15 Things To Do in Paris With Kids & Full Itinerary

Why Visit Paris With Your Kids

Think you need to save Paris for when your kids are older? Think again, because the City of Light has so much for kids of every age to do. We went with three kids under the age of 10, and with my careful planning they all had a blast and they’re asking when we can return. That’s even though we averaged 20k steps a day and fit in all the major sites. It makes an excellent first family trip.

Basically, I paired every monument or museum with a playground or something for them. I had them create scavenger hunts for the museums and monuments, and they “cashed” those in for souvenir money. We also hunted Flash Invaders throughout the city. Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything! This guide covers everything you need to plan the perfect trip to Paris with kids, from tickets to a full day-by-day itinerary.

How to Use This Guide

First I’ll go over the details, like how to get there, the train, and strategies. Then details of all the fun things we did. At the end there’s an itinerary of a day-by-day plan for Paris with kids. We followed this plan and it went great!

How to Get to Paris With Kids

There are two airports, CDG (Charles de Gaulle) or ORY. Both are easily accessible by the RER train to and from Paris. From there you can take the metro anywhere you want.

For my San Diego friends, British Airways operates a direct flight twice a day from SAN to London Heathrow, and then you can either take the train to Paris or another hour-long flight. I’ve done both, it’s super easy. Also, I use credit card points to pay for our flights. I sign up for cards using the Travel Freely app, which keeps track of everything for me.

How Long to Stay

If you’re doing Disneyland Paris, give yourself five full days (not including travel days). You could easily fill a week or longer, but four days would be my minimum to make the trip worth it.

The best time to visit Paris with kids is fall or spring. Summer is crowded and hot, and winter is cold. But really, there’s no bad time to visit Paris!

Suggested Paris Itinerary

Obviously plug and play as needed, but this is how I built our trip so that each day had some culture and some play built in.

Note that we didn’t always make it to everything on the list, my kids got tired so we had to skip some things. That’s fine. They’ll be back. They have their whole lives!

• Arrival Day: Explore neighborhood, early bedtime for Disneyland Paris
• Day 1: Disneyland Paris, open to close
• Day 2: Sleep in, Eiffel Tower & Seine Boat Cruise
• Day 3: Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, Luxembourg Gardens, Arc de Triomphe / Champs-Élysées
• Day 4: Palais Royal, Louvre Museum, Tuileries Playground, Musée de L’Orangerie for Monet’s Water Lilies, Trocadéro & Eiffel Tower Sparkle
• Day 5: Galeries Lafayette, Montmartre Train, Sacré-Cœur, Musée d’Orsay, Marais District Wander
• Extra days: The Natural History Museum, The Catacombs, Pompidou Center, Rodin Museum

Where to Stay in Paris With Kids

I love the Marais District, but I’ve also stayed near the Palais Royal. I would stick to arrondissements 1–4. Paris is set up in a big circle, and most of the sightseeing is in Arr. 1. There’s no perfect place really, anywhere easily accessible by metro is great.

We’ve done home exchanges in Paris, they’re quite easy to find. There’s also Airbnb and VRBO. We once stayed at Timhotel near the Louvre, it was fantastic though small with kids. I booked it with Chase points.

How to Get Around Paris With Kids

The metro here is fantastic. We bought tickets at the station and kids are half price. You can get anywhere you want easily using the metro. It is a bit complicated to get strollers up and down the stairs, so bring a very light stroller! Elevators are not readily available.

What to Book in Advance for Paris With Kids

Note: Do not book anything for the day after Disney, or you risk missing it. My kids slept until noon and I was not about to wake them, so we missed our Eiffel Tower reservation.

Booking these in advance will help you avoid long lines, which are the quickest way to ruin a trip. This becomes even more important during the summer months, when Paris gets very crowded.

• Disneyland Paris (tickets and hotel if desired)
• Seine River Cruise (kid-friendly)
• Eiffel Tower Climb (either take the stairs to the first floor or do the elevator all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower!)
• Louvre (and optional Louvre kid-friendly tour if desired)
• The Catacombs (if going)
• Notre Dame entry (opens a few days before)
• Sainte-Chapelle entry (opens a week before)
• Macaron Class (optional but looks so fun!)

