Hi there - planning a family trip to Paris - kids are in school, so must wait for summer or Christmas break - and have heard it is so crowded during the month of June that you wait 2 hours to get into attractions like Le Louvre. Any thoughts? What about December?
Thanks very much!

Lines can be long in summer, but there are strategies.
You can buy museum passes (for the adults, kids don't need them) to let you bypass ticket-buying lines at the Louvre and Orsay museums. You can also skip the entrance at the pyramid which is where the longest line is.

Try this Paris superthread for lots of good information.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34519236
I also have a long file on Paris; if you'd like to see it, email me at
[email protected]

December is fine for Paris too, I love it at any time, but summer allows for more leisurely strolls through parks, sidewalk or terrace dining, and gardens.

I've been there in June and that's not true. I'm sure there is some time and day when one could wait two hours at the Louvre in June, but there are alternatives -- don't go at the peak time, buy a museum card. I never even bought a museum card, just don't go at the peak time and have never waited that long for either the Louvre or Orsay, and those are the most popular ones.

It could be true for the Eiffel Tower, there are always lines for that, but again, you can go at some times better than others.

It's up to you if you find December an attractive time to travel to northern Europe. If it is at Christmas, there would be the fun of that, but hotel rates are at their peak during that time, and airfares are usually quite high also right around the holidays.

There won't be any major attractions (that you and everybody else who showed up in Paris) that AREN'T "crowded" at sometime during that period...but if you are willing to plan a lile as was suggested above it will make the wait a lot less of an issue.

As is not unusual, what you "have heard" may be somewhat of an exaggeration. IF you hear this again, your response should be: "Well, what did YOU do about it?"

I think June is about the best time to go to Paris. It's not as hot as July or August (usually), and there aren't as many tourists either. Parisians are not yet on vacation, so the city is bustling. The days are long, with the sun going down around 10:00 p.m. and night falling near 11:00. That makes it nice to sit outside at a café or restaurant in the evening.

If you want to avoid the lines try to be at the attractions early in the morning.

One piece of advice, do NOT go to the Galeries Lafayette right at the beginning of their Soldes, which occurs late June/July. The place was mobbed when I arrived on the FIRST day of the sale, which I had no clue of. The mobs of people, tourists and natives really clogged the streets outside the bldgs, making it tough to even enter. I understand that the French government requires two sales events a year. Do not know how that came about or to what enterprises it applies. Research is good. Knowledge is wonderful.

I would vote for Paris in summer instead of Christmastime, especially with kids. I say this because visiting and picnicing in all the many gorgeous public parks is one of my favorite things to do there. Free, no lines, lots of fun for all ages!