Quick Guide to Paris for Kids

Paris for Children

Are you planning on taking a family trip to Paris? This city is usually thought of in connection with honeymoons and cultural visits, but it also offers lots of attractions and appeal for people who are traveling with children.

Paris is a kid-friendly city, with lots of activities designed especially for children. The list of family attractions in Paris includes amazing and sugar-ladened food, museums with kid-friendly displays, and lots of parks where they can burn off some energy. In fact, once it is time to pack your bags to travel back home, your kids will probably be reluctant to leave Paris and its amazingly varied attractions!

To help your family have a great trip, here’s our quick guide to Paris for kids.

View from the Pantheon - Paris 5

Where to Stay with your Family in Paris

When you visit Paris with kids, you’ll want to stay central, so you can walk or take the metro to the city’s best attractions.

The districts known as Le Marais (right bank) and the Latin Quarter (left bank) are our top suggestions for your family trip to Paris. They’re vibrant, safe, and central, with easy access to attractions, transport connections, and amenities. They also offer plenty of restaurants, cafes, and crêperies to keep the little ones fed and happy.

Whatever area you decide to stay in, there are a few different accommodation options a family in Paris should consider:

  • A furnished apartment, where you’ll have all the comforts of home, including your own kitchen, laundry facilities, and play areas. This is a good way to save money and get some extra space.
  • A family room in a hotel. This gives you the extra space that you need in Paris for children, along with access to all the hotel facilities.

Find the right accommodation in Le Marais or the Latin Quarter – whether it’s a family room in a hotel or a private apartment. We have them all! Book your accommodation by using the map below.

Things to Do in Paris with Kids

Tootbus Kids Bus Tour

Toot Bus Paris

The Tootbus Kids Bus Tour is one of the best attractions in Paris for kids as a city introduction. This Paris hop-on hop-off especially designed for kids will offer your family amazing views of the city’s top attractions along with stories, audio commentary, and walking tour information especially thought for the young ones.

Climb up the Eiffel Tower

View from Eiffel Tower

We haven’t met a kid yet who does not have the Eiffel Tower on the top of his Paris bucket list! One of France’s most iconic attractions, the Eiffel Tower was designed by the Engineer Gustave Eiffel on the occasion of the third World’s Fair organized in Paris in 1889.

The climb up to the Eiffel Tower is exciting both for kids and adults. In addition to one of the best views of Paris, you will find information panels and interactive displays telling the history of one of the most famous towers worldwide and some quirky facts Click here to buy your tickets now.

Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Castle - Paris

Disneyland Paris is always a must for any kid visiting Paris. Occupying 19 km2, the complex is the largest Disney park based on the original in California and comprises two theme parks (Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios) with no fewer than 52 attractions, dining, and entertainment district, 7 Disney-owned hotels, 6 associated hotels, a golf course, a railway station, and a new town: Val d’Europe.

Disney is located 40 km East of Paris, and it is well connected to the French capital by public and private transportation (check out our Disneyland Paris transportation guide). Therefore, a day trip from Paris to Disneyland Paris is very easy to organize.

For the total Disney experience, spend at least one night on-site in one of the Disneyland Paris hotels and dedicate one full day to each park.

Paris Treasure Hunts

Tuileries Garden in Paris

Treasure hunts and scavenger hunts are some of the best things to do in Paris with kids, as they will encourage the little ones to get active and use their brains.

World in Paris proposes self-guided treasure hunts ready for your kids to conquer in the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens (Paris 6), as well as in the Tuileries Garden (Paris 1), so just choose your site and make a game out of your kids’ explorations!  These are two beautiful gardens to explore, car-free, and always free to enter.

Sailing the Canals on a Self-drive Boat

Marin dEau Douce - Paris

Sail through the Parisian canals (Paris 19) in your own way on the self-drive boats by Marin d’Eau Douce. These electric canal boats for 5, 7, or 11 people do not require any boating license, and they are easy to use.

This Paris canal cruise is one of the best attractions in Paris for kids. On the way, admire Parc de la Villette, the Géode, the Great Pantin Flour Mills, the former Customs House, and the Parc Bergère. Along the canals, there are some authorized areas to moor the boat for a picnic or further explorations.

Spooky Catacombs of Paris

Paris Catacombs

Amongst all the attractions in Paris underground, the Catacombs of Paris is always a favorite. Explore this underground city of dead 200 years old, with bones that date back to medieval times!

For your visit, we recommend a skip-the-line Paris Catacombs tour with a professional guide. In addition to skipping one of the longest lines in Paris, the visit is much more entertaining. You will also learn the history and legends about these 15th-century underground quarries and the bones from the Middle Ages that occupy them.

