caze17

Hi all,

Our trip to Paris is planned for spring break (last week of March/first week of April) with our kids - 7 & 4. My strategy is to take it slow and intersperse lots of playground time between sightseeing. I'm nervous that we will encounter a decent amount of cold and rain (though we will be coming from the mountains of Wyoming, so it will feel warm to us!), which would put a damper on the playground time.

Any suggestions of places to go when the kids need to get some energy out, but the weather isn't cooperating? At home, we would head to the indoor pool at our local rec center, go to a trampoline place, etc.

Thanks for your help!

kerouac

The CentQuatre has huge spaces where kids like to run around like crazy. They also run wild among the naturalized animals in the Grande Galerie de l'Evolution at the museum of natural history.

havetwinswilltravel

When our twins were 7 years old, we spent a rainy afternoon in Paris (in the fall) perusing the Shakespeare & Co. English bookstore. This is not a high energy activity, but one that many kids would enjoy, if they like books.
You could also head to one of the Museums on a rainy day - lots of walking, and many Paris museums have tours that you can do yourself or arrange in advance that are geared towards kids. Many have books in the gift shops of specific artwork that the kids can find and read about.
Grab an umbrella and take a long walk to a cafe for some hot chocolate.
Also, our kids loved the trampolines in the Jardin des Tulieries. This is outdoors, so maybe not a rainy day activity, but a good active one!

justineparis

Paris does have several good indoor pools.. note, males may not wear board shorts ( speedo type instead).. at most of them.. and Ive heard some make you wear a swim cap.. I would google to find out which pool is closest to your hotel and then go on its website to see their rules.

Maybe not the best idea.. but we visited friends who had their 5 yr old with them .. and he seemed to love spending an hour or so at the LEGO store near Les Halles..

The Pomidou has a hands on section for children.. they looked to be having fun.. Actually .. the whole museum has enough weird exhibits that my 11 yr old thought it was fun ( even the "serious" exhibits.. like a mop in the corner ( we saw some pretty weird stuff, lol ) its the most fun type museum for kids I think as its just unintentionally hilarious..

Michael

The Cité des sciences et industries in the parc de la Villette has sections for all ages.

StCirq

Michael beat me to it. The Cité de Science is wonderful. I could never get my kids out of the Odorama exhibit.

PalenQ

https://www.google.com/search?q=aqua...iw=639&bih=614

Aqua Boulevard is Europe's largest urban indoor and outdoor water park - kids will absolutely love it IME - took my kid years ago and now it offers so much more- right in heart of Paris could be combined with Eiffel Tower - nice even on a rainy day.

The Catacombs are neat too for kids: The Paris Catacombs | Catacombes de Paris

So plus the several other good options listed by others some great options for a rainy day. Even touring the Paris Sewers could be cool for kids (unless heavy rain when they could be closed):

https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museu...gouts-de-Paris

And of course museums are rain-free.

nanabee

If you run out of things to do for children in Paris there is always EuroDisney!

menachem

Indoor pools are plenty in Paris, most paid for by the City of Paris. Even a pool like Pontoise (a marvel to behold) is moderately priced.
There's also a great pool inside the Les Halles complex (not many people know this)

Here are all swimming pools:

https://www.paris.fr/piscines

Mind though that you'll need regulation swimming attire (ie speedo, not boxers for men) and you'll have to wear a regulation swimming cap. If you don't have those, most pools have vending machines where you can buy them.

My son and I have swam all over Paris and we're veterans of many pools.

kerouac

It just doesn't rain all that much in Paris. We have been having a drought.

Southam

Go to the movies. Paris has always been a great cinema city. Some films are shown in the original English with French subtitles; they are marked VO (version originale). One curious thing about comedies, though: The English speakers hear a joke a fraction faster than the subtitles can be read, so the audience laughter can be slightly out-of-synch.

Envierges

Be advised: Catacombs are not available for children under 10. Make use of websites for the attractions you have in mind.

kerouac

VO does not mean that the movie is in English. It means that it is in the original language. Anything not in French will have French subtitles even if it is an American movie. To take the current movie Green Book as an example, there is quite a bit of dialogue in Italian and also a bit in Russian. It doesn't really spoil the movie if you do not speak the appropriate languages, but you will miss a bit.

PalenQ

Catacombs are not available for children under 10. Make use of websites for the attractions you have in mind.> mistakenly thought they were older - scratch Les Egouts too.

kerouac

I don't think they really check ages for such things -- it is basically a suggestion for what is considered appropriate according to common cultures. For example, could Mexican children possibly be shocked by the catacombs?

caze17

Thanks so much for the great options! We do plan to visit a number of museums and other indoor sites, but these additional "burn off energy" type of places, will be fantastic for when we can't hit up playgrounds due to weather.

But if you could all keep your fingers crossed for amazing weather anyway, that would be great!

AJPeabody

In case of rain, memorize my grandmother's line: "You are sweet as sugar but you will not melt."

kerouac

Frankly, I never understood worrying about rain either. Children absolutely do not care -- only some adults do.

5alive

So true!

My suggestions:
​​​​​​Go up to the 18th. Ride the carousel if it's open. Take the funicular up to Sacre Coeur. Climb to the top of the church and look out.

Some great bakeries and pizza in this neighborhood. I think one bakery we liked was on Rue de Abbesses. I will try to look both up later. Message me if I forget.

I did not make it to the Dali museum in this neighborhood, but check into it. That might be fun and interesting for kids.

AJPeabody

AJPeabody's First Rule of What to Do in Paris: When in doubt, enter a patisserie.

AJPeabody's Second Rule of What to Do in Paris: When not in doubt, enter a patisserie anyway.