Two weeks in France with children-- need recommendations!!!
 

We will be traveling to France this summer for two weeks and are just starting to make plans. We are tentatively thinking to go to Normandy, Brittany, maybe Loire, maybe Champagne, and Paris. We have three boys aged 5, 11, & 13 and are looking for activities that will interest them. They love sports and are very active but also enjoy history and art museums in limited spurts. Suggestions of sights and activities that we should do? Suggestions of great towns that we should not miss? Hotels?

My children also are very good eaters and will try any type of food. Any recommendations for restaurants that have good food but are appropriate for a family?

Merci!
Jeanne

topping

Very general info request so hard to respond. This summer, you are late for planning for a family of 5. Need expectations on price points, amenities, etc. How long in each location.

If you haven't already searched the forums, there are many posts here on France with children, Paris in particular. A Fat Bicycle tour in Paris might be fun for them. I would not try to do four regions plus Paris in two weeks - I would pick two at most (Normany and the Loire are doable, or Normany and Brittany) plus Paris. Then look for some trip reports from those areas and see what really appeals to you.

Check out Futuroscope:
http://uk.futuroscope.com/
Quite different from other theme parks and you can take the TGV either directly or almost directly. I'm sure you could find other things in the area to interest you/them.

http://eurapart.com/budget.html
This website is a listing of the chain hotels in Europe--budget, midprice, etc with info and links. The budget are often very good value basic accomidations. Some have suites or family accomidations.
In the past 10 years (and 12 visits) I've stayed at most of the budget hotels listed in France. Premiere Classe: basic. Etap, one step up from Premiere Classe. Balladins (spent most of my road time (1+week) at Balladins all around France, only bad time was one near Lille.They have some very good prices (this was in April). Stayed at an Ibis in Ghent (Belgium), pricier but my what a nice hotel!
Anyway lots of options.
DO, repeat, DO-get a cell phone and sim card for France. If you have an unlocked cell phone, take it and buy a sim card then buy minutes as needed. My own (old)phone had a problem so I bought a new one include the sim for under 30 euros. Might want to consider a phone for the eldest of the two boys for peace of mind--yours and his. You can also look for phones and sim cards on ebay (I have gotten my sim cards that way each trip before, one seller has website in English and very reliable.
Also: I don't know anything about the people but the website looks like it has some good suggestions:
www.france4families.com/
One hotel I stayed at recommended Flunch (all you can eat veggies, salad, etc, then one main dish of choice, reasonably priced) but they were closed by the time I got there. Seems to be quite popular, tho' with the French.
They have both McDonalds and KFC but neither (had to try them, just to see) are like the US, are pricey for what you get not worth the mention except to caution against them.
You may see places advertising 'kabobs or kebabs'...they arenot the meat on a stick as wek know them in the US, they are the mixed meat schwarma which is carved off in slices. Not bad (depending on the recipe and restaurant) but more fast food than Middle Eastern yummy. I love French pizzas but be prepared for a very thin, non-bread dough crust. And yes, some places have 'kebab pizzas'.

I think it's great you're taking the boys to France and hope you all have a great time!

I'm obviously biased but I think that Brittany (my little part of France) is perfect for a family holiday.

There's everything here; culture, beaches, countryside, cuisine, celtic history and loads, loads more.

For a wider view you may wish to look at http://www.aTasteOfGarlic.com - my Life in France blog review site. That covers the whole of France and may give you some ideas?

>>>Normandy, Brittany, maybe Loire, maybe Champagne, and Paris<<<

This is definitely too much for two weeks.

In each region, you find things that you can do with kids:

- In Brittany, beach activities and exploring menhirs, cairns and tombs. There are some parks as well.

- In Normandy, also beach life, and the WW II bunkers.

- At the Loire, the castles and Clos Lucé with replicas of Leonardo's machines.

- In Champagne, a visit of the underground Launois champagne museum and caves.

- North of Paris, Parc Asterix might be a good example for a non-Disney theme parc. www.parcasterix.fr

For the Americans:

"kebab" is Turkish and meats just "meat". Shish kebab is meat on a stick, döner kebab is meat on a rotating grill, köfte kebab is meatballs, iskender kebab is meat in joghurt sauce (after a guy named Iskender), Adana kebab is meat with red bellpeppers (after the region Adana) etc.