Note: I personally would not do one of the museum passes. I looked at a lot of them, and because I was only really planning on doing one paid thing a day, they would not have saved me money. Notre Dame is free, and many of the major museums are free for kids, plus lots of places give kids free or discounted entry. But add up what you want to do and total it out. There are a few to choose from.

Movies to Watch Before Visiting Paris With Kids

These movies will help prep your kids for Paris! Watch them in the days leading up to your trip. I recommend a rewatch of The Hunchback of Notre Dame the day before your visit.

• Ratatouille
• Anastasia (specifically the scene with the bridge at the end where she defeats Rasputin)
• Aristocats
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Scavenger Hunt Approach

This is my secret weapon traveling with my kids. I learned it from my sister, who has been an elementary school teacher for over 20 years.

Here’s how it works. You show the kids something about where they’re going (a YouTube video, a movie, etc). Then you give them a blank piece of paper divided into 8 sections (I just fold it). Instruct them to draw 8 things they think they might see. Let them be free with it, they can choose things they actually will see or go wild. One of my kids put that he would see a pink car when we went to Notre Dame. I didn’t stop him. Lo and behold, a pink taxi drove by right as we were approaching. He was thrilled.

Then when you’re out, you carry a black marker or pen, and when they see the thing they ask you to cross it off. It’s important they don’t cross it off themselves, since they’ll want to cheat. The key here is it’s their submissions, not something printed or suggested by you. It gives them buy-in and makes them more interested.

I reward mine with money for souvenirs. You can reward however you wish, or just the pride of a job well done.

This strategy earned me 4 hours in the Louvre while my kids hunted down all the things they drew.

You can also do this for a neighborhood exploration or anything else you are nervous kids might find boring.

Flash Invaders

This is a brilliant game we played all through Paris. Download this app (it’s free) and tell your kids to look for these alien guys throughout the city. They are GPS coded. They can collect them to earn points. I got to wander many neighborhoods while they hunted, and it encouraged them to look up and be interested in their surroundings. It’s like Pokémon Go but for Paris (and a few other cities as well!).

Day One

Disneyland Paris

If you’re going to Paris with kids, you should absolutely plan a day for Disneyland. While I don’t think it’s necessary to plan more than a day or stay at a hotel over there, it at least deserves a day! You can take public transportation there, it’s super easy.

It’s one of the best amusement parks I’ve ever been to, and I’ve been to a lot! Here’s my full guide to Disneyland Paris. Read it before you go!

Day Two

Champ de Mars & Eiffel Tower / Pont Neuf Eat

First order of business in Paris (after Disneyland) is going to see the Eiffel Tower! I like viewing from Champ de Mars because there are TWO playgrounds there. It’s also a great place to grab a photo (though there are some better photo spots in the Trocadéro). You can grab overpriced ice cream at the base of the Eiffel Tower if you wish.

We found a good kid-friendly restaurant with a kids menu at the boat dock. You don’t have to do a boat cruise to eat there. It’s called Pont Neuf Café. They also have a bathroom you can use (you have to buy something though).

Seine Boat Cruise

The Seine Boat Cruise is a wonderful way to see Paris! I would say do this over a bus tour, as most of what there is to see in Paris is along the water. Sit on the top of the boat!

Be sure to book the kid-friendly sail, as they do quizzes and point out spots from kids movies, like the ones I listed earlier. I’ve also heard horror stories from friends who said people yelled at them on regular boat cruises because their kids were noisy. No thanks.

I also liked the gift shop here, ended up with croissant soap.

By the way, I didn’t find most Parisians to be very friendly to my children. They would tolerate them, and nobody said anything outright mean to me, but this isn’t a place that really loves kids much, though they do have lots of playgrounds and discounted admission. Don’t let it bother you. It’s just how they are, I’ve found. Italy and Portugal tend to be much more celebratory of children.

Trocadéro Photos & Eiffel Sparkle

The Eiffel Tower lights up and twinkles every hour after sunset. So if the sun sets at 7:30, it will light up every hour starting at 8 pm! This gets complicated in the summer, as the lights didn’t start until 10 pm. We never made it (kids were too tired), but hopefully you will!

The Trocadéro is also a great spot to take Eiffel Tower photos!

Day Three

Notre Dame Cathedral

Oh man, I love these two cathedrals. They are right next to each other on Île de la Cité and a quick visit (assuming you get through security quickly). Notre Dame has been standing since the 1200s, and this place is immense. Even kids who usually aren’t particularly interested in churches will be impressed. Paired with the Notre Dame movie, this was my kids’ favorite church we saw.

