Planning a trip to Paris

[amy g.]

I have not been on vacation for over 5 years. We had a big trip to Disney scheduled then had to miss it because wildfires were threatening our home and animals.

 

My sister and her girlfriend will be living in Paris for the entire 2012 Spring semester. They will have an apartment, but we will still need a hotel because I have 5 children, after all.

 

I wanted to go in April for Ds's 16th birthday, but my sister said it is no fun at all when it is crowded. DH took the kids in February once. It was cold and rainy, but that might be better than hot and crowded.

 

I'd also like to go to Disney Paris since we had to miss our Orlando trip.

 

Any advice on when to go and where to stay?

[Scarymelon]

I would go in September/October if I had a choice. I think April would still be nice; my understanding is it doesn't get really crowded until July/August. My very favorite place in Paris is Marie Antionett'e hamlet at Versailles, which is a small farm she created to play dairy maid. I also love the Musee D'Orsay, as it is a lot smaller and more manageable than the Louvre.

[Tammyla]

I haven't been in too long to recommend anything, but wanted to wish you a happy vacation. We visited some parts of France in the winter and it was still pretty wonderful. That said, Paris in the spring time...well it would be wonderful...crowded or not;).

[amy g.]

My sister will only be there for the Spring semester, so September and October are out.

[Melinda in VT]

I have not been on vacation for over 5 years. We had a big trip to Disney scheduled then had to miss it because wildfires were threatening our home and animals.

 

My sister and her girlfriend will be living in Paris for the entire 2012 Spring semester. They will have an apartment, but we will still need a hotel because I have 5 children, after all.

 

I wanted to go in April for Ds's 16th birthday, but my sister said it is no fun at all when it is crowded. DH took the kids in February once. It was cold and rainy, but that might be better than hot and crowded.

 

I'd also like to go to Disney Paris since we had to miss our Orlando trip.

 

Any advice on when to go and where to stay?

 

The &^%( volcano in Iceland ate the Paris part of our trip last year, but I didn't find April to be a crowded time in the rest of France.

 

We are a family of six and we rent houses, so I have no advice on hotels. We did make it to Disney Paris at the end of our trip. It is a beautiful park. I especially enjoyed the theming in Tomorrow (a really cool Art Deco-y vibe, so much better than in Orlando). Crush's Coaster is fantastically fun, and doesn't exist at either U.S. park. And Space Mountain in Paris is much more intense than in the U.S. (although perhaps this reconfiguration is coming to WDW?).

[Negin]

We were there over the summer and loved it. :D The only thing we don't like is that it's extremely expensive, particularly for a family.

Although it was summer and crowded, we still had a fabulous time.

Because we don't particularly care for cold weather and don't have cold-weather clothes anyway (notice that we live in the tropics), we chose the summer. I would have loved anytime from April-October.

Where to stay - tough. Whatever you do, do not, I repeat not, stay in a Paris B&B :glare:. Most are highly impersonal and a complete rip-off. Accommodation in Paris can be a real pain, particularly for a family. That's my biggest gripe. Hotel rooms are small and expensive. Hopefully, you will be able to find something good and nice - maybe 2 rooms on Priceline or Hotwire.

http://www.biddingfortravel.com is a good site for researching Priceline rates and they even list all the hotels that you get on PL.

I personally would not go to Disney in Paris. To me, that's not what Paris is about. Not unless if I had lots and lots of time and had done everything I wanted to do, plus lots and lots of $$. Paris is gorgeous and there are so many better things to see and do than Disney, IMHO. :)

 

it doesn't get really crowded until July/August. I also love the Musee D'Orsay, as it is a lot smaller and more manageable than the Louvre.

:iagree:

Love the Orsay. We got a 2-Day Museum Pass and it was well worth it.

 

Go to the Eiffel Tower when it's just getting dark. It's beautiful at night. You don't have to pay more and go to the very top level. The 2nd level has the best views.

 

A Seine River Cruise is very nice to do on your first evening/day. Perfect way to get oriented to the city and to sit back and relax.

 

I love Paris so much that I created a board on pinterest. :D

 

Rick Steves' book is very helpful.

 

There have been many threads on Paris here. I would do a search. Also, at the bottom of this page, there are some Similar Threads. You can go from there.