"iskender kebab is meat in joghurt sauce (after a guy named Iskender)"
WOW!!! It was a surprise to me to learn that Alexander himself was dedicated to the fine arts of cooking.
And I loved the Futuroscope park (suggested by sfgirl above), very interesting for children and adults.

Like sfgirl, I would recommend the Futuroscope as well.

Nausicaa in Boulogne-sur-Mer is also fascinating to children.
www.nausicaa.fr

Will you be driving when you are not in Paris? That is the only method that makes sense for a quick trip, and it would allow you to plan a big circle trip so that you don't have to backtrack anywhere.

For the family Brittany and Normandy is the place to go on the beach, hang around ports, play in rock pools, eat street food.

Champagne is basically countryside and other than the zip line to the East or Eperney and the canals it is not kid country to me.

Paris, not for me and kids but others may suggest different.

Loire, well chateau are ok, the coast is ok, Isle de rey a bit further south and Le Mans to the north with roman walls etc

Agree with posters that two regions plus Paris is more than enough. You will find many things for children that are under the radar for international travelers--smaller adventure parcs, go-cart tracks and the like that you can mix with the more adult attractions.

Most towns of any size, particularly along the coast, will have tourist offices that can advise you of local attractions and one-offs--there are fetes and fireworks displays all summer long.

Mt. St. Michel impresses all ages and lots of energy can be worked off climbing to the top. The Normandy D-day beaches, one of the cemeteries and the Peace Museum in Caen will make impressions they won't soon forget.

For hotels this summer, particularly after first week in July, you really need to get cracking asap.

Have a wonderful time.

Thanks so much for all of your feedback!!

In reference to hotels, we weren't going to prebook any of them except for a hotel in Paris. Do you think this would be a mistake? This would give us the flexibility to stay in one location for longer if it appeals to us, etc..

We were hoping to stay in gites or B & Bs in the countryside and to book these via the local tourist office once we arrive. Let me know if this is a bad plan. In terms of price, I was thinking E200 or less? Is this reasonable?

We would also be open to renting a house that would be centrally located so we can do day trips to Normandy and Brittany (looks like visiting the other regions would be too much)-- any suggestions as to a town that would be well located and offer good housing and food?

I have looked at a few of the upscale hotels in Paris and am SHOCKED by the prices. So we really need to find a smaller hotel that would have a family style room or connecting rooms in Paris. Suggestions? We would like the hotel to be well located so we can walk to most attractions (exercise off all that great food we will be eating!). We would like the room(s)in Paris to be under E325 per day.

We will rent a car for the portion of our trip that is outside of Paris so we have the flexibility to go where we wish and when we wish. Any suggestions for good rental companies?

And we would love good restaurant suggestions as we are all big foodies!

mistake, yes. As an adult I'm prepared to rough it, but with a family i'd book.

This summer by now I'd have booked. There will be opportunities but you can end up walking around until you find something

E200 a day for everyone in central paris. Hmm, not too bad.

family style rooms is more of a US or Oz style. I'd go for an appartment. Loads of advice on this site on how to search for Paris appartments

I'd try to take a train if poss to be close and then rent a car as a car in Paris is a bit of a pain. But the family train tickets suck up the euros

You want to go to France this summer (I'm guessing August since it's already June and you haven't booked), with a family of 5, without booking any hotels outside of Paris? Seriously?

I've taken my chances before (with mixed results, now I book ahead), but with 3 tired and hungry kids . . . you want a place booked imho. You are going to waste a lot of hours if you don't, and may end up in some sorry places, or paying through the nose for whatever you can find.

I thought Brittany was really popular with British tourists in the summer. Maybe I'm wrong on that. I don't think you can rent "gites" at the drop of a hat, they are rented for specific time periods (usually a week, beginning Monday, at least in high season) and arranged in advance. Maybe if one happened to be vacant and you found out about it somehow, you might be able to rent it.

I don't think you will be able to rent a gite or a house on the sp when you are going to be staying in each place only a couple days from your desired schedule. You want to cover five different areas in two weeks, so that's 2-3 days per place.

