nagal1

My husband and I are taking two boys(18 and 16)for 10 days to Paris in June. One speaks French.We want to stay in an area which has lots of cafes etc. and are not sure whether to rent an apt. or go to small hotel. Want a "French" experience.Would like feedback from anyone.Also would like to know what other people with older teens have enjoyed to see/do in Paris.Is Paris safe to allow my sons to sightsee alone? I have been there before but it was a long time ago.My husband and I will enjoy all the historic spots, gardens etc. but would like to know recommendations of things which might especially interest our sons. Thanks.

troontraveller

Just got back from Paris with my 15 year old daughter - we stayed in the Latin Quarter which was excellent. Lots of very reasonably priced restaurants. A 3 course meal was between 9 and 15 euros per person. Bottle of wine around 15 euros. The 'hop on hop off bus' was good value 28 Euros for 2 days and the stop was 3 minutes from our hotel. Stayed in the Central Saint Germain - clean, reasonable, decent buffet breakfast and we thought a very good base. 5 minutes maximum from Notre Dam and the Seine (could also get the Batobus from there as well)

wliwl

nagal1:
We'll maybe see you there! We are going June 13 with 2 teenage boys, 15 and 18. Sort of a graduation present. We have rented an apartment in the Latin Quarter. We like that area because it is more casual, due to the presence of students and younger people. We will be in PAris one week and then in Rome for a week. Rented apts in both places. The apts were less than half the price of 2 hotel rooms! We rented in Paris from rentalfrance.com. Check out slowtrav.com, there are some rental reviews on there. Not to panic you, but you might want to get on this quickly as things were already booked up when I investigated last week. There are also a lot of apartment reviews here on Fodors. We were definitely looking for an apt with 2 bedrooms, with one double and two twin beds, so that limited the choices a bit. Good luck!

Robespierre

I wish to respectfully dissent from the opinion that "The 'hop on hop off bus' was good value 28 Euros for 2 days and the stop was 3 minutes from our hotel."

The RATP buses will take you everywhere for much, much less:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34568214

...and there's a bus stop within a half-block of EVERY hotel.

peggi

Day trip to Versailles...climb to top of Eiffel Tower at night...climb beside the gargoyles at Notre Dame. People watch on the Champs Elysee. Climb to top of Arc de Triomphe. Tour the Louvre with a guide. Have them read The Scarlet Pimpernel if they haven't already. Let them eat crepes (my son would go back to Paris for the crepes alone). Rodin Museum. Les Invalides. Bertillon ice cream.

wliwl

The Scarlet Pimpernel is my favorite book, and my kids loved it!

ira

Hi nagal,

See the rollerbladers on Fri or Sun.

http://www.pari-roller.com/

>Is Paris safe to allow my sons to sightsee alone? <

Give them 20E each and no credit cards.

nytraveler

Well - one of your sons is old enough to be serving in the army - and the other will be away at college within the year. So - if they're not old enough to be out alone yet - we're all in big trouble. (Do the officers let the privates go out by themselves - or only in groups with sgts to mind them?)

I can;t believe this is even being discussed!

nagal1

I don't know how much you have travelled but plenty of cities aren't safe for anyone of any age to be out and about at night. My husband and I are Europeans who grew up in a very unsafe city. My sons frequently do go off alone when we are abroad but that depends where we are. Being in a
foreign city with which you are ubfamiliar makes people more vulnerable. Any by the way, there are plenty of soldiers not allowed off the base in foreign countries,even with their sgts! I guess they know something you don't.

nytraveler

I'm sure there are plenty of places where it's not safe to be out and about alone - Iraq for instance - but Paris - nor any major city in europe is not one of them.

As for soldiers being kept on base - that is for military reasons - not in order to babysit them (or are they about to be stolen by gypsies? - or kidnapped by crazed ladies of the evening?)

FYI - have been to europe more than 60 times - to many, many places - and can't imagine any city two healthy, mentally normal young men are not safe out alone.

