time and price unless you need something to do. We are fortunate to have a great science museum here so even though the boys liked it, I think we could have spent our time more wisely.
More to come...
Jul 22nd, 2009, 06:05 AM
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Museums and Monuments cont'd
We also visited the Musee de la Magic. The boys didnt care for it too much. It was small, and again, was expensive for what you get in exchange.
The boys had just seen Pink Panther 2 and wanted to see inside the Petit Palais. It was a beautiful building and had some works by Monet and Sisley.
Food
We generally ate in cafes nearest to our location on any given day. We ate at the Royal Julien near Place de Vosges. It was good and reasonably priced. We also ate at Fouquets on the Champs Elysee. It was also good but expensive. The Camps de Mars Cafe was near our apartment and was also excellent and reasonably priced. We used the G20 grocery store near the apartment for most other food and an Italian Take-Away Deli called Il Giromondo near the apartment.
General Comments about Bastille Day
I was concerned there would be limited things we could do on Bastille day other than join the huge crowds for the parade and fireworks. We didnt get out of the apartment until 12 and went directly to Napoleons Tomb which was free. We then took the metro to Sacre Coeur and had portraits made and toured the area. There were plenty of shops, restaurants and grocery stores open and the metro worked perfectly. We went back to the apartment by 6 to watch the fireworks from there and avoided the main crowds.
Hope this was helpful.
We also visited the Musee de la Magic. The boys didnt care for it too much. It was small, and again, was expensive for what you get in exchange.
The boys had just seen Pink Panther 2 and wanted to see inside the Petit Palais. It was a beautiful building and had some works by Monet and Sisley.
Food
We generally ate in cafes nearest to our location on any given day. We ate at the Royal Julien near Place de Vosges. It was good and reasonably priced. We also ate at Fouquets on the Champs Elysee. It was also good but expensive. The Camps de Mars Cafe was near our apartment and was also excellent and reasonably priced. We used the G20 grocery store near the apartment for most other food and an Italian Take-Away Deli called Il Giromondo near the apartment.
General Comments about Bastille Day
I was concerned there would be limited things we could do on Bastille day other than join the huge crowds for the parade and fireworks. We didnt get out of the apartment until 12 and went directly to Napoleons Tomb which was free. We then took the metro to Sacre Coeur and had portraits made and toured the area. There were plenty of shops, restaurants and grocery stores open and the metro worked perfectly. We went back to the apartment by 6 to watch the fireworks from there and avoided the main crowds.
Hope this was helpful.
Jul 22nd, 2009, 09:07 AM
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The boys preferred Nice because of the ocean, the food and the interesting day trip. Our hotel was also absolutely wonderful with such a great view. I think the boys are just a bit young to fully appreciate Paris even though they did enjoy it as well. My mother and I enjoyed Nice a bit more because we have been fortunate to visit Paris several times and only been to Nice once before. The way of life in Nice seemed just a bit more relaxed. The buildings and square reminded us of Italy and we enjoyed the fresh seafood. You cant go wrong with either city. I just think Nice was a bit more relaxing and we wish we could have spent more time exploring the coast.
Jul 23rd, 2009, 05:59 AM
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Very nice report, I think you are right about Nice. I can see why kids would prefer that to Paris, which is really just a big city to them, probably. Nice has the beautiful ocean, and it's more a Mediterranean city, and does have the feel of a resort, of course, even though it is a major city for other reasons.
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