Paris with kids: our 9-day family itinerary & honest tips
We spent nine days in Paris from May 30 to June 7, and these are the notes we wish someone had handed us before we left — the route that worked, the mistakes we made, and the small decisions that turned a busy city into a trip our kids still talk about.
This is the practical companion to our Paris photo diary. If you're planning your own trip, here's everything in plain terms.
The short version
Nine days is enough to see the icons without sprinting, with room for parks, pastries, and the occasional unplanned afternoon. We based ourselves in one apartment the whole time rather than changing hotels, which meant the kids had a "home" to return to each evening. If you only take one thing from this page: build in more nothing. The unscheduled hours were consistently the best part.
Day-by-day, the way we'd do it again
Days 1–3 — Central Paris, slowly. We started gentle: the Marais in the morning before the crowds, Notre-Dame and Île de la Cité, the Latin Quarter for lunch. We saved the Louvre for an early entry slot on day two and treated it as a two-hour visit with a short list (yes, the Mona Lisa, but mostly the sculpture halls, which kids love because there's so much to look at). Afternoons were for the Tuileries and Luxembourg Gardens, where the toy sailboats on the pond bought us a full hour of peace.
Days 4–5 — The big icons. Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, a slow walk down the Champs-Élysées. We booked the Eiffel Tower for the first time slot of the day and were glad we did. The Catacombs were a surprise hit with our older kid — a little spooky, completely fascinating — but book ahead, because the standby line is brutal.
Day 6 — Versailles. A day trip by train. The palace is dazzling but crowded; the gardens are the real reason to go. We rented a little electric cart and a rowboat on the Grand Canal, and that's what the kids remember, not the Hall of Mirrors.
Days 7–9 — Wandering and winding down. Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur, a morning market, Musée d'Orsay (smaller and more manageable than the Louvre), and a lot of café tables. We left the last day almost entirely open and let everyone choose one thing to do again.
Getting around
The Metro is fast, cheap, and stroller-unfriendly in places (many stations have stairs only). A book of tickets paid for itself by the second day. We walked far more than we expected — comfortable shoes mattered more than any other piece of gear.
Eating in Paris with kids
Lunch from a bakery or market beat sit-down restaurants nine times out of ten: faster, cheaper, and a baguette sandwich pleases everyone. We did one nicer dinner rather than many, and ate it early when restaurants were quiet and welcoming to children. Order the kids a "menu enfant" where you see it, and don't underestimate how far a crêpe can carry a tired afternoon.
What we'd do differently
We over-scheduled the first two days and paid for it with cranky afternoons. Next time we'd book fewer timed-entry tickets and leave whole half-days blank. We'd also give Montmartre an extra morning — it's the most "neighborhood" part of the city and the kids relaxed there. And we'd pack a small refillable water bottle each; Paris has public fountains everywhere once you know to look.
Rough costs
A family trip to Paris is as expensive as you let it be. Renting an apartment instead of two hotel rooms, eating market lunches, and limiting paid attractions to a handful of must-dos kept ours reasonable for a major European capital. Museums for kids are frequently free or discounted, so always ask.
Planning your own version and want specifics we didn't include — which apartment, exact train times, which day we skipped? Send us a note and we'll share what we can. And if you just want the pictures, the full trip lives in our Paris photo diary.