Beyond the City of Love: Family-Friendly Activities in Paris
Paris is touted as a city for romantics, and is often perceived as unfriendly towards children.
When you look at traditional Paris itineraries you find it packed with world-renowned museums, elegant wines, stinky cheeses, great shopping, and lots of walking. It’s a city where children are often unwelcome in restaurants, a city rife with cigarette smoke, and a city with enough stairs in its metro station to make an olympian parent weep.
It’s not exactly a city that gets advertised for children, and yet there are so many great activities for children in and around the city. Not to mention free entry to countless museums (including the Louvre) for anyone under 18.
All that to say, if you are traveling to Paris with children you should NOT be discouraged from pursuing the museums and iconic spots, but it is worth researching what else Paris has to offer for children, because it could really enrich your experience.
The Paris Aquarium
This is a great activity for a rainy Paris day. The aquarium entrance is in the Trocadero gardens, right across from the Eiffel Tower. The aquarium is on the smaller side, but it has some interactive elements like a Koi Pond that kids can touch that make it great for young kids. Even if you don’t go into the aquarium, there is a lovely outdoor food court near the entrance with some string lights that make for a nice lunch!
The city often transforms the patio with different events like Place Suisse or Hanami Paris, a Japanese food market.
You can get your aquarium tickets here.
Jardin d'Acclimation
This is an amusement park inside the Bois de Boulogne, a great park outside the 16th arrondissement of Paris. I used to LOVE coming here as a kid. There are roller coasters, those mirrored-mazes, pony rides, a great playground and more.
You can get your Jardin d’Acclimation tickets here.
Musée de Sciences et de l'Industrie
Say hello to the largest science museum in Europe! The museum is part of the expansive Parc de la Villette, a sprawling park in the 19th arrondissement which hosts open air movies in the summer, art installations, and more.
The science museum has a planetarium, a movie theater, and multiple temporary and permanent exhibitions. There is something for all ages here, and hours of entertained learning!
You can get tickets for the science museum here.
Disneyland Paris
This is an obvious choice for a kid’s activity in Paris. There are two parks: Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios. You can purchase a ticket for one or both of these parks. Disneyland is out in Valle de Marne, a suburb of Paris, but it is very easy to access on the RER. You can catch the train at Chatelet (follow the Mickey signs) and ride it to the end of the line.
You can get tickets for Disneyland Paris here.
Tuileries Garden
The Tuileries are just outside of the Louvre and are the perfect place to let your kids run around after hanging out in the museum for a while.
You can find the ferris wheel in the Tuileries in the summer, or you could spend a few euros and rent a little push boat for your child to entertain themselves at the pond! Grab one of the green chairs and sit back and watch them play.
Ludo Jardin
The Luxembourg Gardens are a great place to bring children, and you can rent little push boats for the pond. However, I want to point you to the Southwest corner of the park near Rue Vavin. There is a fantastic fenced-in playground that has something for every age.
You do pay a small entrance fee. It costs €3 for adults and €1 for children. I love bringing my host children here, and I would beg my parents to come here as a child!
These are my top recommendations for kids in Paris! I would love to hear from you. What else would you recommend? Have you been to any of these places with kids?
Let me know in the comments here or in the comments of this instagram reel, where I talk more about the Paris aquarium.
