Hi all, just back from a Paris/Brussels trip and I'm not sure when I'll get around to writing a full blown trip report. But I wanted to share a few tips for those traveling with kids.

1) Go to Cirque de Paris. It will take an entire day but it is well worth it. Your day will be split into thirds. For the first part, your kids (and you somewhat) will learn how to do circus acts like tightrope walking and trapeze. Clown makeup, juggling, and balancing are also taught. Adults get into the action too. I was the base of a human (adult) standing pyramid and also served as the base for kids doing handstands on my hands. My wife did the trapeze.

The second part is lunch (a really nice several course lunch) and "light carnival" stuff. There is a carousel and a tightrope and a few museums to go through.

The last part is where the people who taught you in the morning put on a show. It was great and although it didn't have lions and tigers, it did have aligators and snakes

Here are the logistics:
Parc des Chanteraines
115 bd. Charles-de-Gaulle,
Villeneuve-la-Garenne, France
Phone: 01-47-99-40-40
(Métro: Porte de Clignancourt, then Bus 137)



2) Go to Jardin de Luxemborg and have your kids get into some pickup soccer or table tennis games. My kids did this twice and we had to drag them away.

Hopefully this helps someone out there.

Kevin

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A race / walk up the Eiffel Tower should be fun for active kids.

Thanks, I am going with my 6 year old in April for a week. We have all gone to a circus bday party and loved the trapeze (including my husband) Would you know how old you have to be?

I'm not sure what the minimum age is to do the Trapeze. Six is certainly old enough to do everything else. You might need to call them directly for that.

they have a lot of good information about things to do for kids, with a lot of details and addresses, on the Paris Tourist Information Website (they include info on that circus under a day at the circus)

http://fr.parisinfo.com/sortir_a_paris/rub8096.html

They also have their own website with a lot of information, including tarifs, reservations, etc. You can also get tickets at FNAC, Virgin Megastore, etc.

http://www.journeeocirque.com/

Even if you can't read French (not sure if the website is in other languages), the photos can give you an idea and a lot of info should be clear

Hi! We are going to Paris this summer with our two kids. I just stumbled upon the Cirque de Paris info. It looks like a memorable day. Do they speak in English a lot, at all? How long is the day? Did you make advance reservations, if so how?

It sounds like a great idea! Do you think it is worth sacrificing sightseeing to do this? (We only have 3 days, but want to have a fun and memorable trip for our kids age 5 and 8. We have been to Paris before w/o them.)

Any details would be appreciated