Though it is free, you will need a time slot to visit. They do walk-ins but it’s not guaranteed.

The gargoyles are so fun to see for kids and adults. Make sure to tell the kids all about the 2019 fire. There’s some pictures of it around the side. My kids had so many questions about the fire, so it was a good way to get them interested.

Sainte-Chapelle

Sainte-Chapelle is around the corner from Notre Dame and very, very worth the visit. Easy to combine them into an afternoon or morning. The way I sold it to my kids is I told them they were stepping into a jewel box. It’s so impressive inside, with the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. You don’t have to stay long, but it will stick with you and your children.

Luxembourg Garden Boats

After Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle, the Jardin du Luxembourg is a quick 15-minute walk away. One of the best places for kids in Paris! This was such a fun day, we spent so much time here. Don’t miss the boats in front of the palace. Best 8 euros I spent on the trip. My kids loved them and asked to go back, and I got to enjoy a beautiful place without a single complaint. We ate at the café next to the pond after. They had an excellent orzo salad, and it was nice to get some veggies with the mountains of pastries I had been consuming all week.

There’s also pony rides here and an adventure playground you should not miss. There’s a small admission fee for the playground, but it’s well worth it. It’s fenced, shady, and there’s clean bathrooms.

This park is so cute, and I loved seeing my kids interact with kids from other countries. Play is the universal language.

Note: Don’t buy the ice cream inside, there’s gelato around the corner and it’s cheaper and better.

Arc de Triomphe & Champs-Élysées McDonald’s

This is an easy combo outing. Go to this subway stop and get out at Sortie (exit) 4. BAM, there it is! Cross under the traffic circle of death (watch it for a minute, there are no lines and no rules) to stand at the base. You can go up if you like, I prefer climbing this to climbing the Eiffel Tower because you get an excellent view of the Eiffel Tower.

Afterward, wander the Champs-Élysées for a while. This is where Parisians (or tourists, anyway) go to walk and shop. There’s an excellent McDonald’s here with fancy French options like macarons. Go ahead and eat here. It’s cultural.

Day Four

Palais Royal Poles

Total hidden gem but totally fun. In front of the Palais Royal near the Louvre, there’s an art installation of striped poles. You are totally welcome to jump on them or climb, or whatever you’d like. My kids loved it, and I got some of my favorite photos here.

Around the corner there’s a Le Pain Quotidien, which is a great chain to fill up on before attempting the Louvre. Do not try the Louvre hungry. You will regret it. It’s hard to find food there. Actually, it’s hard to find anything there. It’s a maze.

The Louvre

You will need to reserve this in advance. We got a 1 pm slot, though I wish we got earlier because it’s exhausting in there. Enter through the Carrousel entrance, NOT the pyramid. It’s much faster.

This museum is a marathon, not a sprint. If you took just one minute in front of each piece, you would be there for 2 years. You’re not going to see the whole thing in one visit, so don’t try. Instead choose a few things to see. Ask a worker if you get lost (and you will).

I was surprised by how well my kids did in here. There is a lot to see, after all, and we made our scavenger hunts ahead of time, which helped.

Here’s my scavenger hunt. I did use AI to make it, but a real person with real kids has tested it (me!) and it worked great. Feel free to copy and use it. My gift to you.

Louvre With Kids: Greatest Hits Route & Treasure Hunt

ENTER: Carrousel du Louvre entrance. After security, head toward Sully.

1. 🐱 Great Sphinx of Tanis

Sully Wing • Level -1 • Room 338

Tell the kids: “First mission: find a creature that is half person and half lion.”

• This sphinx is around 4,000 years old.
• It has a lion’s body and a king’s face.
• Sphinxes were meant to look powerful and protective.
• This one guards the entrance to the Louvre’s Egyptian collection.

Challenge: find his paws! Then go upstairs to Sully Level 0.

2. 🏛️ Venus de Milo

Sully Wing • Level 0 • Room 345/346 area

Tell the kids: “Find one of the most famous statues in the entire world. There’s something very obvious missing!”

• She is more than 2,000 years old.
• She was discovered on the Greek island of Milos in 1820.
• Nobody knows exactly what her missing arms were doing.
• One theory says she may have been holding an apple. 🍎

Kid challenge: what do YOU think she was holding? Then follow signs toward Denon and Winged Victory of Samothrace.