If you are willing to spend 325 euro on a hotel in Paris, you shouldn't find hotel prices shocking. That is an upscale hotel by my standards, yikes. They are very reasonable for a major European capital, I think Paris hotel prices are quite good. I don't know where you are comparing them to, but I think they are cheaper than New York, and London. And they are often cheaper in summer, lots of hotels have discounts at the end of July and August.

Gosh, Jeanned, we did this with our two kids when they were 14 & 11, in off season, and that was stressful enough.

if you are intent on doing this, this year, I suggest picking just two places, and renting apartments/gites. this should get you below your €325 limit in Paris, and below €200 in the countryside.

the next question is - where? frankly, 3 very active boys are unlikely to be occupied for a week in Paris itself; the dordogne with its castles, caves, and canoeing would be a much better bet. in fact, you could spend a fortnight there and not get bored. another possible area is the vendee - with Futuroscope near Poitiers in the south-east and le Puy de Fou [a great french theme park with romans, lions, chariot racing, jousting, etc.etc.] in the north-west. these are both a terrific day out and we and our kids loved them, so much so that we're going back to the Puy de fou next month - 8 years after we first went - with our now adult children.

if you do plump for Paris, rather than Disney, I'd go for Parc Asterix which is just south of the mouse kingdom - another very french and very fun day out.

Here's the website for the gites de france organisation - probably your best bet for holiday cottages outside Paris at this stage:

http://www.gites-de-france.com/gites/uk/rural_gites

have a great trip!

Paris is one of the 3 cheapest cities in Europe for 1 and 2-star hotels and the most expensive city in Europe for 4 and 5-star hotels.

You can save a lot of money by not worrying about luxury in a room where you will not be spending much time.

Last year my wife, 13 year old son and myself stayed several days in Normandy at a wonderful B&B called Ferme du pressoir. It's an 18th Cent. 850-hectare working farm with all the usual suspects (animals that is). It's about 20 minutes from the beaches. However, the B&B rooms are very very modern and tastefully decorated. My son would go to the chicken coop each morning and get eggs which Odile (the owner of the B&B) would then cook for breakfast (the breakfasts are sumptuous). Great place for kids. We all loved it. I'll be glad to give you more details if you like.

Forgot to add, that I wrote a trip report about our travels last year, including more details about Paris and Normandy, titled "Our Month in France".

I will try to respond more fully with more ideas later, but for now, have you thought about renting a short-term vacation apartment in Paris? We(family of 5 w/3 kids) rented one in the Marais area for 5 nights last August and it was the perfect set up. Much more economical than a hotel (considering what it was) -- more space, a great location, and cooking options so you didn't have to eat out at every meal - or could get simple crepes or falafel sandwiches and bring them back to your place. Our apartment was a bit cramped with the 5 of us, but it was certainly bigger than 2 hotel rooms. Well decorated and furnished too. We could pretend it was our apt and that we lived there, which was a nice little dream to have!

Thank you to those who offered concrete suggestions-- we really do appreciate it.

Our plan is to fly into Paris and then to head to Normandy. We would like to book a place here so we know we are set. Jobo, thank you for your suggestion-- I will look into it. It sounds perfect.

We want to also visit Brittany. We would love suggestions for towns to visit/stay at.

We plan then to spend the last 5 days in Paris-- would love a hotel recommendation here. I will look into the apartment option as well Annhig as I think this would be a good way to stay within our budget and give us a bit more room (Christina it is hard to find well located hotels in Paris for E325 when you need two rooms for that amount...). And, Bilboburgler I apologize for not knowing that France doesn't have "family" style rooms-- the last time we were in France was pre children. We, however, have traveled to Ireland and Italy with our children and both of these countries had larger rooms just for families. I was wrong to assume that France had similiar accommodations.

It is interesting that so many people are shocked that a vacation can be planned 6 weeks in advance! We were lucky to get five tickets with our frequent flyer points and want to take advantage of this opportunity. And, fyi, we were able to get these tickets because the flights are less than 1/2 full. I think the planes are empty due to the continued weak economy and the volcano situation. Given the empty planes, it seems not illogical to think that every hotel/b&b is not full??? (And I have also checked via the internet and have noticed vacancies).

