CITY GUIDE: 3 Days In Paris With Kids

Where do you go, what do you do, where do you eat … really, how do you spend 3 precious days in Paris with kids or kid (in my case, a restless and cold 6 year old) in tow when you visit the most romantic city in the world…

I found myself in Paris last week for 3 short days right after a lovely ski holiday in the French Alps at Peisey Vallandry, one of Club Med’s ten resorts in the French Alps and probably its most child-friendly one too. The resort was nothing short of breath taking – imagine traveling 5 plus hours out of Paris, first class via a TGV express train and then driving another hour along steep moutaineous terrain and salted roads to a remote log cabin style resort nestled 3000 metres above sea level in the French alps … a place where you could leave the kids all day in the mini club med with baby sitters who also double up as ski instructors as you take some private ski lessons, spend some alone time together as a couple and just chill… yet still call it a family holiday .. that is exactly what I did and I am now totally sold into the Club Med concept of a family holiday where there is something for everyone .. read my story which I will post later on my virgin ski trip … but on to the important part … what is there to do post trip when the baby sitters wave goodbye and you are left on that same express train headed back to Paris for three days (with child in tow) … headed to the city of the michelin star, foremost fashion capital of the world and probably the most historic of Europe’s major cities …

Well, I am a definitely your type A personality .. the type that needs to plan so here was my plan to make the most of the 3 days that I had. And  believe me … 3 days is not a lot of time so my best advice if you have a short trip and lots of needs to meet (as in things to do, buy and see) then the trick is to be focused on two things that you want to achieve each day rather than try to be too ambitious and to try to do them all. So here is my advice to max out and make pleasurable, a short stay in Paris:

STAY IN THE HEART OF THE CITY - the first thing to remember about France is that taxis and public transport are not easily on hand or a phone call away – the way that they are here in Asia. Plus they are also incredibly expensive so I recommend that if you are choosing accomodation, stay near what you want to do or where you think will make a good central base. Our choice was the Mercure Hotel group that also runs the Ibis and Novotel Hotels. These French run hotels (under the Accor Hotel chain) had an abundance of well-located small hotels all around the Opera area. On the first evening, after getting off the train from Club Med into Paris, we stayed at the Mecure Gare De Lyon. Right next to the Gare De Lyon train station, this hotel was a winner in terms of price (about EUR150 per night) and took 3 in a room. Do note that some hotels in France DO NOT take 3 in a room and have a strict 2 maximum policy which I found out after many emails going to and fro.

Our second and third nights were at the more centrally located Mercure Opera La Cusset. This was in a good location in the Opera area at Rue du Richeliu, a street down from  Galleries Lafayette and Printempt but lo and behold, we were definitely taken for a ride in terms of what we saw online and what actually greeted us after we opened our room door. This ‘quaint’ hotel which was described as charming turned out to be shabby (although clean) at least 20 years in need of a renovation and looked nothing like what the website promised. So here’s a tip that Trip Advisor will not give you .. if you are a city chick, remember when you make that booking to look for words like ‘recently renovated’, ‘modern’ and ‘full facility’ when you book a hotel in Europe, especially if you have a fussy junior in tow.

BOOK AN OPEN TOP BUS TOUR - this in my humble opinion is the best, most educational and most cost effective introduction (although not time sensitive) to seeing Paris and introducing junior to the sights. We booked the Les Car Rouges which offers a 2 day pass for you to hop on and off along 9 major Parisien tourist destinations. There is another open top tour operator called L’Open Tour with more stops but Les Car Rouges was conveniently located near the Opera House and our Hotel and also had a jump-on and pay policy where you just pay the driver when you hop on without having to pre-book. The journey comes complete with a headphone commentary tour in 7 different languages which even my fidgety 6 year old enjoyed and it took about 2 hours to see everything – all 9 stops including 3 to 5 minute stops at highlights like the Notredame to the Eiffel Tour and the Louvre (provided you just stay on the bus and not get down to explore).  Tip: Bring a hat and sunnies with you if you plan to go in Summer. If like us, you choose to go in Winter – don’t plan to be sitting on the open top deck without handwarmers, a really insulated jacket and a scarf for your neck. We braved a one degree morning and lasted 30 minutes after which we had to promptly go downstairs to the lower deck as our fingers were beginning to get numb.

THREE GREAT PLACES THAT YOU CAN BRING THE KIDS - my recommendations if your child is 12 and below: Disneyland and the Walt Disney Park Studio, The Trocadero Aquarium, The Louvre and The Eiffel Tower Tour. All of these are full day affairs except for perhaps the Eiffel Tower which you can see in an hour provided you were smart enough to book online and in advance.

EURO DISNEY as it is called is about 40 mins from Paris by train (they call the MTR or MRT there the Metro and there is also a local line called the RER). Both bring you direct to Eurodisney for about EUR15 for the 3 of us. The trains are dirty but efficient (think graffiti and chewing gum-riddled seats with water marked stains and worn down cushioned seat that are in dire need of a good scrub, also commuters who leave their newspapers on the seat without clearing them and afterwards put their feet up on the same said seats). When you get to the parks, buy the 2 park option which is a better deal and trust me you can cover BOTH parks in one day as chances are if you have been to the other Disneys around the world (especially the one in Hong Kong) some of the  rides will be old familiars that you will not want to queue for and do again. And did I mention – go on a Weekday! Weekends are for the locals and if its not a French school holiday, you will probably have the whole park to yourself as did we. If you have to choose one Park to visit (because of time constraints – then the Walt Disney Studio Park with Cars and Buzz LightYear as main attractions are definitely boy-geared and closes at 6pm. The Disneyland Paris park is more ‘girl-geared’ – think Princess overload – and closes at 7pm). When I was there, 2 parks cost EUR 71 per adult, Be smart and buy them ahead via the Concierge at your hotel – they cost only EUR64 for the two parks at the Hotel Desk. Note that not all hotels sell the Disney tickets.

