Paris with a 16 year old boy
 

For my son's 16th birthday, I'm taking him to Paris (to visit the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational - http://eu.blizzard.com/wwi08/). We'll be in Paris a week, from June 24th to July 1st. Other than the Invitational, which will take up our weekend, can anyone recommend things to do that might interest a teenage boy?
I've done searches before on this forum, but most of the teens visiting seem to be girls.

Not sure when they were supposed to reopen after some renovations, but the Paris Catacombs would definitely interest a teenage boy. Maybe a nighttime boat ride on the Seine or check out the Eiffel Tower when it lights up after sunset.

We just got back from Paris, and really enjoyed our nighttime (6-11 p.m.) Fat Tire bike tour. There were a couple of teenaged boys on it, and they were having a good time. The tour leader was a young American guy. http://www.fattirebiketoursparis.com/

The Fat Tire tour also included a one-hour river tour on a Bateau Mouche and a stop for Berthillon ice cream. It leaves and ends from near the Eiffel Tower, so you get to see that at night, too.

When I went with my son, his favorite things were: Napoleon's tomb; the military museum and grounds; climbing to the top of the Arc de Triomphe at night and watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle; seeing Mona Lisa (but not a lot else) at the Louvre; the Eiffel Tower (I enjoyed lunch at Jules Verne at a window table and it made our visit special, you avoid the lines below, etc.); the outdoor sculpture garden at the Rodin Museum (it has the Gates of Hell and the Thinker, both of which he remembers); and he still scoffs at the painting "Blue" at the Pompidou centre. We tried going to the Catacombs but they were closed -- I would definitely go if I were there when they were open. Chocolate crepes from stands on the street were a highlight.

Have a great trip!

Forgot Segway tour. Didn't do it in Paris but did in another city and they are a blast. I would definitely do it in Paris if I returned.

Air and Space museum at Le Bourget.

Check out the French Revolution at Musée Carnavalet or Hôtel d'Invalides.

The Catacombes.

Tour Eiffel is gender-neutral, IMO.

On his 16th birthday.. a glass of wine or beer at the brasserie or bistro.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm having him investigate what sounds good to him as part of his French class assignment.

Blizzard has an interactive Paris map in the style of World of Warcraft here:
http://eu.blizzard.com/wwi08/region.xml

That got him excited about Paris as much as anything else has.

We went to Paris and Italy two summer's ago with 20, 17, 15 year sons.They loved the catacombs in Venice and wanted to see the ones in Paris but I believe that reservations were required.They are history buffs and liked Rodin's garden, they climbed the Arc de Triomphe. Louvre-historical exhibits, Musee De Orsay (formerly a train station also very nice cafeteria), Musee national de l' Orangerie, Pantheon, Napoleon's tomb. Look at getting a museum pass http://www.parismuseumpass.com/en/home.php
Look at the Hop On Ho off tours. http://www.pariscityrama.com/en/other s_services/hop_on_hop_off_buses For food there were lots of cheap-eats that we don't have here (we live in a small city)crepes from street vendors, lots of Greek take-out places, plenty of pizza places, bakeries. Lots of street entertainment.Be sure to go out at night and let him see the city nite life.

Depends on his interests, of course. You've already received a lot of great suggestions; here are a few other ideas that I don't think have been mentioned yet:

Musee Guimet- 5,000 years worth of Asian art- India, Japan, China, etc.

Musee des Arts et Metiers- history of science, technology and invention

Musee national de la Marine- history of shipbuilding, expeditions, and naval related art

Basilique St-Denis- the first gothic cathedral, and the famous crypt where all the french monarchs were buried

Musee des Egouts- history of "water drainage" and a tour of an underground sewer

There's also a well known toy soldier shop called les Drapeaux de France at 8 Galerie de Nemours near the Louvre (there's another, albeit obvious, idea- the Louvre. Lots of Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Sumerarians to be found in the Louvre)

Last March, we took our grandsons, then age 15 and 16, to Paris and Rome.

In Paris, they LOVED the military museum (Les Invalides), going to the top of the Eiffel Tower at night, ditto for the Arc de Triomphe with it's view of the twinkling Tower, the Museum of Medieval History (Cluny), and to our surprise - the Louvre! (They were fascinated by the sculptures).

We also went to the Museum of Arts and Meters, but we were all a bit disappointed with it.

You can also check out www.pari-roller.com for information on the weekly route that hundreds of in-line skaters follow en masse. It happens late on Friday nights and is really something to see as skaters nearly fly around street corners. When we were there, the route came within 2 blocks of our apartment, so we walked to the corner of St. Michel and St. Germain de Pres Blvds and watched them speed by. I believe the week's route comes out on the website on Thursdays.

They also had to have nutella and banana crepes every night before heading back to the apartment, and loved the French version of hot dogs.

The best part is that kids under 18 get in nearly all of the museums/attractions for free! We only paid for the ride up the Tower for them. Paris is great for teens.

Hi W,

If you will be in Paris on a Friday evening, you might want to go watch the roller bladers:
http://www.pari-roller.com/

((I))

Thanks to everyone for their responses. This will be a very exciting time for both of us!

The Branly museum is excellent! It's only about a year old and our 11 yr. old grandson loved it!! We just returned last night and he also enjoyed the Armory museum at Les Invalides very much, and the nightime bike ride with FatTire was the highlight!

We also spent 3 days in Normandy at the landing beaches. I highly recommend a trip there.

Just visited Paris in June of 2007 with my 3 teenaged sons (14, 15.5, and 17.5 at the time). Unfortunately I'm really swamped at work at the moment, but you can read about our experiences/likes/dislikes in my not quite finished trip report at the following link.
http://tinyurl.com/2y98ky
Paris was at the start of our trip - the days in Paris were the first day (the 13th I think) through the morning of the 19th.

Feel free to ask any specific questions. I can get feedback on your questions from my sons.

Enjoy your trip!

He might like the Aquaboulevard water park.

http://www.365tickets.com/proddetail.../productid/214

He might enjoy the show at the Moulin Rouge, but it's expensive. Children have to be aged over 6. There is a dress code, but jacket and tie are not necessary.

http://www.moulinrouge.fr/html_gb/show_sommaire.htm

No reservations for the catacombs in Paris.

I have taken my oldest son when he was 14, and two years later( last year) my hubby took our next son when he turned 14. This year is my turn again with third child( lucky me) ..
Favorites:

Invalids
Fat Tire Bike Tour '
Climbing the Eiffel Tower
Catacombs( no reservations were needed)
Versailles
Climbing Towers at Notre Dame