3. 🫂 Winged Victory of Samothrace

Denon Wing • Level 1 • Room 703 • Daru Staircase

Tell the kids: “Look up! Find the giant woman with wings but no head.”

• She is about 2,200 years old.
• She represents Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.
• She originally stood on a base shaped like the front of a ship.
• The sculptor made her clothes look like they’re blowing in the wind.

Kid challenge: pretend you’re standing on a ship in a giant windstorm. Also, what do you think her arms were doing? Then stay on Denon Level 1 and head to Room 705.

4. 💎 Galerie d’Apollon: The Heist Room

Denon Wing • Level 1 • Room 705

Tell the kids: “This is the room where thieves stole French Crown Jewels from the Louvre in 2025.”

• The theft happened on October 19, 2025.
• The gallery reopened in July 2026.
• It was originally created for King Louis XIV, the Sun King.
• This room helped inspire the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.
• The gallery is over 60 meters long.

Kid challenge: find as many suns as you can. ☀️ Then continue toward Italian Paintings / Mona Lisa.

5. 🙂 Mona Lisa

Denon Wing • Level 1 • Room 711 • Salle des États

Tell the kids: “Okay, we’re about to see probably the most famous painting on Earth.”

• Leonardo da Vinci painted her more than 500 years ago.
• Her real name was Lisa Gherardini.
• Leonardo used a technique called sfumato, which makes the edges look soft and smoky.
• The Mona Lisa herself was actually stolen from the Louvre in 1911 and missing for more than two years.

Kid challenge: is she smiling or not smiling?

6. 🎨 Wedding Feast at Cana

Do not leave the room, turn around. It’s the enormous painting directly opposite the Mona Lisa.

Tell the kids: “Now find the BIGGEST painting in the entire Louvre.”

• It covers almost 70 square meters.
• It shows a huge wedding party.
• Napoleon’s troops brought it from Italy to France in 1797.
• It was so gigantic they had to roll the canvas up to transport it.

Kid challenge: who can spot a dog? 🐶 Now head back toward the central Louvre area and follow signs for Richelieu, then the Napoléon III Apartments, Level 1.

7. 👑 Napoleon III Apartments

Richelieu Wing • Level 1 • Rooms 540–548

Tell the kids: “Final mission: find the fanciest room in the Louvre.” Walk through the apartments, but make sure you hit Room 544: Grand Salon.

• These rooms were created during the time of Napoleon III in the 1800s.
• Despite the name, Napoleon III didn’t actually live here.
• The Grand Salon could be converted into a theater for about 250 people.
• Look for the giant chandeliers, gold decorations, and red velvet everywhere.

Then continue to Room 548: Grand Dining Room.

Kid challenge: imagine you were invited to dinner here. What would you wear?

Quick-Reference Route

1. Carrousel entrance
2. Sully -1: 🐱 Sphinx of Tanis, Room 338
3. Sully 0: 🏛️ Venus de Milo, Room 345/346
4. Denon 1: 🫂 Winged Victory, Room 703
5. 💎 Galerie d’Apollon / Heist Room, Room 705
6. 🙂 Mona Lisa, Room 711
7. Turn around: 🎨 Wedding Feast at Cana
8. Back toward central Louvre, then Richelieu 1: 👑 Napoleon III Apartments, Rooms 540–548 (Grand Salon 544, Dining Room 548)

Tuileries Playground & Gelato

We ended up clocking four happy hours at the Louvre. The kids just wandered and had a lot of questions.

There’s a playground in the Tuileries that shares a park with the Louvre. We got ice cream from there and then ate it while the kids played for a while. Perfect way to burn off energy after an art museum.

Orangerie: Monet’s Water Lilies

This is a quick visit and optional after the Louvre, but it’s right there so might as well. This building houses Monet’s Water Lilies, and it’s so beautiful to see. The canvases are huge, so they make a big impression on kids. Watch the closing time if you’re going after the Louvre. Last entry is 45 minutes before close.

Day Five

Galeries Lafayette Jellycat

Whether you’re a Jellycat hunter or not, this mall is worth a stop. It’s got a gorgeous Tiffany glass dome roof. The roof also has one of the best views of Paris and of the Opera House next door (which inspired Phantom of the Opera!).

