By LisaTravels
Paris is a wonderful city to explore both on foot and using the subway system. We spent a lot of time tasting the inexpensive street food has to offer; crepes and Parisienne hotdogs were a big hit. Parisienne hotdogs are hotdogs served in a baguette, covered with cheese and toasted – a big hit all around. We also tried out a few patisseries and sorbet shops. Stopping for little treats, we’ve found, is a good way to break-up long walks and keep the kids busy. We often take the kids into local grocery stores to have them pick-out snack foods and drinks that they’ve never seen before. Not only does this save money for us but it introduces the kids to the different cultural tastes and specialties of a country. It is amazing the different flavors of potato chips from around the world.
We stayed at the Novotel Gare de Lyon which has easy access to the subway system, is family friendly and has a pool, albeit small. There are also a lot of inexpensive restaurants and grocery stores in the area. My boys seem to be constantly hungry, so easy access to food is always a top priority. It you book and pay ahead of time you can get a pretty decent price, for Paris.
http://www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-1735-novotel-paris-gare-de-lyon/index.shtml
The lines for Paris attractions can be long, so purchase whatever tickets ahead of time that you can. You can purchase advance, timed tickets to the Eiffel Tower.
http://www.eiffel-tower.com/
Another fun thing to do in Paris with boys is a tour of the Paris sewer system (http://europeforvisitors.com/paris/articles/paris-sewers-museum.htm) and the Paris catacombs (http://www.catacombes-de-paris.fr/english.htm). They both have that cool grossness factor that they will love to tell their friends about.
We also visited the Louvre, but after seeing the throngs of people crowding around the Mona Lisa they were kind of turned off of art. They couldn’t understand why so many people were obsessed with one little picture of a woman’s face. Their other observation was that a lot of the people in the paintings and sculptures were naked or half naked – good point.
To make up for their experience at the Louvre we went and did a totally kid-centric thing – a visit to the fun fair in the Jardin des Tuileries. My husband and I traded off watching the kids play games and go on rides while the other person enjoyed a relaxing respite in a beautiful park.
One of the smartest things we did was buy a 2 day pass to one of those double-decker tourist buses. We not only used it to get from place to place but as a venue to sit down, relax and just look around when we were feeling a bit pooped. Our younger son even managed to catch a much needed nap on the bus. He laid his head on my lap while I drank in the sights of Paris while listening to historical commentary provided by the headphones on the bus – not bad at all.
So did we have a romantic trip to Paris – are you kidding, we had two young boys in tow. But we did have a fun and interesting time – for sure!
About the Author: Lisa Singer is a Toronto based mom and communications professional. Her love of travel was set in motion on her own backpacking trip across Europe where she met her now husband. Lisa also loves food and tries to weave in learning about local food and its growth and production on all of her travels.
