Travelling with Children
 

In september next year we are travelling to France for 19 days with 2 children (7yrs & 5yrs. We would like to stay in Paris for 7 nights in the St Germain Des Pres area. Following Paris we would like to stay in a Chateau for 2-3 nights before we finish the holiday in London. We really need some advice on Accommodation, sightseeing and our time in a Chateau. My daughter would love to stay in a fairytale like Chateau. Any advice would be great. Cheers.

Oh lucky little ones!! Won't this be a fun trip to plan. Enjoy. Can't give advise because I have never been to France however. Wish I was your little girl. Happy Thanksgiving!

For Paris, find a place within walking distance to a park with a playground. In parks like Luxembourg Gardens, keep in mind that it's a big park, so you should find a place closest to where the playground is located.

A great place to take kids of this age is the Jardin 'Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne -- make sure you get off the Metro at Porte Maillot, so you can take the Petit Train right to the entrance. The free Guignol puppet theatre there is so much fun, and your kids will understand what's going on because it's mostly puppetry and minimal and easy French speaking (after all, it IS for kids!).

Needless to say, there isn't a kid alive, whatever age, that doesn't enjoy a trip up the Eiffel Tower or a ride on the Carousel.

For chateaux, it would probably be easier to select one from one of a number of websites that represent them. Here are a few:

http://www.au-chateau.com

http://www.chateaux-france.com/

http://www.chateauaccueil.com/

We did our first European trip (Paris, Loire Valley & London)with our 2 sons (age 3 and 4 at the time) 3 years ago and had so much fun with them that we have been taking at least 1 trip to Europe each year afterwards. In Paris, we stayed near the Eiffel Tower (forget the name of the hotel) and the boys had fun touring the tower and we had lunch up at the Jules Verne where they had a good time looking down at Paris while eating. Make sure you reserve the table 3 months ahead to have a window seat. They also liked the part of climbing up to the top of Arc De Triomphe and to the Sacre Coeur Church. We took the metro everyday but still there will be a lot of walking for your children. I took my kids to the mall and "train" them before any major trips and "bribe" them with little toys along the trip. The big department store Lafeyette has a good toy department. My boys liked sculptures so Orsay was their favorite. We then had a rental car to tour the Loire Valley and we stayed at Tours. I know there are Chateau hotels around the area but we didn't stay in one. I bought the DK eyewitness book for Loire Valley and there is a section in there has Chateau hotel recommandation (p.200-201) We saw 3 chateaus, Chenonceau-very romantic and pretty, should be the best one to see with your daughter, Villandry- with a very unique garden, Chateau d'Angers- a bit out of way but a nice quite medival fortress.

This is the second part:
I picked those 3 chateau in the Loire Valley since we went to Versailles when we were in Paris and the other grand chateaus of Loire Valley are a kind of similar to that but the 3 I picked probably interested young children more. We then finished up in France at EuroDisney bofore we headed to London on Eurostar. Although my kids been to Disneyworld in the states, it was still the highlight of their trip. One thing we didn't do in the Loire Valley was to take a hot air balloon to see the chateaus and that might be very interesting to do with your children. Since we already spent 14 days in France, we were pretty tired by the time we got to London so didn't do too much with the boys there but to see the British Museum and they liked the natural history part with the dinosaurs etc... We were planning to go to the Legoland in Winsor but didn't make it.
Have fun planning!

We are also planning a trip - any more advice

For the chateaux check carefully to see which ones will welcome children that young. Many are furnished - at least partly - with valuable antiques - and some prefer not to accept children under the age of 12 or so.

If you stay in the Amboise area, take your kids to the Mini Chateau Park (about a half mile from the Amboise Novotel). Has detailed scale models (pretty big, actually, they're not tiny little things) of dozens of Loire Valley chateaus and is laid out in a more or less geographically correct way (there's a "mini Loire" river running through it as well, maybe a mini Cher and Indre as well). Worth an hour or two (although, IMHO, it's a little overpriced). We used it as a reference in trying to winnow down which chateau to visit last year--we were trying to decide between a few (beyond the ones we really wanted to see) and seeing the scale models and the accompanying info helped us reach a decision.

Thought this might help w/ a London area B&B
we don't post much but lurk a lot. ;)

Wanted to pass along this b&b we stayed at over the summer. Its in the
New South Gate & Arnos Grove area.

Nice place, family owned & operated, they live there, middle class
residential area also...

We came in late from Stansted(sp) airport and it was located that side of greater N. London town...


We were looking for a B&B that was nonsmoking, kid friendly, quiet
local, near a Tube station, and short walk to a rail station too. under ~
$100/ night for the 3 of us. Friendly & helpful

That came in handy when the Tube had a "wildcat" strike one day. The
Brit's had their own term for this "Union Action"

http://www.london-bed-breakfast.net/

It lived up to all they say it is...
Hope this was the right amount of info... CJ.

Some of their INFO:
Bay Tree House is on the Piccadilly Tube line, a 4 minute walk from the Arnos Grove Tube Station. It is a direct 20 minute ride to Central
London. Alexander Palace, Barnet and Southgate, Capel Manor and Middlesex University.

There is easy access to the M25 and North Circular with
off-street parking on our forecourt. Rooms are comfortably furnished
and bathrooms all have large shower stalls.
Full English or vegetarian breakfast is served each morning in our
dining room or conservatory, and a non-smoking house.

James and Janice Monaghan's Bay Tree House Bed and Breakfast... luxury B&B in London at affordable prices. They have three large rooms beautifully decorated in Old English style with comfortable beds, T.V, and private bathrooms with heated towel racks

located in New Southgate, the London Borough of Enfield, North London. Tel: + 44 (0) 20 8351 2836

email: [email protected]

Paris, well of course, you have to do the Paris thing. But then what about the Loire Valley and all the wonderful chateaux to see? Last November (just about after you posted this), we stayed at Chateau d'Alogny in Lesigny-sur-Creuse, an absolutely perfect little chateau with its beginnings in the 10th century. This place was about a 20-45 minute drive to every famous chateau you ever heard about. We hit 3 a day. I forget the website, but search under that name. Absolutely fabulous countryside kicking off point for touring all of the Loire Valley destinations. Very reasonable and very comfortable accomodations with a gorgeous setting, a staircase set in a turret, stone walls, huge fireplaces, and the cutest shetland ponies which my toddler loved to feed each morning. The place is easily reached from A10, the big highway in those parts. It is only 5 kilometers from LaRoche-Posay which is very famous for its hot spring spas and a casino... a lot of everything. This place is also only about 45 minutes from Poitiers, another historically significant center. Dordogne which everyone recommends is also within an hour or so. It's convenient yet retains that really French countryside experience. Really a great location!

We stayed with our 6 year old in the Loire VAlley at Chateau d'Artigny in Montbazon which was very welcoming and very special, lovely painted ceiling etc. Visit Sleeping Beauty's castle at Usse, Chateau de la Belle au Bois dormant. At the Chateau Chambord there is a fabulous double staircase which little children found enthralling.(can't stay here - just visit)All in the Loire Valley. Don't forget the river boat ride on the Seine and the biggest hit for my boy on another trip was the transport museum in London, could have spent all day driving the underground train. (you don't really of course - but they find it fun)We caught an ordinary double decker bus and just went where it was going, again a big hit with little ones, very cheap entertainment! Madame Tussauds was good also, we prebought tickets over the net and just zoomed on in. You don't say how long you have in London, try and fit in the Tower of London if possible.