I have travelled my whole life and have visited over 50 countries so I do have some experience. Some of our best trips are trips that we just winged it! By winging it, we saw things we might have missed and met people we would not have met. Isn't that what traveling is all about?

I'm going on vacation next week and am just starting to plan it. I do not understand why people plan so far in advance.

Kerouac, a few places do require planning ahead of time, but most places don't.

I think it is a personal matter. Some people feel very uncomfortable if they don't have detailed plans a year ahead of time and others, such as myself and my husband, are more comfortable in planning just a month or two in advance.

We feel that planning on a shorter time frame gives us the opportunity to take advantage of current conditions e.g. better exchange rate, empty planes, bad economy, etc.. In the past, we have gotten some fantastic deals because we waited until the "last minute." The disadvantage is that we don't have a whole year to plan. But, for us, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Jobo,I just looked at the b & b you recommended and this is exactly what we would like (and I see that they do have "chambre famille" so I wasn't so off base in thinking that this type of room might exist in France!). I have sent them an email to get further information. Thank you again for this recommendation.

kerouac, are you traveling with 3 kids? "Nuff said.

Personally, I'd head for the Dordogne with those kids and settle into a nice gîte, if you can find one at this late date.

And having traveled with just two kids, many times, at that time of year, I just don't understand winging it. So much time wasted trying to find suitable, affordable rooms. It is, to me, SO much more relaxing knowing you have beds waiting for you somewhere after a long day of sightseeing or driving.

I disagree that it is hard to find two well-located rooms in Paris for under 325E. There are hundreds of them, many discussed frequently on this board. We regularly stay at the Hôtel de France - Invalides, where two double rooms would be well under that, and which has at least one quad room, as do quite a few Paris hotels.

Bilboburger was mistaken in claiming family rooms don't exist in France, I don't know why he thinks that. I've seen them quoted in Paris hotels. It's not that every hotel has them or lots of them, but they certainly exist.

I have viewed dozens of Paris hotel rates and stay there almost every year, so I guess it's just a matter of taste that 325 euro doesn't get you a good room in Paris. Yes, I know you want that to be a family room, but that's still 175 euro per room. I don't think I've ever paid that much for a double room.

hi everyone!surfing on the net i found this great fodor's topic .and to answer your question but not completely,since few years we were thinking about welcoming an english family in our gorgeous prpriety for one week,but having their own house,guest house(6 beds,2 rooms) on an island ,right in front of the sea in west of france in exchange of english speaking,during few hours (dinner time or lunch time) with our four kids.can everybody on this forum tell me if that seems to you interesting or stupid?i mean are there families who would be interested ?

StCirq thank you for your recommendation.

Christina and others, please share with me some of the names of those hotels in Paris you keep referring to in your posts--I am anxious to look into them. You obviously know Paris so much better than I do and I am sure that you and others on this board could give me real insight into some special, well located, family friendly and AFFORDABLE hotels!! Christina, I am very happy to spend substantially less than budgeted!!

StCirq is the first one that has actually given me a name of a hotel in Paris! Everyone keeps being critical of the flexibility that we want but no one is sharing any info on names of hotels?!? What's up with that? And if you noticed, we will be booking a hotel at the beginning of the trip in Normandy and at the end of the trip in Paris... it is just 3 or 4 days in the middle that we want to have the flexibility to explore an area that maybe we aren't thinking about today...

I am starting to wonder if we should change our plans and travel to another country. I have never encountered such an attitude on any of the Fodors boards as I have on this one! Is this the type of attitude we will find in France? Our previous trips to France have all been so wonderful and we have met many nice people there but I am starting to think that times have changed and we would be better off spending our time and money elsewhere.

jeanned, one note on ferme du pressoir. My wife and I are fluent in French; however Odile, the owner of the B&B does not speak much English. But when we were there several Americans were there at the same time who did not speak any French and they seemed to have no trouble communicating with Odile who is a fantastic and gracious host. I don't think you will have any trouble if you don't speak French, but wanted to let you know what the situation was like. Of course, I can't speak for the horses, cows, chickens or sheep as to what language they would prefer.