 

Have a fabulous trip. I'm so envious. :D

[Maus]

Rick Steves' book is very helpful.

Rick Steves has a website, too. There are sections for his advice and for other travelers to comment.

 

We were only in Paris for 24 hours, but used one of his recommended hotels. It was small, but clean, nice, and conveniently located. I don't remember which one it was, though.

[Elinor Everywhere]

We always rent houses/apartments when we're in Europe, and with a family of 7, I'd highly recommend it. It's much cheaper than hotel rooms. Last year we used Paris Attitude for our apartment. http://www.parisattitude.com/

They were easy to work with and our apartment was wonderful.

 

April will not be terribly crowded - it may be a little cool but overall it should be quite nice. Sept/Oct is best, but you'll still have a great trip in the spring.

 

I agree with another poster about the Hamlet at Versailles (Versailles in general is awesome), and the Musee d'Orsay is my favorite museum, too. Although you should see the Louvre just because. :001_smile: When I visit a city for the first time, I do like to do the tourist things because I've heard about them all my life and see pictures of them and references to them everywhere. So, see the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, etc.; walk up Champs Elycèes, see the Arc de Triomphe, Napoleon's tomb and anything else that you've heard of.

 

Have a wonderful time!

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Paris is lovely in April. I've been to Paris in every season, and I'd pick spring any day. Everything is amazing in Paris. The only thing I tell people they must see is La Sainte Chapelle. I've never been to Paris with children, so I don't have any good advice for that, but if you can afford it, a ride on a bateau-mouche is fun. What are you studying in history? You could possibly link your history studies to your visit. Have fun! I'm jealous!

[Cammie]

We went to Paris and April and didn't find it crowded at all (but maybe everything is relative!) We only had three days.

 

First, keep in mind, European hotel rooms are VERY small - we were two adults with two children (ages 3 and 8) and it was VERY, VERY cramped. Also food is expensive. Make sure to book a place where the breakfast gets a good review. Then you can go to a grocery store and stock up on food for the day. I used travelocity.com to compare all the reviews.

 

We did the Musee d'Orsay which I read recently has just been rennovated. Also Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Arc d'Triumph, Louvre, Versailles (sorry if my spelling is awful!).

 

We bought a combo train pass and museum pass which I believe saved us quite a bit of money...even included a boat trip up the river.

 

Enjoy!

[rwjx2khsmj]

We were in Paris last May and it was absolutely gorgeous! The crowds were manageable especially because we followed so much of Rick Steves' advice. His books offer great tips for how to tour along with recommendations for restaurants and sights to see. There is also a section about Paris with children.

 

The biggest thing about Paris is the cost of food. It is truly outrageous. It's a good thing to go in knowing that meals are going to take a lot of your budget. If you have the ability to cook your own meals, it might cut costs.

 

Be sure to buy your Eiffel Tower tickets online or get there before opening in the morning. Those lines get very long, very quickly. With the online reservations, you have a dedicated entrance and no waiting. Also buying the Paris Museum Pass (this different than the Paris Pass) is worthwhile if you are going to see several of the museums. The best part of the pass is that in most of the participating museum you get to skip the entrance lines. There's a special entrance for guests with a pass. Going with children, it's nice not to stand and wait.

 

We did all of our traveling on the metro and found it easy to navigate and safe.

[regentrude]

Spring in Paris is nice - but make sure you do NOT go during Easter week: the French are on school break and everything is extremely crowded.

Because hotel rooms are small and expensive, we rented an apartment for the week we spent in Paris.

If you go to the Louvre, be there before it opens and get in line; this way the wait won't be terribly long. Same for Notre Dame. the towers open later than the church, I believe. There were no lines at all at the Orangerie (Monet's water lilies).

The Sainte Chapelle is beautiful and absolutely worth a visit, as is the whole Conciergerie.

We walked up the Eiffel tower instead of taking the lift; still lines, but shorter ones.

Boat ride along the Seine is nice to get your orientation (or to rest weary feet).

Have fun!