The bonus of a skip-the-line Paris Catacombs tour is that they have access to extra sections closed to the public, which of course, are the best! This also explains the price difference Click here to buy your tickets now.

Walking on the Rails

Petite Ceinture of Paris

Explore the backyards of Paris walking on the rails along La Petite Ceinture, Paris’ former chemin de fer that circumnavigated the city. This is one of the quirkiest strolls in the city, great for adventurous kids, where you can still find old train stations, tunnels, railways, and some furniture.

There are different points of access, and each sector is unique on its way. If your time is limited, we recommend the sector in Paris 15.

Street Art in Paris 13

Paris 13 - Street Art

Did you know that Paris is home to some of the most exciting street art in Europe – even the world?

Walk around Paris 13 and enjoy its amazing Street Art and huge mural walls. Follow our self-guided Street Art tours in Paris 13 and turn the day into a fun day of Street Art murals-hunting. This Paris neighborhood is so popular with street artists worldwide that you may even find some new additions on your way!

Watch a Puppet Show

Fun family activities in Paris. Gignols of Paris

The little ones will love gignols’ crazy stories, and you can find gignol shows at Jardin de Luxembourg (Paris 6) and Parc des Buttes Chaumont (Paris 19). Most of the shows are in French, but they offer the typical stories with heroes, ogres, and princesses that all kids understand.

Museums in Paris for Kids

Many Paris museums offer fun or interactive activities for kids and other things to do for children, and almost all are free to enter for them. Take your pick of the top museums in Paris for children.

Louvre and Orsay for Kids

Louvre Palace - Paris

The world-famous Louvre Museum and Orsay Museum are two must-attractions in Paris. They attract primarily adult visitors, but both museums can be a fun and entertaining experience for kids too.

Famous travel apps like Get Your Guide offer private tours designed with families in mind. Your expert, local English-speaking guide will bring the masterpieces to life with amusing commentaries which will engage everyone, regardless of their age. And adults will love it too! 

The Louvre Museum Child-Friendly Private Tour for Families (2 hours) covers masterpieces by Ghirlandaio, Ingres, Michelangelo, and Da Vinci. It also explores the history of the Louvre Palace, when it was home to the French Kings.

The Musée d’Orsay Child-Friendly Private Tour for Families will show you the amazing world of the French Impressionists. The English-speaking guide does a brilliant job of getting us to the paintings and explaining the artist.

Grande Galérie de l’Evolution

Galerie Evolution Paris 5

Located inside the Jardin des Plantes, in Paris 5, the Grande Galérie de l’Evolution is a great museum in Paris for kids and adults. Enjoy a fun and educational afternoon among exotic beasts with a collection of species from all over the world.

The museum architecture is very cool too, with its iron structure and a fantastic ‘mise en scène’ with many photo opportunities Click here to buy your tickets now.

Musée de l’Illusion

Musée de l'Illusion - Paris

This museum is one of the most beloved family attractions in Paris. The Musée de L’illusion offers a range of exhibits based on optical illusions. During a visit, your kids can experience an anti-gravity room, become a clone, and puzzle over images that seem to change right in front of their eyes Click here to buy your tickets now

Musée de l’Homme

The Musée de l’Homme, in Trocadéro (Paris 16), is an anthropological museum centered around prehistory, human evolution, world cultures, and more.

Everything in this museum is designed with families in mind and engages the five senses. Shake hands with a Neanderthal man, hear some of the 7,000 languages spoken worldwide, or smell different rice preparations from different countries. Click here to buy your tickets now.

Yummy Paris

Make your Own Croissants

Cooking lessons are a great way to learn about French food and culture while having fun. When you visit Paris with kids, you can learn how to make authentic French croissants with this 3-hour cooking class in Paris!  Master the art of making croissants from beginning to end; the chef will explain the step-by-step process and the end result… delicious croissants and pain au chocolat!

Yummy Crêpes Everywhere

French crêpes

Crêpes are one of the famous foods in Paris, and they are always a good idea, especially when you are visiting Paris with kids.

You will see crêpe stands in many points of Paris, on the bridges, parks and in Montmartre. You can also visit a traditional crêperie, where you can choose between salty crêpes (named galettes) as mains and sweet crêpes for dessert.

Nutella, lemon, sugar, strawberry jam… what else? Here’s our suggestion of the best crêperies in Paris for a delicious and inexpensive meal with kids.

So there you have it, our quick guide to Paris for kids, with the best family attractions in Paris and top tips to visit Paris with kids. Bon voyage!

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Quirky Parisian explorers with a preference for lesser-known sights, we are continuously looking for new ideas and tips to bring you the best of the City of Light! Read more about us.