TROCADERO AQUARIUM and THE EIFFEL TOWER - Buy the tickets to the Eiffel Tower Tour online not because they are cheaper but only because you don’t have to stand and queue for 45 minutes which we ended up doing only to find that we could only buy tickets to Level 2 and not to Level 3 (the Summit) because it was already too crowded. If you buy the tickets online, you have to be sure that you show up on time as they are time allocated and mean that you have to be there to ride the elevator up to the level that you buy access to at the time stipulated. No refunds of you do not show or if you are late. Picture taking and oogling at the view should take you no longer than 1 hour along with checking out all three levels and even getting a fast food snack at one of the many snack counters on the 2nd level. Of course you can have a meal at one of the 3rd floor restaurants but lets face it with Paris and the michelin star rated restaurants just below you, would you eat at the Eiffel? Oh and one last tip – a tour is not exactly a guided tour – it just means that you go there and walkabout yourself either via staircase or lift or a combination of both. A day to the Eiffel can also mean you can squeeze in some time to visit the Trocadero Aquarium as its near the Eiffel. Not exactly next to it but you should be able to ask around and if you don’t mind walking around a bit – find it and spend a good two hours look-seeing. We missed this as we could not find the exact entrance and got it confused with the Marine Museum at the Trocadero. So do yourself a favour, google and print out a map of how to get from one site to the other as they are actually fairly close by.

THE LOUVRE – my poor 6 year old did not get a chance to see The Louvre or the Mona Lisa or mad Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and his Camille only because the day that we designated a visit to The Louvre was a Tuesday and PLEASE NOTE that The Louvre is CLOSED ON TUESDAY!!! Why in the world they would choose to close a place like this on any day of the week totally befuddles me.  So my friendly advice – DO NOT PLAN A TRIP TO THE LOUVRE ON A TUESDAY!  I was of half minds to take her to the Musee D’Orsay or the National History Museum which has a dinosaur section but by the time I found out that the Louvre was closed, our day had almost become afternoon and we decided instead to go back and chill before heading out for a sumptious dinner … which brings me to the next section – FOOD!

FOOD is abundant in Paris and if you have 3 days and you like buying what I call Food Souvenirs, just go to Galleries Lafayette to the MEN’S building (there are 3 buildings) and to the Food Hall (1st floor) there. There is also a Laduree there (the French bakery that invented the macaroon) to souvenirs from Maxim’s, Hediard, Godiva and a million varieties of Foie Gras and Frommage (cheese). Much like Harrods in London and Takashimaya in Tokyo, the foodhall is a gourmet’s wet dream.

The three restaurants that I recommend and tried are:

To see and be seen: FOUQUETS at 99, Avenue des Champs Elysee. This century old restaurant is where the celebs, the politicians and those that want to be seen go as it is probably the most prominent and centrally located restaurant along the Champs Elysee and is the most luxe of the French brasseries. Like Planet Hollywood, you enter and find a list of the rich and infamous who have visited and ate there etched on gold bars emblazoned on the floor.

The newest one-michelin star in Paris – FOURCHETTES DU PRINTEMPT at 30 Rue Du Printempt. Do note that this restaurant is nowhere near Printempt but they serve a really good set lunch at EUR45 for three courses having earned their first star in March 2011. A very small establishment run by two Chefs, one Sous Chef and a very hands on waitress, I liked the simplicity and size of the restaurant, its unpretentious location and the food.

Quaint Parisien Decor with good and not overly priced French food and 19th and 20th century style decor: L’Europeen at 21 bis, boulevard Diderot or Au Petite Riche at 25, Rue Le Peletier.

 

SHOPPING - don’t be too ambitious when it comes to shopping – with three days, you will definitely have to toss a coin between a day along the Champs Elysee OR a day at the Opera area at Galleries Lafayette and the Printempt Department stores. I would pick the latter. The Champs Elysee is basically over-rated high street shopping so unless you are buying a certain brand or browsing, head first to Galleries (choose your poison based on the floor that you want to go by picking up a store floor plan at the info counter) and then head to Printempt in that order. Trust me each store is not just about being in one building. Galleries has 3 separate buildings for Men, Women and Misc and Printempt also has the same set up and is spread over one or two buildings. If you still have steam afterwards for road side browsing, you deserve a medal (especially if you have junior in tow). The tip for shopping in France is simple. When in France, only buy the French made labels – think Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Long Champs as they are all significantly 25 to 30% cheaper than the rest of the world plus you get a 12% VAT rebate on the purchase. Regrettably good customer service does not often come packaged with the discount but thats another story that I will share with you in another post. Enough said that with the Euro at an all-time low, this is the season that you should fulfill your closet lusts.