3 Days in Paris with Teens: Fall 2022
I have been incredibly fortunate to travel to a lot of incredible places with my kids over the years. Strangely, two of the most common places for Americans traveling with kids had alluded us until this past Thanksgiving. We had planned two previous trips to Paris and London, but for various reasons (one- a global pandemic) it never happened. I was beyond thrilled to be able to share one of my favorites with them in November.
Day One: We had been in London for a few days before taking the very easy 2.5 hour Eurostar train to Paris. The line for taxis at Gare du Nord was really long and barely moving when we arrived midday, so we walked around the block and jumped in an Uber to our apartment in the 7th. Once we dropped our luggage, we jumped on the metro (we got a 4 day pass, which was perfect) to meet up with some friends in the Marais. Of course we were starving, so we grabbed a quick falafel (for me) and schwarma (the kids) from L'As du Fallafel before they began their bargain hunting in the Kilo Shop. I can't go to the area without a stop at Mariage Frères, where I can spend a lot of time and money on beautifully packaged green teas.
We didn't let the intermittent rain slow us down, but after a while the kids were eager for a warming treat... Angelina hot chocolate. We took our time getting there, walking along Rue de Rivoli and the river. Our wandering took us to the Louvre, which was glowing at dusk. We had a great time taking photos outside, but that's as close at we got to the museum for this trip.
The hot chocolate was thick and rich and shored them up enough to hit the flying swings across the street at the Tuileries. Note to the height averse: this thing is high! And it shakes like crazy in whipping wind. Thankfully we lived to tell the tale.
Dinner with friends was at Pizza Chic. I would not have guessed our first dinner in Paris would be pizza, but we were with locals and it was actually the perfect thing. The pizza and salads were delicious and after eating everyone was happy to walk some more. It is so nice to be in a city where you can have a lovely after dinner stroll back to your apartment.
Day Two: Our apartment was on rue de Grenelle, right across from Theirry Marx Boulangerie in Beaupassage. Also, conveniently across from a Carrefour as well. Every morning I would dip out to get fresh pastries from the boulangerie and freshly squeezed orange and pomegranate juice and berries from the market while the kids were still sleeping. If I could do that every day of my life I'm sure I would die happy.
We started our day taking the metro up to Sacre Coeur, the iconic basilica in Montmartre. There is a funicular that will get you to the top, but we opted for the stairs. Truthfully, the amount of circular stairs to get from the metro to the street level was enough of a challenge, but we did have our fair share of croissants, so I guess it was worth it to keep on that stair route. Also, if I'm being completely honest, I didn't actually know where to get on the funicular so....
The views from the top of the hill are spectacular and it was especially nice to have a clear morning after the previous day's rain. We slowly wandered our way down the picturesque streets of Montmartre and then decided to do a little shopping at my favorite store, Merci. So many beautiful things to buy, but we showed great restraint and bought a few essentially like a nice pair of boots for my son who had been walking around cold, wet London and Paris in an old pair of sneakers. I love buying things that will last a really long time and will have a great story to go with it. There is a wonderful little cafe and market next to Merci, Maisson Plisson, where we grabbed sandwiches to eat on a bench along the street. How can bread, butter, cheese, and ham be so simple and perfect in Paris?
Back on the metro.... Next stop the Arc de Triomphe. I like to joke that I make my kids walk 1000 miles a day when we travel and it's close. I am so glad they love figuring out public transport and walking as much as I do. I think it makes it so much more exciting and real. We climbed to the top and risked flying off thanks to the gale force winds, but the views really are worth it! You are atop the center of a spoke and so many beautiful boulevards stretch in every direction.
We needed macarons and then a quick rest, so we stopped by Pierre Hermé on the Champs Elysee before getting off that tacky tourist street and heading back to our apartment to drop off bags and rest for a bit because one more climb awaited us... the Eiffel Tower at sunset. Of course I booked the stair route and in my head it was a rather short distance, but in reality floor two is practically the top and the climb takes a long freaking time. And again... not for the feint of heart or those afraid of heights. If you have to choose between one of these climbs, I would suggest the Arc de Triomphe. But I'm not mad that we did both. We timed it perfectly because when we came back down, we had just enough time to find a bench in a quiet area just under the monument where we sat and watched it sparkle with utter delight.
Dinner was back in our neighborhood at the adorable Café Varenne. I'd walked over earlier in the day and made a reservation with the owner on their paper reservation book. Paris gets a bad rap for snobbish service, but that is not the case here. Our waiter was thrilled that we wanted to try to order from the french menu and he was patient with our elementary lingual skills. We had a delicious meal of all the frenchiest french things... escargot, steak frites, haricot verte salad, salmon, and profiteroles for dessert. C'est bon! We bumped into friends having a drink on the way out. I love it when big cities feel like small towns.