I originally wasn’t going to write a post with tips for visiting Paris with little kids for all the reasons I wrote about in this post, but I’ve been getting so many DMs from those of you planning visits to Paris this spring and summer with your little ones that I decided I needed to answer all your questions in one place!
An early disclaimer that I definitely do not feel like I have travel with toddlers all figured out, and this trip was not how I would have planned it from scratch — we had existing flights to London for a family member who was supposed to run the London marathon and then became injured, so we pivoted last minute and split our time between London and Paris, where my brother met us and proposed to his now fiancée! It was a great trip but switching (and schlepping!) between Paris and London for so little time in each city is absolutely not how I would allocate four days in Europe with little kids if I’d been planning the trip from scratch. But I think every time we travel with our kids we learn a little bit more about what does and doesn’t work, so I’m happy to share my two cents!
Frequently asked questions about traveling to Paris with little kids
By far the most frequently asked question about traveling to Paris with little kids comes from moms who have read Paris is not a particularly kid-friendly city or very accommodating of strollers in restaurants, etc. so let’s start there! We actually found Paris quite family-friendly in the sense that kids are welcome in most restaurants as long as they are well-behaved (you’re not going to see French kids on iPads without headphones like you’d see in many American restaurants).
People were very accommodating of the stroller on sidewalks — at one point I had to google the word “jumeaux” because so many people were exclaiming “twins!” when Teddy and Peter were side-by-side in the double stroller. For dining out, it helped massively to have a folding stroller — you are definitely not going to see a Parisian family pushing the likes of an Uppababy Vista or similarly sized model, but there was always a place to stash our folding double stroller either near our table or in a coat closet.
Our double travel stroller
A quick note on our double travel stroller — my husband thought I was crazy for buying yet another stroller before this trip but quickly determined that we couldn’t have done the trip without it. I chose this one because it has individually reclining seats (so one kid can rest while the other is upright — so key if jetlag is part of the equation!) and surprisingly decent storage for a travel stroller (we could tuck the kids’ backpacks with coloring books etc. underneath or even stuff a tote bag underneath while getting through the airport). Have heard positive reviews from several other moms on the same model so highly recommend checking it out if you’re planning a big trip with two little kids!
Dining out with little kids in Paris
The next frequently asked question about visiting Paris with little kids is about dining out and making reservations for restaurants. I am usually the type of trip planner to plot out and make reservations for every meal and I was glad I didn’t for this trip — with the time difference, it’s so hard to predict when kids will be awake/happy/hungry vs. when you just need to call it and head back to the hotel for an early nap. We made one reservation for lunch at Ralph’s and were happy to wing it for the rest of our meals. There are sidewalk cafés on seemingly every block in Paris so it was easy to peruse menus and see which ones had available seating — I wouldn’t say this is the best way to have a 10/10 culinary experience at every meal but if you’re traveling with little kids, that’s probably not your main goal. 🙂
Visiting museums with little kids in Paris
I’ve also been asked about Paris museums to visit with little kids and for this trip I decided to do Musée Rodin on our first day and Musée de l’Orangerie on our second. I knew from past trips to Paris that the Louvre would be much more enjoyable when our kids are older (long lines, huge crowds, much more ground to cover) so I went with two museums that felt more doable with a three- and four-year-old in tow.
Musée Rodin has exquisite gardens and outdoor sculptures so the kids can be a little more active or remain in the stroller the whole time. And Musée de l’Orangerie is a great early art experience for little kids — Monet’s Water Lilies are so large in scale that you can get nice and close, there’s no need to wait in a line, and that’s the main attraction at the museum so you can be in and out in less than an hour if need be. I’m sure there are many more kid-friendly ways to explore Paris museums, but this is what we squeezed into our short trip and can confidently recommend to families with similarly aged little ones!
Thoughts on where to stay with little kids in Paris
The last most frequently asked question about traveling to Paris with little ones has been about where to stay, and this is the one I don’t have a great answer for yet. We stayed in a tiny room in a pretty dated hotel and felt rather relieved to settle into an Airbnb apartment when we got to London, so we’re more likely to rent an apartment vs. a hotel room the next time we venture to Paris with kids.
My one piece of advice in this arena is to create your own city map on Google Maps so you can drop pins for all the sights, museums, parks, restaurants, playgrounds, etc. you personally plan to visit (I have an old blog post detailing how to do this here!) and find a hotel or apartment rental in close proximity to as many of those locations as possible. I think central location is absolutely paramount with little kids to minimize time spent in transit, so I’d personally favor less space in a better location every time.
I hope this is helpful to those of you planning to visit Paris with little kids! I know it’s not comprehensive enough to be a full guide to Paris with kids (maybe someday!) but I’m always happy to share what worked and what we’d do differently next time. You can see a similar post on our trip to Italy with kids two summers ago if you’re interested! Bon voyage! 🙂
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