Family rooms exist in France but they aren't the norm - all the more reason to book ahead, especially traveling in the summer when many places will be busy with tourists and full.

I think to meet your budget also requires careful planning and booking - many hotels do exist in Paris where you can get two rooms for under 325e but again many people are looking for those rooms in the summer.

Gites/apartments - will require a week in the summer. That isn't a book as you go option.

We have taken many trips to Europe with our children (our 14 year old daughter has been fourteen times...) and I think you would be well advised to take a nice apartment.gite and have a base camp for at least one of your weeks - more room for everyone, more flexibility, more time to explore etc. Everyone will be more relaxed and able to enjoy just being in France. Shopping for food is a huge and enriching adventure for kids.

I agree with Normandy - lots to see and lots for activity kids to do. Brittany likewise but further from Paris. We love the Atlantic Coast (Noirmoutier south say).

Here's one thread you might look at for hotel suggestions:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ank-thread.cfm

I think if you reread all of the comments above you will find many, many helpful ones and only about three questioning your lack of reservations to this point. You know what you and your family are comfortable with so go for it as you see fit. Some wing it. Some don't.

I love renting apartments in Paris. I find them much more economical than hotels because they often offer a washer and dryer allowing me to pack less and wash clothes comfortably and because it is easy to "eat in" when in an apartment.

The reason people don't always offer hotel recs on fodors is because so much of what we each like is based on our own experience. I would hate to recommend a place and then someone else hate it. Words like budget, moderate, small, large, close to the metro mean different things to different people. The search box above will help you narrow down your search beginning with the right and left bank apartment threads.

With three kids I would stay walking distance from Jardin du Luxembourg and take advantage of all it has to offer children.
Ann Marie

The Hotel Minerve in the Latin Quarter has a family suite that accommodates up to 5 people and has 2 bathrooms.

www.hotel-paris-minerve.com

As for activities, I'm going off the top of my head here, so I'm sure I'm leaving out lots of other favorites:
-in summer, boat ride on Seine in early pm so you clearly see everything as the sun is setting, and then see the Eiffel Tower light up and twinkle as it's getting dark

-Louvre - have your kids do a little research first on 10-15 paintings, sculptures, etc. Rick Steves Paris guide is an excellent reference. Our kids printed pictures and studied up a bit before the trip, so they were able to "get it" more (and therefore enjoy it more) because of the familiarity factor

-relaxing outside the Louvre in the grassy park area (can't remember the name of the park, but you are looking out in the direction of the Arc de Triomphe) Beautiful, and kids will like the green space. A good game of tag amongst the bushes.

-Pompidou Center - views of Paris from top are incredible, and street performers in area are lots of fun

-Eiffel Tower - we didn't go up; entire place was mobbed. But it is still a magnificent sight from close up and far away

-St. Chapelle - absolutely divine

- cheap trinket shops and poster stores along Seine - great gifts for kids' friends, and cheap! Girls loved the pink and blue Eif Towers. I love my inexpensive posters, which I got framed here (expensive) and they look fabulous

-walking around different neighborhoods

-as for food, we didn't dine out much in "real" restaurants. We were on the go and picnicked a lot. There isn't a bad baguette, pastry, or simple carb anywhere in the city. Visited a bakery at least twice a day, and you can get sandwiches and good pizzas there too. Even my kids noticed the difference in quality, and I buy "good" bread in the States. Must have hot chocolate at a sidewalk cafe. Crepes, falafels in Jewish quarter, chocolates at one of the many chocolatiers, gelato (Amorini or Amorino? - incredible, and I am picky!)

-If your kids are active, they will get plenty of activity walking around, which you will do a lot of!

