Paris activities good for a 13 yr old and 75 yr old
 

We leave for Paris this Wednesday with family - three of us are in our middle ages, and then there is the 13 yr old nephew and 75 yr old Mom. Two of us middle-agers, have been to Paris, the others have not.

Do you have any suggestions as to activities and sites we can all enjoy? We will plan to take buses to get around, versus metro - too much steps/walking underground and too many of us for a regular taxi.

BTW, we will be with family for two weeks, staying in an apartment close to the Opera Garnier.

I would think everyone would enjoy the usual 'tourist' activities and sights... Seine cruise, Eiffel tower...

The 13-year old might enjoy going on a bike tour (ex. Fat Tire bikes)... Mom might enjoy an evening concert at one of the churches...

you could try the Cirque d'Hiver - a small european-style circus. very intimate venue near Oberkampf (easy bus ride, too). it's a fun cultural experience that doesn't require a lot of walking! (though the seats are a bit cramped.)

have fun!

Don't forget Versilles, Eiffel tower, Notre Dame, etc:


http://www.paris.world-guides.com/


http://www.zpinaddict.com/parishtm/parismn.htm

Hi B,

Put Mom and Nephew together and let them plan their day(s).

You'll be surprised at how much they have in common.

((I))

Thanks, guys. I have been to Paris a few times and know it pretty well. However, this will be the first time that we are traveling with a teenager and a senior.

I am basically the tour guide/host, so I am trying to think up of things we can do together. Mom is in good health but tires easily. And she does not complain - she rather "grin and bear it". I want to be sensitive to her needs and at the same time not bore the rest.

The entire group doesn't have to do <i>everything</i> together.

I would build in time for your Mom to stay at the hotel and take a rest, perhaps in the afternoons before dinner. Don't make her have to ask for it, just make it a natural part of the plan.

Baby2 and all other posters above:

I'm going to try my best to be nice and civil here...but what makes everyone think that a 75 year old human being will not like to see and do the same things that you middle-agers (one day hopefully to racvh 75 and more!)like to do in places like Paris, Rome, Venice, etc. Holy Cow, we old timers ain't freakin' dead yet!!
No, don't put her with the 13 year old kid...no, no..terrible idea, Ira...why should you? This is not the answer. Just plan your days, and if Mom wants to rest, as one other poster says, provide for that break without even asking her...but don't bar her from all of the other things you guys are planning to do...that's age discrimination of the worst kind.

There, I've said my piece after having bitten my tongue three times....have fun in Paris, &quot;Mom75&quot;, even if your well-meaning daughter wants to treat you like a dinosaur!

Stu T. (oh, yes, born in 1929!)

The OP knows her mom better than you do, and her mom's limitations have absolutely no relation to your own or any other 75-year old's.

Stu, please don't get too prickly. I am not treating my Mom as a dinosaur. She had a major surgery 2-1/2 years ago that affected her legs - possibly pinched some nerves. It hurts her to walk for too long - hence the buses to get around.

My plan is to list various activities and decide each day what we want to do. Knowing my family, they will not want to go anywhere without me as their guide. It will actually be fun to introduce them to Paris, a place we go back to again and again.

Baby2...yes, perhaps I've been too harsh...but this paragraph gives you the option of seeing to it that Mom gets her needed rest..

&gt;&gt;&gt;This is not the answer. Just plan your days, and if Mom wants to rest, as one other poster says, provide for that break without even asking her...but don't bar her from all of the other things you guys are planning to do...&lt;&lt;&lt;

But I'm sure you must realize that us older folks are sometimes annoyed with the &quot;youngsters&quot; pampering us as fragile, even if some of us are a bit so. Yes, I know I'm lucky, not having gotten to that point ..yet! At 77.(wife is still a kid, at 69)

Dammit, just go and relax your mind and body..it will work out...Mom will speak up when she needs rest.If you were my daughter (my kids are 53, 50 and 47)I would be sure to let you know whether or not I can particpate in your plans.

Stu T.

