Paris with Kids
Playgrounds, puppet shows and a proper picnic, the version of Paris that actually works with children in tow.
Paris has a reputation for being all haute couture and quiet cafes, but it’s genuinely full of family-friendly fun once you know where to look, playgrounds tucked next to historic landmarks and parks built for exactly this. Here’s how to spend the time on what actually works with kids.
The Eiffel Tower, then the Champ de Mars
Book the elevator well ahead, kids genuinely love the glass floor on the first level, and the climb up to the second level by stairs is a proper adventure if lift tickets are sold out. Afterward, the Champ de Mars, the huge grassy park beneath the tower, is where the actual fun happens, space to run, a playground nearby, and the best view in the city for free.
Jardin du Luxembourg
A genuinely brilliant park for kids, a renovated playground, pony rides, a puppet theatre with daily shows, and a round pond where you can rent classic model sailboats and push them out with a long stick. Bring a picnic and let a couple of hours disappear here, it’s one of the best free mornings in the city.
A Seine River cruise
An hour on the water covers Notre-Dame, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower without anyone needing to walk another step, a genuine relief partway through a long day of sightseeing. Kids tend to love spotting landmarks from the boat, and it works well as a lower-energy activity to slot in after a big morning.
Cité des Sciences at Parc de la Villette
A proper hands-on science museum with a dedicated section for younger children, the Cité des Enfants, alongside an IMAX-style Géode cinema and a huge surrounding park with a dragon-themed playground. It’s a genuine change of pace from Paris’s art museums, and considerably better suited to kids who’d rather touch things than look at paintings.
Aquarium de Paris or the Ménagerie
Aquarium de Paris, in the Trocadéro area, has a shark tunnel and a petting pool where kids can stroke friendly sturgeon. The Ménagerie, the zoo inside the Jardin des Plantes, is smaller and older-style than a modern zoo, but genuinely charming and considerably less crowded than the big attractions nearby.
If a full theme park day is on the cards
Disneyland Paris sits about 35 minutes from central Paris by RER train, two parks in one, Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios, with rides themed around Frozen, Toy Story and Marvel among others. Parc Astérix, based on the French comic series, is a genuine local alternative, smaller, cheaper, and considerably less crowded than Disneyland.
Eating with kids
Most Paris restaurants aren’t set up the way American diners are for children, but bakeries solve most problems, a pain au chocolat or a croissant works as an emergency snack anywhere. Picnicking in a park, bread, cheese and fruit from a market like Marché Bastille, is often the easiest and cheapest way to feed a family without a sit-down meal mid-afternoon.
A few practical notes
Kids under 4 ride the Metro free, and the Metro itself, while not always stroller-friendly given the stairs, is a genuine adventure in its own right for younger children. Playgrounds are scattered through nearly every park in the city, worth building a rough route around a few of them to break up a long day of walking.
That’s everything I’ve got.
A note before you plan around this: prices, opening hours, booking requirements and admission details in this guide were correct at the time of writing, but venues change these often and sometimes without notice. Always check directly with the attraction or its official website before you travel or build a schedule around a specific time or price.
Before travelling to any destination featured on this site, please also check your government’s latest travel advice, as safety situations, entry requirements and travel warnings can change.