I was there with my three children (8,8 & 9) two summers ago. It is hard to find accommodations when you are 5 in Europe. The best bet is an apartment. I have had good luck with VRBO.
You could easily spend a week in Paris with your family, especially in summer with the crowds.
I recommend taking the Bato Bus (water taxi) for one or two days to get from sight to sight. This way you get to experience the city from above ground, see the Sienne and appreciate all the bridges.
Of course, the Eiffel Tower is a must and the same day you could do Hotel de invalids. The boys will love seeing the church with Napoleon’s tomb and the armory museum, which has armor from 1100 -1800, it is really neat.
They can easily spend a day at the Louvre. BTW the Louvre mall has an incredible international food court, they will have a hard time deciding what countries cuisine to try. Luxembourg Gardens is more for your younger son. But you can stop there on your way to the Pantheon. They will enjoy the structure and the impressive pendulum and crypts in the Pantheon.
Notre Dame is fun to climb up the bell tower to tire them out and see the gargoyles up close.
A day trip to Versailles is a must. You can rent bikes and ride through the gardens and have a nice picnic lunch. If you do this, go to the gardens first and the palace last. There are one to two hour long cues in the morning to buy tickets and another hour cue for getting into the palace. The gardens are free and in the afternoon there are not any lines for the palace entry.
Be warned that the restaurants in Paris are not child friendly and very pricey.
Find a bakery and stock up in the morning on pre-made sandwiches.
Normandy is a great spot to take them. If you do this you should stop at Mount St. Micheal on the way down to Paris. It is a very special place.
Bon Voyage

I would strongly consider renting a SUV and going camping - as i have done several years with my son. Will elaborate later.

yes you are right about family rooms it is just they are uncommon and given your timings I was worrying you were used to having high availability.

I still think the paris appartment is the best solution

Thank you for all of the wonderful suggestions.

Jobo, ferme de pressoir has the family room available and we will probably book it. This is exactly the type of place we love to stay at. My husband and I speak a bit of French so the language should not be a problem. I do want to ask you if you went to Mont St Michel from here. If so, how long of a drive was it? What else did your family do in this area?

StCirq, thank you for this wonderful thread. I contacted many of these hotels this evening. It looks like there is quite a bit of availability but we'll have to see how well the hotels can accommodate our family. Does anyone have recommendations for reliable web sites to book apartments? I will look into vrbo but was wondering if there is a French site that may have a broader range of apts. available.

lmfisher, thank you for your insight on Versailles. This is an excellent plan to rent bikes first and then to enter the palace after having a picnic and after the crowds have died down. My boys are patient, but not patient enough to wait two hours for a tour of a palace!! This is exactly the type of info that I need!!

There are lots of suggestions of amusement parks but I think we will probably not pursue those options. We really prefer to have an active vacation where we can bike, hike, etc. and visit some important sights. My boys' school has an excellent art program so they already know many of the famous paintings, sculptures, etc in the museums-- even my 5 year old knows about the architectural features of the Louvre--he was educating me on the glass pyramid today-- lol!! He can't wait to see it in person!

Our plans are evolving as we learn more. We will definitely go to Normandy, probably for 4 nights (my father is a WWII vet who fought in France and Germany and I want my children to spend some time in learning the sacrafice that he and others made during WWII). And, I am now thinking that perhaps we should skip Brittany and visit Loire Valley instead... We love to bike and kayak and I think Loire Valley would give us those options. Can anyone recommend a biking company there? I know a few in the US, but I have heard that the US companies are bit more pricy than the French companies?

Has anyone done a cooking class in Paris? If I can talk my husband into taking the boys for a day, I would love to take a cooking class. Any recommendations?

Any other suggestions?

Thank you all again.

jeanned, if you want more reviews of ferme due pressoir, just search for it on tripadvisor.com. There's a bunch and very recent. It is a wonderful place and we will return there on our next visit. Odile, the owner, is a gem. Get her to share some of her homemade Calvados (but don't plan on driving anywhere). Your sons are gonna love the farm. The farm itself is in a small hamlet and you will probably need some kind of map or GPS to find it.

We did not go to Mont St. Michel. We went to all the beaches and the cemeteries which were incredibly moving. The bunkers should keep the kids entertained as well as give them some history. We roamed the Normandy countryside quite a bit. One very interesting town is Falaise, which was the key battle in taking Normandy in WW II. It's also the birthplace of William the Conqueror and in the town there's a fabulous cathedral. Have a great time and let us know how the "ferme" worked out.

Ok, one more from me . . . we rented a great apartment from ParisBestLodge, (we were only 3) but I think they have larger apartments. Great agency and Thierry, the owner of the Agency is wonderful to work with and very accommodating. You might check out that site to see if they have anything available.