And if they're not safe alone - the four of you certainly aren;t safe without an armed guard.

nagal1

to troontraveller
I looked up the rentalfrance.com address you gave me and liked the look of some of the apts. However, couldn't find any info about pricing. I have e-mailed them already.I hope they respond quickly. Did you find their prices comparable to other companies? I want to get accomodation booked asap.
Thanks.

nagal1

to wliwl.
Sorry, I asked Troontraveller for the info on the apts. by mistake.

StCirq

I think it is perfectly normal for a parent to be concerned about 16- and 18-year old kids out on their own in a foreign city where they may not speak the language or aren't familiar with the transportation system. My kids who are 14 and 17 now have spent a lifetime of summers in France, including Paris, and though I would probably trust them to navigate their way around it's only because I know the level of their language skills and the fact that they've been in Paris dozens of times.

nytraveler, your assertion that you've been overseas more than 60 times in itself puts you in a category VERY different from the American family venturing to Europe for the first or second time with teenage kids. VERY different. How could you possibly understand what fears people might have? You clearly don't.

Mothers worry - that's a fact. Bad things happen in big cities - that's a fact. Paris is a LOT safer than the city closest to where my kids grew up in the USA, but can we please not chastise a mom for being concerned about letting two teenage boys out alone in a foreign city?

What happens in the military is so foreign to some of us that it's a totally bogus analogy. My son would be eligible for military service in a couple of years, and I suppose eligible to be blown up in various quarters of the world. What does that have to do with how he might fare on the streets of Paris? Actually, in Paris he'd be fine as he speaks French and knows the métro. Suppose he were in Ankara - frankly, I'd be worried until I saw him safely back at the hotel.

I'm drawing on a fairly distant memory here, but 25 years ago I went to Europe to perform for "our boys" on an SFO tour, and we stayed at military bases all over Germany, Belgium, Italy, and France, and "those boys" hardly ever ventured out into the local community, or if they did, they went to nearby bars, got drunk with their buddies, and stumbled home to base. I saw this over and over again during an 8-week tour. Comparing what young men in the US military do with what American teenage tourists do is SO apples and oranges.

LoveItaly

Why is it when a Fodorite asks a civil question they get blasted?

It sure makes me wonder whether Fodors is a place that I want to go to.

St.Criq and others, you gave good answers in a polite and kindly manner IMHO.

Why are there so many cranky posters that have to jump down ever posters questions? I do not get it.

nytraveler

St Cirq -

Sorry - if you disagree - but I think there are a couple of things you missed. The OP says that they are euorpeans - not untraveled americans. Also they say one son does speak french. Given these facts - I still don;t understand the concerns. (And I have step (almost) daughters in a not dissimilar age range (18 and 20) and would have no problem at all with them touring Paris by themselves. They're sensible, reasonably adult - and the city itself is simply not inherently dangerous.) (And I wnet to europe the first time myself at 19 with my boyfirend - and we had to no problems at all - nor did anyone else we met then - or since. It's really not a den of theives and kidnappers -as I'm sure you well know!)

Also - the military analogy obviously is incorrect - tourists and their needs/habits are very different from troops of young men serving abroad. And frankly - the young soldiers are often limited to base to avoid them bothering the townspeople- not the other way around.

and sorry that so many people disagree- but admit that the infantilization of current youth is a hobbyhorse of mine. If you don;t allow young people to grow up in a sensible way - we'll soon have 30 year olds who are still to immature to leave home.

shcstrat

When my daughter was 18, she and a good friend spent a week in Paris, living in a hostel. Both spoke intermediate French so they could get along. My daughter had been in Paris 4-5 times before with me, so she knew how to navigate the Metro and she knew where she wanted to go.

If I were you, I would allow the boys to visit an area of Paris by themselves one morning or afternoon (St Germain & the Marais both have very cool shops) and see how they do. They might also like the Catacombs or the Sewer tour. Give them a dealine to meet you somewhere easy to find. Chances are they will be fine.

