Some advice before coming to Paris with your family

WHEN TO COME TO PARIS?

French (and foreign) tourists come to Paris all year round.

Easter and All Saints' Day are the busiest for French families. These are two periods of the year that allow for a mix of outdoor and indoor visits.

Christmas is the children's favourite time of the year. Paris is beautiful, all lit up with Christmas lights and decorations.

In the summer, we take advantage of the visits and walks outside. The evenings are mild, longer and there are many open-air shows or movies. On the other hand, it is the truce for temporary exhibitions and plays.

FIND ACCOMMODATION

The majority of French tourists who come with their families are staying with relatives (family or friends). Those who do not have a place to stay choose hotels, apart-hotels, room or apartment rentals on sites such as Airbnb.

The hotel represents an important budget in the cost of the stay. Booking.com offers discounts on overnight stays all year round. For the hotel, it's best to book well in advance, otherwise the prices will go through the roof.

Apartment rental is also an ideal and practical solution for families with children: independence, a more reasonable budget than a hotel, the possibility of cooking meals... The Airbnb site offers a wide choice of accommodation, from studios to apartments for large families in all the districts of Paris and also in the suburbs, often more reasonable in terms of price.

Only one campsite in Paris (in the Bois d Boulogne) offers accommodation in caravans and activities with children (playgrounds, board games...).

ORGANIZE YOUR DAYS WELL

Even if it is very pleasant to stroll around Paris with your nose up and get lost in it, in order not to leave frustrated at having missed a museum or a tourist site, it is better to organize your days in advance and to plan your visit, especially with children.

Take inspiration from the sightseeing tours or itineraries that we imagined and thought for and with children and teenagers. You don't visit Paris the same way with a 4-year-old and a 16-year-old.

• 2 days (or a weekend) with 0/6 year olds
• 2 days (or a weekend) withweek-endc for 7/12 years old
• 2 days (or a weekend) with pre-teens and teens
• 3 or 4 days with 0/6 year olds
• 3 or 4 days with 7/12 year olds
• 3 or 4 days with pre-teens and teens
• 5 days and + with 0/6 years old
• 5 days and + with 7/12 year olds
• 5 days and more with pre-teens and teens

MOVE AROUND PARIS

To get around Paris, you can take the metro, the bus, the RER and the tramway.

The subway is the most convenient and quickest way to get from one place to another ( Paris metro map ).

The bus remains undoubtedly the most pleasant means of transport to discover Paris, but also the slowest.

Bus 42 allows you to discover the beautiful districts of the right bank. From the Champs-de-Mars to the Opera via the Alma Bridge, the Avenue Montaigne, the Champs Elysées, the Concorde, the Madeleine and the Opera.

Our favourite line, the 69 bus between Bastille and Champ-de-Mars: this line crosses Paris from east to west and allows you to see the Bastille, the Marais, the Châtelet, the Louvre, the Quays, the Musée d'Orsay, the Invalides, the Champ-de-Mars and the Eiffel Tower.

The 58 bus invites us to a nice walk between Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Châtelet.

Bus 24 also offers beautiful views along the Seine. The area is also home to the Ile Saint-Louis, Notre-Dame, the Saint-Michel district, the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, the Concorde and the Madeleine.

The RER (A, B, C or D) is a quick way to get out of Paris, for example it serves airports around Paris, Disneyland Paris (RER A, direction Mane-la-Vallée) or the Palace of Versailles (RER C, Versailles Château Rive Gauche station, then about 10mn on foot) You have to take specific tickets for each destination (metro tickets do not work on the RER outside Paris).

The tramway bypasses Paris (on the outskirts). Convenient to go from one door of Paris to the other.

HOW MUCH DOES A SUBWAY TICKET COST?

• 1 ticket = 1,90€ in full price
• 1 book of 10 tickets = 16,90€ at full price
• 1 book of 10 tickets = 7,90€ in reduced rate

The metro ticket is valid for the metro, RER (in Paris only), bus (except Orlybus and Roissybus), tramway and Montmartre funicular.

If you're coming for 1 week and you're going to travel mainly by public transit, it's best to take a Weekly Navigo Package.

THE MUST-SEE IN PARIS NOT TO BE MISSED

• Eiffel Tower
• the Louvre museum
• a cruise on the Seine
• (Notre Dame)
• Montmartre and the Sacred Heart
• the Musée d'Orsay
• the Champs-Elysées

THE MUST-SEES OUTSIDE OF PARIS

• the Palace of Versailles
• DisneyLand Paris

ANTICIPATE AND BOOK CERTAIN ACTIVITIES IN ADVANCE

• We advise you to book certain tickets in advance....or you'll run out of room or stand in line on the day.
• Most of the tickets purchased are now E-tickets Skip-the-line (you don't need to print them, they are readable on your mobile).
• What is best to book in advance the Eiffel Tower (especially in summer), large temporary exhibitionssome unusual, thematic or playful guided tourswhich families love and which leave very quickly.
• Strongly recommendedbecause it's very popular with families with young children: the city of Science and The Great Gallery of Evolution (there can be a lot of people during school holidays).

GOOD DEALS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF CHEAP OR REDUCED RATE BETS

• Reduced rates on certain tourist or family activities Activities : on activities such as cruises on the Seine, the Paris Aquarium, a visit of Paris in a panoramic bus, walks in Paris on a Hoverboard or Scooter with an animator...
• Paris less than 10 €  (activity in Paris where the adult ticket is less than 10€)
• Paris less than 15 €  (activity in Paris where the adult ticket is less than 15€)
• Paris less than 20 €  (activity in Paris where the adult ticket is less than 20€)
• Free Paris : all the free punctual animations and all the free good deals in the capital city