Hi, my wife and I are planning a trip to Paris with our two teen girls for 3 weeks starting Mid December 2004. Early for details, but looking for ideas of definite dos and don'ts for that time of year. (and on a budget, so most of all how to keep them from the shops!!)

Thanks
Geoff

Geoff, Don't know how you'll keep your wife from the shops, but when we took our teenagers on vacation, they were told they had to spend their own money. We gave them a 10-month warning and they earned what they wanted. It's amazing how much kids can save when they're motivated!

The other solution, of course, is to keep them so busy they don't have time to shop. You might want to do a search in the window above for Paris and teens or something similar. There have been lots of posts on that subject.

Since you have three weeks, you can plan lots of day trips, e.g. Chartres, Versailles, to keep them away from the stores. There are lots of museums that would be of particular interest to teens so take yourself to Borders, Barnes and Noble and/or your local public library and try to find a little book about museums in Paris. It gives an address and lists briefly the collections in virtually all of the Paris museums.

Let the girls look through it and pick their favorites. Do involve them in the planning. If they've chosen a particular place to visit, they'll enjoy it much more than if you dictate all their sightseeing.

You'll have a great time. Enjoy. You've got plenty of time to plan and obviously are already thinking about it.

Good luck.

Glad you're thinking ahead. Like SalB mentioned, it's better when the teenagers can have some say in what they're going to do, so that there won't be conflicts of interest when you get there. So buy a guide book and let them tell you what they're interested in seeing/doing, so that you can integrate it into the master plan. As far as avoiding shops, you may want to remind them that the French have a lot of the same stuff we have over here, so if they are going to spend money, it should be on something really unique to France or the trip. That way when they go to the Virgin Record store on the Champs Elysee, they won't blow their money on a CD they could have bought in the States.
Feel free to email me if you need more Paris suggestions.

Paris in mid December is great. I was there this year from Dec. 15-21. I was surprised at the large crowds out at night. People at outdoor cafes as though it were summer. Look for the Christmas markets around Les Halls area and Hotel de Ville areas of central Paris. Great place to get good regional meals at reasonable prices. Loved the scalloped potatoes with ham, pork and sausages. Ice skating at Hotel de Ville also. Attend a Christmas choir concert some evening at Notre Dame or maybe St. Eustaches (near Les Halls, Line 4 of Metro). This year days were high 40s and nights were low 40s but quite comfortable if dressed appropriately and doing a little walking. Had a great time and plan on returning this year for three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas dividing time between Riviera, Provence and Paris again.

Larry J

Warm, comfortable, shoes.
Rotating responsibility for deciding where to eat; every meal not a consensus, but a decision others have agreed to follow because they'll get their turn later.
If the girls are willing to take pictures, they should think of a couple of themes, and illustrate them with pictures.

Collecting pix of signs with names of friends, for instance, even if a letter or two at a time. AL from one sign, IC from another, and finally an E. And mail the photos home to Alice, or just bring them back with you.

Ask their friends at home if there's something in Paris the girls should look at on behalf of the stay-at-home. Again,. Maybe taking pictures gets involved.

Rent some movies set in Paris; then when you get there you'll see some things you know are imporant.

BAK

Hi Geoff,

You are going to keep 4 female persons from shopping in Paris for weeks?

The Carte Visite provides a 10% discount at Galleries Lafayette and a tote bag if you spend 30 E.

Also, if you spend about 200E in one place you get the VAT back.

Let them do one shopping day. You'll save money.

we were just there from dec. 18th thru. the 25th. the weather was very hit or miss but we still had a great time. dress warmly with fleece and a rain top, gloves etc. we did end up taking 5 days to go to strasbourg. the weather was warmer and made for some fun daytrips. the daytrips we took from paris were to versailles and to fontainbleu. there is also chartres etc. the christmas markets are great and all over the city. i would recommend the 6:00 pm (easier to get into, no lines) kids mass at notre dame. even you are not religious it is a very cool experience. our daughter is 17 going on 18. there are too many shops to worry about keeping the kids out of them. just realize that they will shop and there is nothing you can do about it.

i would highly recommend the strasbourg trip. they day trips are very fun. colmar, riquewier(sp?), and baden baden. i think that the kids would love it.

we stayed at the hotel excelsior in 5th in paris. i think that it was about 92e for a quad. not a bad area and it definately is for the budget traveller.

if you have any questions, feel free to email me.

Hi Geoff,
Other than the good ideas already posted, here are a few other ideas based on a trip in March with two girls ages 12 and 15 and 2 adult children: we rented an apartment, which was cheaper and more fun than renting 3 rooms in a hotel. We got to feel like we were living in Paris, and enjoyed exploring "our" neighborhood. Also having a kitchen and eating space enabled us to eat some meals in the apartment rather than out, not only saving money but also it's fun to explore the local markets. We splurged on one very fancy meal -- a Friday lunch, rather than dinner, so much cheaper but still the whole French cuisine experience; it was a highlight of the trip for everyone. The girls didn't buy clothes for the trip; instead, we saved up and had a day of clothes shopping on the trip. By avoiding the chic sites and buying where the locals bought, the prices were comparable to what we'd have paid in the States, and the clothes were nicer. Our then-12 year old, an old-movie buff who had not yet studied European history, enjoyed spending some time finding sites she'd seen in "Charade." (Now 14 and studying European history, the same girl last night wants to return and see where the Treaty of Versailles was signed...) Finally, spending a cold rainy afternoon reading and nursing cups of hot chocolate at Dalloyau was fun (skip the lunches there, though).
Have fun!
Barbara

For inexpensive shopping, set your girls loose in the Monoprix, Etam, and Pimkie stores - lots of trendy Parisian stuff at reasonable prices.

I agree that renting an apartment will save you money and give you extra space that you may relish during a 3-week stay.

I'm guessing the weather is going to suck royally. I've been monitoring the weather for my trip there next week and I've seen nothing but rain in the forecast.. I'd take snowy winters over rainy winters any day.

A December "do" for you and your wife is stopping in the wine bar at Fauchon's. Free champagne tastings the entire month--a different champagne every day. Generous "tastings" too, the last time we went to one, we had 2.5 glasses each.

Send the girls to H&M for great fashions at a price.

Bigfeat: take heart. Was in Paris last week and it was a real mixed bag...one day of snow, several of rain (but no deluges) and a couple with sunshine, enough to enjoy sunning in the Luxembourg Gardens. Primroses were everywhere! We were glad we had our umbrellas and an extra change of shoes on those wet days. Have fun.

Thanks everyone for fantastic input, nice to hear that it's possible to keep kids that age amused without (completely) draining the bank account, and that the weather can be bearable.

And champagne tasting at Fauchon? I'm there!!

Thanks again to all

Geoff

If no one mentined it, I believe there is an open-air ice skating rink near the Hotel de Ville that would be fun.