Tips and good plans before coming with your family Paris

WHEN TO COME TO PARIS ?

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

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

Christmas is a favorite time of year for children. Paris is beautiful, all lit up with lights and Christmas decorations.

In summer, you can enjoy visits and walks outside. The evenings are mild, longer and there are many outdoor shows and movies. On the other hand, there is no time for temporary exhibitions and plays.

FIND AN ACCOMMODATION

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

The hotel represents an important budget in the cost of the stay. Booking.com offers year-round discounts on overnight stays. For the hotel, it is better to book well in advance or the prices will go up.

Renting an apartment is also an ideal and practical solution for families with children: autonomy, a more reasonable budget than a hotel, the possibility to cook for themselves? The Airbnb website offers a wide range of accommodation, from studios to apartments for large families in all the districts of Paris and also in the suburbs, which are often more reasonable in terms of price.

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

ORGANIZE YOUR DAYS WELL

Even if it is very pleasant to stroll around Paris with your nose in the air and to get lost, in order not to leave frustrated to have missed a museum or a tourist site, it is better to organize in advance your days and to make a planning of visit especially with children.

Take inspiration from the tourist routes or circuits that we have imagined and thought for and with children and teenagers. One does not visit Paris in the same way with a 4 year old child and a 16 year old teenager.

GETTING AROUND PARIS

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

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

The bus is undoubtedly the most pleasant way to discover Paris but also the slowest.

The 42 bus allows you to discover the beautiful districts of the right bank From the Champ-de-Mars to the Opera via the Alma bridge, the avenue Montaigne, the Champs Elysées, the Concorde, the Madeleine and the Opera.

Our favorite 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 Orsay Museum, 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 You can see 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 Château de Versailles (RER C, Versailles Château Rive Gauche station, then about 10mn walk). You must 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 METRO TICKET COST?

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

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

If you are coming for a week and you are going to travel mainly by public transport, you should take a weekly Navigo pass.

THE MUST-SEES IN PARIS NOT TO BE MISSED

MUST-SEES OUTSIDE OF 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 to book in advance the Eiffel Tower (especially in summer), large temporary exhibitionssome unusual, thematic or fun guided tourswhich are very popular with families and go very quickly
Highly recommendedThis is a very popular choice for families with young children: the city of Science and the Great Gallery of Evolution (it can be very busy during school vacations).

GOOD PLANS TO ENJOY PARIS AT LOW COST OR AT A REDUCED RATE

Reduced rates on certain tourist or family activities On activities such as cruises on the Seine, the Paris Aquarium, a tour of Paris in a panoramic bus, rides in Paris on a Hoverboard or a Scooter with an animator?
Paris at less than 10? (activity in Paris where the adult ticket is less than 10?)
Paris at less than 15? (activity in Paris where the adult ticket is less than 15?)
Paris at 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