rholt

We will be travelling to Paris in early June with 2 small kids. We all like to avoid long lines - but it is essential with small kids.

I see 3 sites on my to-do list where the prospect of lines is very scary
Lourvre
Eiffel Tower
Versailles

Can anyone give me pointers on how to avoid long lines at these sites.

For example - I heard the Lourvre is open late on Friday's and that the lines are light at that point?

Many Thanks

missypie

There are ticket offices at at least two of the "legs" of the Eiffel Tower -maybe more, but two were open when we were there. The one that you encountered first when arriving from the metro had a very long line...the one diagonally across from it had no line. I think the bigger problem with the Eiffel Tower is catching the elevator down.

I'd skip Versailles with small kids.

Scarlett

Louvre & Versailles - Museum Cards.
The Eiffel Tower is going to be a wait for you most likely, no matter what time of day.
I found evenings at the Louvre to be less crowded but we used museum cards and went whenever we felt like it.

rholt

Need to go to Versailles because my wife just loves Marie Anoinette's model farm (I think she secretly wants to be Marie Antoinette )

I need to look into this Museume Pass thing.

Robespierre

Eiffel Tower tickets show up on eBay from time to time...

Poohgirl

I agree with Scarlett about the museum cards. I thought they were priceless. I bought mine at the Montparnasse metro station, but they are available at most larger metros.

Tell your wife she doesn't REALLY want to be Marie Antoinette and lose her head!

twk

Buy your Musuem Pass at any major metro station, then you can skip to the front of the line at the Lourve or Versailles (note that the Museum Pass only covers the basic tour of the chateau at Versailles--if you want more than that, you will have to pay extra).

halsar

The first sunday of the month many/most museums are free....Thus this would be a bad day for short lines.

Barbara_in_CT

I wouldn't use a museum pass unless you are going to at least four museums in two days which is unlikely with small children. A few weeks ago I entered the Louvre through a canopied door on Rue du Rivoli. You go downstairs and through a shopping area. We stopped at a vending machine and bought our tickets (8.50 Euro) there. From there we walked in with ease.

Choose only a few of the most famous offerings to share with the kids then take a break. If you take turns being with the kids, each of you should be able to see what is most important to you.

The Eiffel Tower is not covered by the museum pass. Go as early in the morning as you are able to climb it. Come back after dark to see it with lights and have a picnic in Champs du Mars.

No tips or tricks for Versailles.

Robespierre

If you want to see <i>everything</i> at Versailles, I suggest the &quot;Leisure Package&quot; sold at train stations that includes transportation and admission with audioguides to all the chateau attractions.

http://www.transilien.com/FR/TouVers.htm

ashields

Its worth calculating how much the Museum pass costs vs regular admission of the sites you want to see. With kids, I wouldn't underestimate the ability to use the Museum pass to duck in to a nearby museum to use the toilets there--you've already paid for entry fees and the toilets are nicer than your average cafe. Even if you aren't saving money on entry fees, you might think the pass worth having just for the hours saved in line. Plus, you can come and go to museums as you please, so if the kids get tired, you could still return without paying or waiting in line again.

laughingd2

For Versailles, you probably know that the Hameau (Marie Antoinette's farm) is at the far edge of the estate. With small kids, what I'd suggest (based on having NOT done it this way!) is to arrive early and take the shuttle out to the Trianons first thing, and then walk to Hameau (the shuttle does not go all the way to Hameau). Then walk back to the Trianons and check them out or head back to the Palace and view it last. It's too far to walk all the way from the Palace with kids, and later in the day there can be a long wait for the shuttle.

Definitely buy a Museum Pass once you get there - remember, children are free at almost every museum, so don't buy one for them. Check out the Museum Pass site - www.parismuseumpass.fr you can buy it at any participating museum and at FNAC; not sure if they're still selling it at Metro stations. The Museum pass lets you skip the lines and go right in - it's a must have.

For the Eiffel Tower, same advice: get there right when, or a little before, it opens.

Don't forget to take the kids to the playgrounds at the Luxembourg Gardens (a small entrance fee) and the Tuleries. If they are under 10, they will really enjoy the Jardin d'Acclimitation - a kind of amusement park/small zoo/playground for kids. And don't forget picnics in the parks and on the banks of the Seine.

Christina

I've never been to the Louvre when the lines were that bad, and I've been there many times in peak tourist season (summer). Now I do not doubt someone who says well, I was there and the line was a two hour wait, just saing I've never encountered it. A little wait, yes (and I don't buy museum passes). I just don't go at the same time when the lines are worst (which I'd say is between late morning and around 3:30 pm.

The lines aren't that bad even in late afternoon, but I've never had any line when I've gone in the evenings, that is true (I don't go at night, just around 5 pm on the nights when open late). Last time I went probably around 10-11 am in July, and think I waited about 10-15 minutes tops, just in the regular line underground at the entrance where you come in from the metro stop.

Gretchen

I have heard that the lines for the Eiffel Tower are not too bad early (9AM), and then at night they lighten up.
Museum passes no longer sold in Metro stations and are now for 2,4,and 6 days. children will not need them. How much do you think your children will enjoy the Louvre?
If you are in Paris for less than a week, skip Versailles.
Entry to the Louvre through the Metro station is usually not crowded. Don't go to the pyramid. The line there is actually for security more than entrance so you still have to do it.

Neopolitan

&quot;If you are in Paris for less than a week, skip Versailles.&quot;


Uh-oh, I think I just had a heart palpitation. Skip Versailles?

laughingd2

Call me crazy, but telling someone who has just said &quot;need to go to Versailles&quot; that they should skip Versailles is, well, not helpful.

And the ability to skip even a single 15 minute line, especially when I'm with my kids, who absolutely love museums in under 2 hour doses, is worth the price of the Museum Pass alone.

A totally reasonable 2 days with kids in tow (I know because I've done it) includes the Orsay and Rodin on a single day, and St. Chapelle, Concergerie and Louvre on the next. And that's just getting started. Just bunch things up geographically, and don't spend too much time in any one place.