[Farrar]

We took the kids with us to Paris on a February trip once and it was actually lovely. A little chilly a couple of days, one slightly rainy day and several pleasant take your coat off days. Not bad at all. I've had strangely good luck traveling in Europe in February. And the prices and crowds sure can't be beat! It's a gamble, but it's paid off for me in the past. I did Rome in February as well once (pre-kids, and less of a gamble weather-wise) and it was so nice to be able to waltz in everywhere and ignore all the needless tourbook advice about how to avoid the crowds.

 

Paris with kids is so much fun. No advice about your older ones, but your younger ones will appreciate the astonishing number of carousels everywhere. And we took our boys to a puppet show that was amazing. Never mind that they didn't speak French - they were mesmerized. We also took them to the Cite des Enfants (the children's museum) and we had a ball there. And there were fun trampolines in the Tuileries. Ah... Paris.

 

Whenever you end up going, it'll be great.

[abbeyej]

We've used this company for short-term apartment rentals. Really great to have a whole apartment for the family and not feel cramped into a hotel room (or two)... http://www.vacationinparis.com/infop/two_br.htm

[GoVanGogh]

We just got back from a week in Paris. It was lovely, but chilly and damp most of the time. (Though we just survived one of our hottest and driest summers on record, so it was very shocking to step off the plane into their climate!)

 

We stayed at the Louvre Montana.

http://www.hotels-emeraude.com/hotels/louvre_montana/us_localisation.htm

From what I have read about Paris hotels, our room was quite large. It held a king size bed and a twin and still had a bit of room to spare. It had recently been renovated - very lovely decor and quite clean. The hotel staff was wonderful.

It was walking distance to the Louvre, Notre Dame, etc. There were also two grocery stores within a few blocks.

 

The food prices were mind blowing expensive. :tongue_smilie: Eight dollars for a small plastic bottle of Lipton tea. :001_huh:

 

The rest of the prices were more reasonable.

We bought a week museum pass, which got us into a dozen or so museums and allowed us to jump lines at the Louvre and other busy spots. Children under 18 were free or 1/2 price at most locations. Chocolates and souvenirs were decent priced.

We bought a train/metro pass for the week. It was extremely crowded, but fun. Nice, inexpensive way to get around town in a hurry. We bought a laminated map of Paris at Barnes and Noble before our trip, which turned out to be a wise investment. (DS memorized the map. :D)

 

We took two months off of our normal studies to study French history/art/architecture prior to our vacation. It helped us decide what to see and do, plus we enjoyed seeing what we had read about.

 

We didn't find Paris to be overly child-friendly. It was so crowded that DS really got jostled around and knocked into a lot. There are a lot of spiral staircases, many w/o hand railings.

 

Louvre: We went twice during our week. I easily could have spent a week just in this museum.

 

Eiffel Tower: There was a 3-hour wait for an elevator to the top when we were there. We opted to walk to the second platform and catch the elevator (w/o a wait) to the top. It really wasn't all that bad to walk, though looks overwhelming when you stand at that first stair. :lol: I don't know about walking it w/younger children. A friend said later that you can pre-purchase your ticket and skip the line.

 

The Musée de l'Armée and Napoleon’s tomb: I wish we had allowed more than a few hours for this museum.

 

Versailles: Amazing.

 

Giverney - Monet's garden: Best part of our week, in my opinion.

 

Musée de l’Orangerie Les Nympheas – Monet’s water lilies: Second best part of the week.

 

Arch de triomphe: Spiral staircase to the top.

 

Saint Chapelle: Someone mentioned this earlier. It is truly stunning.

 

Notre Dame

 

Musee National d’Art Moderne: The fountains outside were fascinating.

 

Musee National du Moyen Age: Wish I had studied up on this more before our trip, so we could have possibly gotten more out of it. It was lovely, just... overwhelming.

 

Basilique du Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre: If you are not scared of heights and aren't worried about taking children up, the trip to the dome is amazing! Truly, the highlight of our vacation.

 

If you are interested, pm me and I will send you a link to my flickr page.

[amy g.]

Thanks everyone.

 

This is the apt we are considering renting.

 

http://www.VacationInParis.com/apts/id_52.htm

 

It is close to where my dh stayed when he took our two oldest children.

 

He would like to go in march, but our month is already filling up with travel for work and goat and horse shows.

 

I wonder if February would be just awful weather.