In the evening, there is so much people traffic on the Champs Elysses, they can't get in trouble. Trust them. They will do OK.

WillTravel

I "allowed" my 17-year-old son to go around all on his own in Paris last summer. For one thing, he was starting university in two months, so excessive control would have seemed pretty silly. And he does speak French fluently. He had no problems, but we did agree he'd be back by 11 PM every night.

As for apartment or hotel, I'd choose whatever option gave you the most privacy, which might be two rooms in a hotel. But definitely not a quad hotel room or a single-room apartment.

parisnow

nagal1- I will be traveling to Paris in March with an 18 year old female. This will be my lost count time in Paris and her first. I would feel perfectly comfortable allowing her to venture off on her own but her mother would have my head. I am also trying to figure out what to do with a teen. Doing everything Peggi suggested (except Eiffel at Dusk and then stay until dark-best view). Since I am not allowed to leave her by herself, I am planning on going to a wine bar one night. I am reading that it is becoming popular with the youngsters in Paris but something a 30 something can also enjoy. I am considering one of those champagne tours outside Paris to Reims. For boys I would recommend Invalides.

zola

I know this often happens, but entirely too much discussion seems to have been directed toward the parenting issue. Just a general note, if you live in a large metroplitan area, use that as a guide as to what you can expect in Paris and to what extent you would allow your children to be on their own.
It, of course, is easier to grant more license for their adventures during the day (Ira's 20-Euro suggestion is very good). Undoubtedly, be more cautious for evening activities.
To your other questions:
Your sons , unless well-versed in art, may not find the museums as appealing as you. Take them to those that you think they should see, but don't force them to endure hours of paintings or sculpture. Exposure is one thing; inundation is another. As to sites, they almost certainly have to see the Eiffel Tower (they'll like the ride and the extraordinary view) and landmarks such as the Arc de Triomphe among others. They probably will like the perspective of Paris from Sacre Coeur as well. Otherwise, they'll be more interested in areas relevant to their own experiences. Therefore, I submit that they'll love the Latin Quarter, jammed packed with young adults and international college students (especially between the Sorbonne and the Seine) and studded with restaurants, cafes, shops and hang-outs. There are some music clubs in the same district as well where I ran into several teens and others in their early twenties. A less-attractive area is around the Canal St. Martin in the 10th arr. The Oberkampf district has become more chic for the young set lately also, but may not be the best for your sons by themselves, especially at night.

If you're looking for accommmodations within an area "with lots of cafes, etc," the St Germain des Pres neighborhoods are great on the Left Bank and the Marais on the Right. An apartment rental sometimes works out better than a hotel for more than two persons, but keep in mind what is not provided with an apartment. For that, see the references for websites others have posted.
Not to fret, though. Take these thoughts merely as suggestions and enjoy yourself. I think whatever you decide to do, you and your family will have a great time- after all, it's Paris!

Travelnut

They might enjoy the Musée de l'Armée at Invalides; less art, more artifacts, suits of armor, Napoleon's stuffed horse, etc.
<u>http://www.invalides.org/</u>

The Catacombs at Denfert Rochereau are scheduled to reopen by May.
<u>http://triggur.org/cata/</u>

The Parc de Buttes-Chaumont might be a fun place for a picnic...
<u>http://www.atkielski.com/inlink.php?/PhotoGallery/Paris/General/ButtesChaumontSmall.html</u>
<u>http://www.paris.fr/EN/Visiting/gardens/parc_buttes_chaumont.asp</u>

There are always crowds of young people on the steps at Sacre Coeur, listening to the wannabe musicians and watching other street entertainers...just the usual precaution about pickpockets...
<u>http://www.atkielski.com/inlink.php?/PhotoGallery/Paris/General/SacreCoeurSmall.html</u>