Paris - Catacombs & River cruise
 

We're going to Paris in about 10 weeks (yay! starting to get excited :) ). I've been to Paris, but it's been several years, and I was visiting friends, not going as a tourist exactly. So - for veteran tourists/residents - I have two questions please.

Q1: I realize that the catacombs have stairs going into and out of them. Is it possible to use a stroller for a child DURING the tour, if we are willing to handle the entrance/exit stairways?

Q2: Does anyone have recommendations for a river cruise company? I've searched, but am looking for one that will go through Paris and include a view of the Statue of Liberty...any ideas?

Thanks so much in advance!

'I realize that the catacombs have stairs going into and out of them. Is it possible to use a stroller for a child DURING the tour, if we are willing to handle the entrance/exit stairways?'

It's really, really, really steep and really, really, really a long ways.

It's one of those where when you think you are never going to get there and it couldn't possibly be any farther down, you're about half way down them :)

I'm sure you know this but the Catacombs are scary and huge. It's incredible at how many bones are there and how long you end up walking. A small child would probably be terrified.

Bateaux Mouches, across the river from the Eiffel... 9€/adults
http://www.bateaux-mouches.fr/
Click on bienvenue, then Promenade, then Plan de Parcours

You definitely cannot navigate the Catacombs with a stroller, and I would not take a child there.

With a child, your best river cruise would be the huge Bateaux Mouches where there's plenty of room to move about on the decks.

You descend/ascend in the catacombs partly by way of steep, winding stairs--lots of them! So definitely no on the stroller, and not really a good place for a child.

Thanks for the info! Guess we'll just have to convince my mother (who will be with us) to watch the children while we go down into the catacombs. :)

This is completely inappropriate on many levels. I took my niece who was five years old once into some INdian caverns that were just below ground and kind of damp and wet, but had interesting history and formations -- nothing to do with being an ossuary, and she freaked out after a bit and we had to leave early. I felt really bad about that and realized I shouldn't have done that. You taking a toddler intentionally into an ossuary is unbelievable.

We did the Les Vedettes du Pont-Neuf river cruise about 2 weeks ago and really enjoyed it. We went around sunset, which was very pretty. If you go to their website, you can prepay for tickets, but do not have to specify a date or time, and by doing this you get the rate of 7 euro per person vs the 11 if you buy it there. You can also just print discount coupons for 9 euro per person if you are unsure you want to go just yet. We did the prepay option and it was great to skip the line!

Christina - she's an infant, not a toddler. At this point, she's completely unaware of her surroundings as long as mommy or daddy or nanny are there to give her a bottle or change her diapers. I was asking for advice, not judgement.

Even though the child is an infant, she is not completely unaware of her surroundings. The catacombs are low, narrow, chilly, gloomy, and the walls are lined top to bottom with rows and rows of skeletal remains of human beings. It will be challenge enough for you to navagate down there, with narrow, curving passage ways, low ceilings, in the dark. This environment will be so different to any she's used to she's sure to be offput by dark, gloomy, cool, damp, creepy. Infants tend to make a lot of sounds, even if they're not yet verbal, which would be inconsiderate to other visitors while you're there. She may get startled by something or just the overall environment and start screaming.

Again, thanks to everyone for the advice. That was all I was looking for.

Too bad there's not too much to see above ground.

What a fatuous remark.

Absolutely no problem to go to the catacombs. A lot of stairs going down and just as many going up, but flat packed earth on which to roll a stoller all of the rest of the time. The only thing to take into consideration would be warm clothes. It is quite chilly down there.

In terms of a cruise that goes around the statue of Liberty, the Bateaux Mouches from the Pont de l'Alma are the best. That is their turning point on the western end of the tour. Leaving from Alma-Marceau would also have the added attraction (?) of allowing you to visit the Statue of Liberty flame, which has been used over the years for tributes to Diana, who died in the underpass there.