We did a 2-week trip in June to Paris and Provence with our two teenagers, and in the better late-than-never mode, here are some of our experiences for what they’re worth (this one is on Paris, I’ll post Provence separately). I’m not saying much on the major sights in Paris since there’s already so much info on them.

- Rented an apartment for a week in the Marais, and loved it: the atmosphere, the neighborhood feel and the convenience. Only negative was lack of air-conditioning; but hey, that's what the "local" experience is all about.
- Our teens loved the tours by Fat Tire Bike company, including the Segway tour and the night tour (including a gorgeous boat ride). Guides are very friendly and have a very American jokey attitude which we found fun, but may put some off. But a neat way to get an overview of Paris, particularly the monumental part where distances are long to walk. Don’t expect to learn a tremendous amount though – it’s more to see things in a fun and active way.
- The main thing that salvaged Versailles for us was doing the gardens on bike (again with Fat Tire), and copious amounts of good wine at a picnic lunch on the canal (no biking immediately afterwards, fortunately). Very disappointing audio guide presentation in Versailles, focusing more on who painted what rather than on the amazing events that happened there. We had prepped a lot for Versailles – my daughter is a major Marie Antoinette buff and we had read several books on the Sun King and the French Revolution before the trip, but even so Versailles was mainly impressive as an exercise in excess, rather than in doing a good job of making it interesting.
- Catacombs were cool for the kids (in more ways than one during the summer). Don’t bend yourself out of shape to accommodate this though – after a while you get blasé even about masses of skulls.
- We used Mike Osman, the Fodors forum fave guide. Cannot praise him highly enough, including his willingness to customize things for the kids.
- Our vegetarian son had a tough time, albeit assuaged by his daily pain au chocolat and Berthillon ice cream.
- Our daughter found great clothing at very reasonable prices (this was sale week in June) in the Marais on Rue des Francs Bourgeois, better value than in the department stores. We also saw the free “fashion show” at Galeries Lafayette aimed at getting tourists into the store – not bad, but again don’t plan your day around it.
- Extremely good creperie that we all liked (and there are many average ones) is Au Lys d’Argent on the Ile St. Louis near the bridge to Ile de la Cite.
- The Fete de la Musique on June 21 is spectacular – we saw several great free performances within a two block radius in the Marais.
- Walking around the city at night is magical, even for a balky teenager.
- Best tribute to the city: my daughter saying "why are we rotting in suburbia when we could live in Paris?"!

Hi Krishnan,
Thanks so much for your great report and great tips!! (Yes, definitely better late than never!) We are going to Paris and Provence with our 2 teenagers this June.
I hope you don't mind a couple of questions...

<<The Fete de la Musique on June 21 is spectacular – we saw several great free performances within a two block radius in the Marais.>>
What exactly is this? We will be there on 6/21.

<<Very disappointing audio guide presentation in Versailles>>
I wonder if the live guides are better? Or would you recommend just walking through reading your own guide book. We always try to do audiotours in musuems with our teens. Sad to hear it was disappointing.

Looking forward to hearing about Provence!

Dina, in response to your comment about would it be better to do a guided tour, that might not necessarily be the case.

We took our three teenagers about a year ago and did a guided tour and, somewhat like the audio tour, it eventually became somewhat boring listening to who painted what and who made what piece of furniture. It was just too much detail for the kids. Even I was becoming a bit bored with it myself towards the end. The kids never got to the stage where they were complaining about how long it was all taking, but I knew they were getting bored all the same. The problem is I don't think you can do some of the apartments unless you are on a tour and there are some spectacular rooms to see.

Incidentally, one of the days they really enjoyed, was going out to Parc Villette and the Cite des Science (Science Museum) by boat along the Canal St. Martin. The kids loved going through all the various locks and seeing the water rush in.

The Museum is very good and the kids were really taken with the theatre in the huge silver ball building. It is rather like an Imax but the screen goes over your head and you are almost lying back in the seats and looking up as well as forward. Everyone gets individual head phones so you can listen to the movie in your own language. You can get back into town on the Metro so it doesn't take long to return.

Hi krishnan,

Our family of 4 (kids will be 15 and 11) are booked to tour with Michael Osman for 2 days in early July. We will only be in Paris for 3 nights. Do you recommend 2 days, or only 1 day, of touring with Michael? This wil be our 1st trip to Paris, and 1st trip to Europe.

Thanks.