If you don’t know what Jellycats are, they are like grown-up Beanie Babies. Each spot has different ones and you collect them. Paris has a Jellycat patisserie, so almost all were pastry themed. I let the kids spend their souvenir money here, and we went home with stuffed brie, baguettes, and other pastries. Honestly the best Paris souvenir ever.

We ate at a boulangerie around the corner. My kids lived off pain au chocolat or a chocolate croissant. Note that if you’re stopping for food or pastries, make sure it says boulangerie. That means the bread is made fresh on site. There are French laws that they can’t say boulangerie unless the bread is made there!

Montmartre Train

This is a great little incentive for kids and an easy way to explore a new neighborhood. It’s a cute little train (like the trains you see at the mall!) that goes through Montmartre. To get there, take the metro line to the Anvers stop and then the funicular up to Sacré-Cœur. Your metro ticket covers the funicular but not the little train.

The train gets on in front of Sacré-Cœur, and when I went there was no line. It just stopped and a crowd of people got on, it was kind of a mess. There are multiple trains, they all follow the same route pretty much. I think we paid a total of 36 euros for our family to do the train. Be warned that it does go through the red light district (by Moulin Rouge). Luckily my kids didn’t notice.

We ate at Bella Italia pizza after, and they were really nice to our kids. Then we went Flash Invader hunting through Montmartre.

Marais District

We ended our final day in Paris with a wander through the Marais District. We found my very favorite ice cream of the trip at Une Glace à Paris. Do not skip this spot. Their lemon and chocolate are excellent.

This district is so pretty. Make sure to stop by Place des Vosges, where there’s a beautiful grassy park and a sandbox for kids to play in. Also Victor Hugo’s home, who wrote The Hunchback of Notre Dame!

More Things to Do in Paris With Kids (Extra Days)

The following items are things we’ve done on other trips that are entirely worth doing with kids! We didn’t get to them this time, but hopefully we can come back again.

Musée d’Orsay

This is a fantastic museum where the building is nearly as interesting as the museum itself. It used to be an old train station, but now it houses art from impressionist masters like Van Gogh and Monet. They have a big kids room where kids can create their own art. Make sure to take a photo by the big clock.

The Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum is fantastic with kids and has a great exhibit on evolution. The building itself is cool and kids will love seeing all the animals!

The Paris Catacombs

I tried to do this on our trip, as I think it’s one of the coolest things about Paris, but my kids flat out refused. I showed them one video and they had nightmares.

Its tunnels under the streets of Paris are lined with bones. It leaves an impression for sure. It’s dark and creepy and there’s lots of stairs. People were dying so fast after the plague that they gave up on graves and just stacked the bones here. It’s said there are more people living under Paris than above it! Do not skip if your kids will let you go. Reserve in advance.

The Pompidou Center

The Centre Pompidou is a cool building with some modern art to contrast with all the older art you’ve seen. Kids will love the big escalator on the outside of the building. For my San Diego friends, notice the sculpture by Niki de Saint Phalle, the famed French artist who moved to San Diego later in life and gave us some amazing art in our city.

Père Lachaise Cemetery

I know it doesn’t sound very scenic to visit, but it is! This gorgeous cemetery is right in the heart of the city, and it’s the final resting place for well-known names like Jim Morrison, Édith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, and Frédéric Chopin. The graves are above ground, so it’s a beautiful and peaceful spot, especially when Paris is crowded with tourists.

Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles makes a wonderful day trip from Paris. It’s a lot of walking to cover the grounds, but Louis XIV’s Hall of Mirrors is worth it. Go early in the day to beat crowds. Also, I loved Marie Antoinette’s little cottage, so don’t skip that. You may need a separate ticket. Definitely bring a stroller here, or you can even rent a golf cart to make things easier on yourself and on the children.

Thanks for reading and have an amazing time in Paris!

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Hi! I’m Camille, a San Diego mom who loves to explore with her kids both in San Diego and beyond! I’m a huge history, Disney, and LEGOLAND nut, and I love breaking down complicated destinations for other moms to easily understand.

You can find tons more guides on my website, including my guide to Disneyland Paris With Kids and Harry Potter London With Kids, plus LEGOLAND Windsor and so much more!

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Thanks for stopping by, and please comment, email me, or send me a DM on Instagram if you have any questions! Have so much fun in Paris with your kids. You got this.