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National Museum of the Middle Ages (Musee National du Moyen Age) –
This museum is a double whammy. It combines a lovely medieval residence and exquisite goodies from the Middle
Ages, with nicely preserved ruins of ancient Roman
baths. |
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"Biggie" in the museum is the incomparable Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. The six tapestries are displayed in
a room where you can walk up very close to them, close enough to
see the amazing details of flowers and trees, and all kinds of animals (one
tapestry alone has 11 rabbits, one fox, two dogs, one lion cub, and the
unicorn). |
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On the ground floor are dazzling stained glass panels from Sainte Chapelle, sculptures from the outside of Notre Dame, and the Roman baths. |
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Upstairs, along with the Lady and Unicorn tapestries are galleries with crosses of
solid gold, silver reliquaries, Visigoth crowns, gold and enamel jewelry, armor and shields. |
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 Outside
the museum, in the gardens, inspired by medieval designs, are benches,
and a small playground with climbing structures and bouncy things,
perfect for toddlers. |
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Tip: Museum is free with the Paris Pass. |
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Jardin des Plantes – |
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Dodo carousel (Dodo Manege) – Charming carousel with extinct (or endangered animals), kids can ride on a Dodo, Triceratops, Atlas lion, Tasmanian wolf, Glyptodon (giant armadillo), Sivatherium (like an okapi), horned tortoise, panda, elephant, or gorilla. |
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Natural
History Museum (Museum d’Histoire Naturelle) – The gallery
has a spectacular display of animals lined up Noah’s ark style, but
not all exhibits have labels in English. |
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Jardin des Plantes Zoo (Menagerie) – This is a small zoo with a variety of animals – birds, reptiles, flamingos, orangutans, ostrich, yak, deer, camel etc., and is most fun for toddlers and younger kids. |
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Luxembourg Gardens (Jardin du Luxembourg) – If you've seen enough Paris museums for the day and the kids need
a change of pace, head for the Luxembourg Gardens, the largest green space
on the Left Bank, and one of the most stellar public parks. In summer, there
are tons of green chairs where you can flop down (while the kids run around),
and lots of benches and places to picnic. |
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At
the Grand Bassin (large shallow pond), rent small sail boats (boats
have colorful sails in red white and blue or pirate motifs) and launch them
on the pond. |
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Look
for the small scale Statue of Liberty, replica of model created by French sculptor Frederic Bartholdi. |
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The large play areas with colorful climbing structures are good for kids
of all ages. Little ones with enjoy the carousel and pony rides. |
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There
are also classic Punch and Judy puppet shows regularly (next to the
carousel). Check the newspaper for times. |
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Ice cream (4, rue Vavin) – Just a few steps away from the park, stop for an ice cream at Amorino, absolutely delicious ice cream in a wide variety of flavors (highly recommended by the Pollock family). |
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Le Bon Marche – It's fun shopping in this
historic department store in St-Germain. The upper level has a great selection
of lovely kids clothes for boys and girls (beautiful princess dresses), and toys. |
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Don't miss the Epicerie, one of the most
beautiful supermarkets in Paris. Here you can stock up on a boggling collection
of chocolates or everything you need for a picnic – freshly made sandwiches,
cheese, bread, fruits, cold drinks, fabulous pastries and cookies. |
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And, there's a small park next to Le Bon
Marche, in Square Boucicaut, right next to the Sevres Babylone metro stop,
with benches and a charming little kids' playground. |
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Lion of Belfort – In the center of Place Denfert-Rochereau is a majestic statue called the "lion of Belfort," commemorating French heroism defending the town of Belfort against the Prussians in 1870. And the lion inspired Beatrice Alemagna to write one of our favorite children's books: A Lion in Paris. |
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Catacombs (1, Place Denfert-Rochereau) – In the 1780's, cemeteries in Paris ran out of space, so bones were re-buried and neatly stacked in tunnels from the old limestone quarries under the city. More bones were added during the French Revolution. In the 19th century, sightseers explored the tunnels and music performances were staged in the catacombs. |
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The sight of thousands of bones and skulls can be scary or fascinating (or
both). If it does appeal (we happened to visit the catacombs on Halloween, and my boys loved it), it is a memorable walk through underground tunnels under
the streets of Paris, and your kids will get real bragging rights. |
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Tip: It's about a 2 kilometer walk, down a series of spiral stairs and then some distance walking through the tunnels, and all those bones, so this is a visit with older kids. You enter the catacombs at place Denfert-Rochereau and exit near avenue du General Lelerc. |
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Across from the entrance to the Catacombs, next to Denfert-Rochereau Metro stop is a small, shady park with benches, perfect for a picnic for or after visiting the Catacombs. |