Travel Nut...I think I've covered your complaint in the above answer to Baby2...in the final analysis, we all obviously have in mind the well-being of her Mom...and also hoping Mom has a pleasant, meaningful, fun trip, within those limitations.
Stu T.

baby2: It's been a couple of years since I've been to Paris, but there is at least one company there called &quot;Batobus&quot; which runs a boat service up and down the Seine: http://www.batobus.com/

THis is different than the normal barge trips, it that it has stops at major tourist attractions on both sides of the Seine, and you get a pass that is good for a whole day (or more) of boarding and reboarding. We probably never would have tried something so &quot;touristy&quot; except for the fact that I was having foot problems. We actually found it a great method of sighsteeing and transport that was easy on the feet. Of course, November will be a little chillier for this activity than May was, but you can judge for yourselves.

The other thing I wouls suggest is perhaps not so much to think of special activities, but rather strategies for managing the potentially varied interests. Take some place like the Lourve or the Musee D'Orsay, for example. Something there for everyone I would think, though people may like to go at their own pace. Set a meeting place (preferably with a nearby bench) and rendez-vous time as soon as you enter the museum, in case people want to go in different directions.

Another strategy, if your group is amenable, is to let each person have a day on which he or she gets to pick the major group activity of the day, according to their taste. You might get a more interesting assortment of things than if you look every day to do something that everyone will enjoy equally.

Good luck!

http://www.batobus.com/

As someone who is still youngish, but somewhat disabled, your mother need feel no shame about admitting that she can't do everything everyone else can do (esp 12 yr old!). We were in Paris a couple of years ago and here is some advice: definitely get to know the bus route, it was hard for me to use the Metro with all the climbing. In fact, know how to get back from everywhere you are going in advance. As everyone else has said, build in rest periods. The Louvre has an excellent arrangement for people who need to use a wheelchair, this is where the 12 yr old nephew comes in. Insist that Mom use the chair, you will get to see more and she will be able to enjoy more. They may put up a fuss at the entry, but insist. The person in the wheelchair and the one pushing (nephew) will get in for free. The Musee d'Orsay and all other &quot;top&quot; museums also have wheelchairs. Trust me, you do not have to be in a wheelchair every day to enjoy its benefits at a museum.

You need to encourage your family to split up as everyone will have different interests. It will give them confidence to maneuver Paris on their own. Or, if you must all be together, give everyone a day to plan. I highly recommend you do the organizing in advance, you will save several hours each day planning that way.

Also, resting doesn't always have to be in the hotel/apartment. You can &quot;rest&quot; on a Seine cruise, lunching or taking a cafe. I enjoyed dining at 7:30 p.m. every evening. We would finish our daily activities by 5 or 6 and put up our feet for an hour. Even our teenagers enjoyed doing that.

You may be a competent tour guide, but involve your family in the planning. You will have less to plan and they will have more &quot;skin in the game&quot; investment in enjoying the activities. Good Luck!

Thanks, Aliska, for suggesting a wheelchair for the museums. We will definitely take advantage of that. Mom already uses the wheelchair in the airport - it was hard for her the first couple of times but she is quite okay with it now especially with all the waiting around to finally board ones flight.

Everyone is participating in making a list of things to do and see. We are renting an apartment, so most meals will be there. All of us have issues about smoking in restaurants.

We are all looking forward to this trip to Paris. Thanks for all your input.

I don't know how into art your whole group is, but the art museums are great places to visit for people of all ages. I was only in Paris for two days and wanted to see as much art as possible so I got a Museum pass. I bought it for 18 euro and it allowed me to jump at the front of most museum lines. When you think that it costs at least 10 euro to get into each museum, this is a good deal. I saw the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, and the Orangerie, but could have squeezed more in if I had been there longer.

Hope this is something you're thinking of looking into.

&gt;No, don't put her with the 13 year old kid...no, no..terrible idea, Ira...why should you? &lt;

Mainly because my Mother gets along beautifully with her 13 year old great- grandson, unlike the rest of us (his mother, father, sister, aunts, uncles, and grandparents).

One of the things I found important when I took my Mother to Paris was that she wouldn't admit to being tired.

Schedule rest stops every hour.

((I))

Yes, rest periods will definitely be built in the schedules - coffee/wine anyone???

We traveled to Paris with my 13yr old son and 9 yr old daughter and visited all sorts of tourist sights. One thing that was unexpectedly fun was Les Invalides (Metro: Invalides). It's the French Military Musuem. My son is not big into military stuff, but really enjoyed seeing all the canons and WWII items (like letters and American GI parachutes). It was fun and interesting. If you ask them, they would say their favorite thing in Paris was going to the top of the Eiffel Tower.