Carole

Dina: Here's a description of Fetes de la Musique (website www.fetedelamusique.culture.fr) that I'd picked up from the Let’s Go website: Also called "Faîtes de la Musique" ("Make Music&quot, this summer solstice celebration gives everyone in the city the chance to make as much racket as possible, as noise laws don't apply on this day. Closet musicians fill the streets. Major concerts at La Villette, pl. de la Bastille, pl. de la République, and the Latin Quarter. This festival is one of Paris's best and most popular. If you're not humming by noon, you need to reprioritize. Partying in all open spaces. Before you join that samba or Hare Krishna parade, put your wallet in a safe place. Avoid the métro. Free.

The music really picks up in the evening - as I recall, in the Marais we saw a Swedish group at the Swedish cultural center, a Brazilian samba band, a men's chorus group, an African band and finished up by listening to a jazz-rock group from our apartment - they were in the next courtyard! And of course you have the various amateurs happily banging away on the streets - quite a welcome for summer!

Also, around that time (on June 24 - at least that was the date last year) there are fireworks over the Seine for the Feux de la St Jean (John) Baptiste, Quai St. Bernard. Apparently the fireworks are at the upstream tip of the Ile St. Louis over the Seine, best seen from Latin Qtr quais. It was drizzling that evening, plus we were pretty tired, so we didn't get to it.

On Versailles, I don't know how good the official guides are - you may want to check the forum. We decided to do the audio tour so that my son could cut free - he must have set some kind of speed record by zipping through the whole palace in 15 minutes and then hanging out with the Fat Tire guides (needless to say, he's not the history buff in the family). btw, you can't have a private guide in Versailles, otherwise we'd have brought Mike Osman with us to make it more kid-friendly. If you decide not to do the official guide, I'd still recommend the audio guide as a supplement to your guidebook, so that you can at least get the basic facts from the audio guide without having your nose in the book for everything.

Carole: We used Mike for 3 days, so I certainly won't say that 2 days with him is too much! The only thing is whether you want to have more time just to hang out as a family given that you have only 3 days in Paris, but perhaps you'll have enough "together time" elsewhere in the trip. And keep in mind that Mike is extremely flexible: he took my wife and daughter shopping; he did a 2 hour "highlights" trip of the Louvre for the kids (we actually considered skipping museums entirely for the kids, but were afraid that they'd take away our parents' licence if we didn't at least bung the kids into the Louvre); while the rest of the family was relaxing each day after lunch in our apartment, he and I hit the Picasso, Beauborg and Carnavalet museums (it's helpful to have him along if you want to go to the Carnavalet since my recollection is that most of the explanations are in French). Make sure you explain to him what your priorities and special interests are, and he'll tailor your day. For instance, my kids love crepes, so he took us to the creperie I recommended above, as well as to a good Breton creperie in Montparnasse. After our raves about the fresh bread, he took us into a bakery where he knows the proprietor, and they showed us the breadmaking process in the cellar as well as their chandelier made of bread. But don't try to pack too much in - figure you'll come back!

Krishnan-
Thanks for all the info. That music festival sounds really great! I feel so lucky to be there that day.

How much does Michael Osman cost, and if you could only have affored him for one day, what would you have used him for?

Shandykins-
That canal trip and science museum sound really great. However, we only have 3 full days in Paris. I will put it on our list and noted your good info, but not sure if we should take the time...

So I'll have to think about / research the Versailles guide issue.

Thanks again!
Dina

Dina: Mike is an artist, so if you have an interest in any of the art museums, that would be fun to do with him. I'd also use him for an overview of the main highlights in the center of the city: he took us around to Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle and the Conciergerie (in increasing order of interest, IMO) and to the crepes place for lunch. His rates are extraordinarily reasonable - I don't recall exactly what they were, but he deserves a very generous tip.

Also, if you're in Paris for just 3 days, if I were in your position I'd bag Versailles, but it depends of course on your priorities.

Thanks. I've contacted Michael and look forward to hearing fron him.

Our 3 days in Paris does not include Versailles. We would visit on day 4. Our kids really want to go, so I think we can't miss it.

Dina

I loved your daughter's comment, "why are we rotting in suburbia when we could live in Paris?"!

My teens thought the same thing!

Thanks for your reports.

We are going to Paris in two weeks. I know the weather will not be great. Does anyone have any specific suggstions for Paris in March with two teenage girls? My husband and I have been several times; first time for girls.

Thanks!

Who said the weather would be bad? Weather is highly variable in March, but it isn't necessarily bad. Typically it is chilly, with clear days that alternate with overcast or sprinkly days in unpredictable ways.