Hi, I just went to Paris for the first time. I was there for 4 days only (1 spent traveling to and from). Here is what I saw: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, L'Orangerie, Notre Dame, Arc De Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Concord, Marais, Latin Quarter, and Montmartre (where I was staying). I am haunted by Paris and cannot get it out of my mind. On the other hand I have not seen other countries of Europe (with the exception of Italy and Belgium). Should I try to get back tto Paris this summer or try something new like Barcelona? I have a very active 3 year old son, what would it be like to travel with him to Paris? I am not sure he can deal with an 11 hour flight from the West Coast to Europe. I know I am kind of rambling, but I was very excited to find this community of like-minded Fodorites and I am looking for general suggestions...

Love-sick Paris visitor

oof course you CAN do this rainyday, I'm just wondering why you'd want to.

IMHO a resort with a beach and some child-care facilities may provide both of you with more of a holiday. some of the companies that run camp sites in France and Italy have very good child-care programmes, or you might try googling "single parent holidays".

Europe will still be here when he grows up a bit.

I wouldn't recommend it. There is so much walking for a 3 year old. plus the flight, time change, etc. No one wants to have a fussy 3 year old in a museum. The Paris that you experienced would be totally different from your experience with a 3 year old. He would not even remember going. It's really not fair to drag him all that way.
Do you have a close relative that he could stay with? If not, I would wait until he is older and then you could have a nice trip.
If you are looking for a vacation with him from the West Coast, get a Hawaii package. You could have a relaxing, fun time.

I'm going to agree - we took our daughter to Paris the first time when she was 8 and she amazed me by telling me ahead of time that she wanted to go to the "louv" and see the mona lisa, the lady with no arms and the lady with wings (kudos to her school that she knew about these!) By the time she was 6, we could visit cities and tour countries with her - but we had to take about 2 hours a day and do kid stuff with her (while trying to be inconspicuous, of course!) She's now a great traveler and we've had many many trips together (though at 21 she's now striking off on her own with friends.)
At the age of 3 - heading for a beach environment is simply the best for the child, in our experience. Otherwise, you WILL find yourself frustrated and your child unhappy at certain times almost daily. And, really - he'll grow up so fast!

We've taken our son to Paris at 11 months, 3 years and again at 4 years. We love it! We've also been without him and YES it is a completely different experience.

It depends on what you are hoping to get out of this trip. If you want to recreate the memories of the last trip -- then no. If you want to experience a city that you already love in a whole new way, then yes.

Of the things you mentioned some you can do again, some you can't and most things will be a completely different experience.
Eiffel Tower: Your child might really enjoy this. Our son did. He still talks about it lighting up. We bought him a little light up Eiffel Tower that he still loves.

The Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, L'Orangerie: You can definitely attempt probably one museum. The gift shops will have some really interesting books and things to help him appreciate it more. We have some books that have the works of art and then ask questions like "Can you find the cat?" "Can you name all the pieces of fruit?" "Why do you think the man is sad?" It's more work for you. You won't be strolling leisurely though looking at the art. But you will look at the paintings in a completely different way.

Notre Dame: My son LOVED it. There is a little park behind it that my son still talks about. The pigeons out front were also a huge source of entertainment for him while I snapped photos.

Arc De Triomphe: Probably not. I can't imagine a toddler climbing all those stairs!

Champs Elysees, Concord, Marais, Latin Quarter, and Montmartre: These are doable but a completely different experience.

Places you didn't mention: The Tuilleries. During the summer you can rent sailboats and sticks to float in the large pools. My son spent hours doing this at 3 yrs.

Luxembourg: There is an amazing playground! Again, we spent hours there, either playing with our son, or eating pastries that we brought with us while our son played with other children. There is also a puppet theatre. That's probably not something you would do on your own, as a grown up. But it's just another way you can experience Paris in a whole new way.

Look into renting apartments. More space for you and him! He can go to sleep at his regular time and you can stay up and watch t.v., read a book, or open your window and listen to Paris. You can also keep fruit, yogurt, milk etc in the fridge for breakfast so he's not starving until you get out of the hotel.

Long flights are difficult, but not impossible. We fly Europe to the West Coast about twice a year with our little one. It's just a matter of preparation. Know your child. Pick flight times that fit his schedule. Bring food he likes. Pack toys (new and old). Invest in a DVD player or bring a laptop for movies. Bring extra wipes.

If you use the search feature you will several trip reports of people who took their small children to Paris. If you want to do it and you have the right expectations then you can totally make it work.

I agree with the other posters as well. It's not that you couldn't take him - but all the reasons you listed above for loving Paris, are not going to do it for him at this age.

At 2 to 5 I took the kids to beaches, theme parks (not just Disney, but Legoland might do it for him), some National Parks, etc. I would structure the mornings around a more "intellectual" activity (obstensibly for the parents), like a museum (even a children's museum), and then something like a beach, pool or playground after lunch. They were warned that if they were obnoxious in the morning, "their" activity for the afternoon would be cancelled. Now, at 10 and 12, they are pretty reasonable about whatever we choose to do.

The first long (off continent) trip we took they were 5 and 7 - and for a variety of reasons we chose Australia. It was over 30 hours of travel. It had the unforeseen effect of making every subsequent flight seem short!

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Thanks for your pragmatic advice and a bit of a perspective. I guess we'll wait... sigh. In the mean time, we may look into either San Diego or Hawaii.

My kids started to go to Paris in utero and went every year for 2 decades and will, I expect, continue to go. I loved having my kids in Paris, and it's now their favorite city in the world. Of course, when they were babies we planned trips to accommodate them. Paris is full of parks and playgrounds and things to keep young children amused. We were always coming from the East Coast, so not so long a ride on the plane, but I don't remember any major issues on the airplane, if you discount the time when my daughter was 2 years old and spend the entire ride to Rome walking up and down the aisle - not making a sound or bothering anyone, just walking pretty much all night except when they were serving meals/drinks.

In fact, my son walked into my office yesterday and put a photo down on my desk and said "Do you remember this, Mom? This was absolutely the happiest day of my entire life." It was a photo of him sitting on a bench in the Tuileries with his sister, the two of them licking orange popsicles and grinning like banshees. He was either 3 or 4 at the time.

Rainy Day.......San Diego is a great city to take your son - and mine loved it at around that age. Tons of things to make everyone happy.

(That's not a knock on Hawaii, but we live on the east coast and only made it there last April.)

Well, to resurrect an old thread, just wanted to report that we ended up taking our 3 3/4 old son to Sweden and Denmark and he did really well on Trans-Atlantic flights and traveling in general. A DVD player definitely made a difference, as did a stroller with beefy wheels to meander through cobble-stone streets of Gamla Stan in Stockholm and Kongens Nytorv, Nyhavn, and other areas of Copenhagen. Thanks all for your advice!