Maybe you bought a "Mobilis" ticket?

The Mobilis ticket allows unlimited travel between the beginning of transport service in the morning until midnight, over the course of one day. Mobilis tickets are also available for longer periods.

It's a very good option for people who will be going in and out of different Metro stations all day, which would require separate tickets.

The Mobilis ticket also allows people to ride on any bus line, going in any direction, transferring from one line to another, and you can even hop on and off the same lines as many times as you want to.

If you want to use the same Mobilis ticket to transfer from Bus to Metro, you can do that too.

The only restrictions are these:
You might sign and date each ticket before use.
You must validate the ticket each time you get on Bus or Metro.
Travel must be completed by midnight.
You must be able to produce your validated ticket if asked by a transport agent.

Some people love this option - some are afraid they'll lose the ticket.

Closest Metro to Hotel Familia is Cardinal Lemoine on line 10 -- about a 2 minute walk.

Jussieu (lines 7 and 10) is a 4 minute walk.

RER B (to CDG airport) & C (to Eiffel Tower) station Saint-Michel/Noter Dame is an 11 minute walk.

Hope this helps.

SS

Thanks Manouche and ssander for your quick and informative replies.

Any advise on Eiffel Tower tickets? We are really keen to go to the top summit. Should I check on a daily basis? I thought I would buy the behind the scenes tickets but that option cannot be bought online. Kindly advise.

Kind regards,
SKPKCP11

For Eiffel Tower tickets I would advise that you show up at 08h30 to 09h00 to preferably the East pier which is likely to have the shortest lines as it is farther from the métro/RER stations. Purchase tickets to the summit which I believe cost 15€ each and hope for the best.

It might be fun for the family to watch MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, a spoof which came out a few years ago directed by Woody Allen. Great intro to the most famous sites in Paris which the kids would enjoy noticing during your adventure.

There is always the stairs also.

We've never purchased tickets online to the Eiffel Tower and the wait has never been all that bad, maybe 35 minutes at the most.

Last June, our grandkids, around the same age as your children, enjoyed sailing small boats (rented there) on the pond at the Luxembourg Gardens. They also enjoyed Notre Dame. We went inside first (the line to get in was long but moved very quickly), had hot dogs in baguettes at one of the cafes outside the Notre Dame, then to the Gardens. You can hop on the Metro or walk. Any route you take between Notre Dame and the Luxembourg Gardens will be interesting--probably the most direct route is along the boulevard Saint Michel and takes about 20 minutes, depending on how fast you walk. The Gardens close at dusk, I believe.

What dates will you be in Paris?

Re: market nearby

From your hotel, walk south on r. Cardinal Lemoine about 8 minutes, and you will reach r. Mouffetard.

Continue down r. Mouffetard, which is a very nice market street:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rue_Mouffetard

SS

Thanks all for the very helpful replies. Please advise the reasonably priced chocolate brand names.
We love to go to sports stores and home cookware stores. Any names and where are they located?

Any must eats and must take homes? Please suggest.

Where do we get french perfumes (regular ones) and local clothing not the high-end stores? Kindly advise?

Kind regards,
SKPKCP11

Reasonably priced chocolate brand names? Do you mean a chocolatier, or the packaged brands you see in the grocery stores? Our family had lots of fun doing both. Walk into every chocolate shop you see, look at the display, and let everyone try one piece. Walk into a grocery store, and check out the chocolate (or cookie) aisle, and buy one you've never tried. It's really simple. No need to prepare for this level of detail.

Don't know about sports stores.... and personally can't imagine spending my Paris time in a sports store.

Home cookware stores.... David Leibovitz has a great list here:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2010/06...king-supplies/

Remind me again, but I think you're only in Paris a few days, and trying to take a couple of day trips to Disney and possibly Versailles? You aren't going to have much time for shopping, too.

I read upthread also that you want to do the Louvre but no other museums. Really? The Louvre is enormous... if you're going to show your kids something they're learning about in school, I get it. But just as a place to wander around through, it's overwhelmingly huge. Do your kids like art? You might enjoy the Musee D'Orsay or the Orangerie--much smaller venue.

Don't worry about pre-booking tickets to the Eiffel Tower. You probably won't have to wait more than 30 minutes, which includes going through all narrow queue for security.

Do you have a book on Paris. A pocket map with a map of the metro?

FLUNCH Restaurants are nothing fancy but serve cafeteria style down-home French food - unlimited portions of non-meat items - veggies, bread, pasta, etc for a cheap price - probably the cheapest rstaurants in Paris and you won't levea feeling hungry as is oft the case in fancy French restaurants.

http://europeforvisitors.com/paris/articles/flunch.htm

Thanks all your quick replies. Much appreciate it. We are definitely excited about our trip. Counting the days. I believe there is a street from where you can buy perfumes. Any idea about the name of the street. One has to select the fragrance and they fill it up for you. Any idea??

Kind regards,
SKPKCP10

13 and 14 sound like good ages to let the children loose on

http://goparis.about.com/od/transpor..._and_Buses.htm

http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21879/visiting-paris/

and particularly
http://www.ratp.fr/plan-interactif/

so they can help plan trips by public transport (I wouldn't go overboard about buying tickets and passes from abroad as the RATP site rather pushes you to do, but other people may know more about that than I)

"Don't know about sports stores.... and personally can't imagine spending my Paris time in a sports store."

If you are travelling with teens, and particularly boys, you would appreciate the need for this shopping!!

Go to the Les Halles underground shopping complex for sports superstores - I would imagine there is one there as there is on any major commercial shopping area in France I've been in. Or trek out to La Defense for one of the Parisian area's largest shopping malls with everything imaginable - short metro or RER ride - plus there is the Grand Arche de la Defense which I think has been just reopened for its viewing platform with a eagle's eye view of the broad avenues leading to the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs-Elysees to the Tuileries garden.

http://www.go-sport.com/magasins/PARIS_REPUBLIQUE

GO Sports is one big French sporting goods chains - there are others as well.