City of love was truly magical when I walked its streets twenty years ago. February 2023, exploring Paris with kids, we made a mistake of trying to prepare for this great big city and all it has to offer. Thanks to the bounty of blogs, and social media posts, our expectations were quite high. Super short version – all the ‘gems’ and ‘must see’ people bragged about on the social media thumbs down. We found the beauty in wondrous places mostly by accident.
Full disclosure – we are the type of family that if they had just one day in Paris, they would always choose to see Disneyland over Louvre. We love magic, nature, wizardry, solving puzzles, escape rooms, unusual, intrigues and above all good food. We will que for food and rides, possibly to see a very good movie, or to find a hidden treasure.
Knowing that, if you wish, please read on to see what parts of Paris we loved, and which ones (highly recommended everywhere else I might add) we wish we ignored.
DISNEYLAND
One word – magical. We’ve been here 20 years ago without kids. It was summer, we queued for every ride for ages, stayed until fireworks, and it was one of the best days on our Interrail trip. We came back with kids a bit more prepared.
Use Disney app and choose rides accordingly
Our tickets were for working day and in February when there is the least tourists in Paris. The longest we waited was about 40 minutes, for what used to be the Space Mountain, and it is a Star Wars themed ride today. Worth it! There was the same length wait for Peter Pan. It was cute, but my kids commented we could have missed that one all together. For sure, it will be a wonderful ride for a bit younger children.
Also – when they say 45 min, they are actually about 30–35 minutes long. Disneyland has mastered the science behind how to have people don’t mind the lines. One of them being – make lines appear longer, so people think they are moving faster.
Pack your lunch
The first reason quite – finance, obviously. From the queuing perspective, even more important – while it was lunchtime for everyone munching in the restaurants, we got even faster lines for the rides.
Recommended for foodies – Mad Hatter’s Café. We tried Won’ Door’ Land and The Unbirthday Ice Creams. They look awesome and taste plenty good to deserve recommendation. And they are fun just to look at.
Best of the best
Extra tip – we left the Robinson’s tree and exploring of the Adventure Isle for later in the day. Without planning for it, we got to see it all lighted up. It was astounding.
Rides we would recommend: Big Thunder Mountain, Buzz Ligthyear Laser Blast and Autopia share the first place, then Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours; The Adventure Continues, Haunted Mansion and visiting the Dragon. Some were closed, some we didn’t get to check out, which just got me thinking – two days’ ticket might have been a better option for us. Next time!
LE FLAN DE NOTRE DAME
This one we discovered while on the way to famous Berthillon Ice Cream.
Spoiler alert, it might have been superlicious in 1961. when apparently Berthillon ice cream fame started with a French restaurant guide, Gault Millau who wrote about ‘this astonishing ice cream shop hidden in a bistro on the Ile Saint-Louis’. Today, Berthillon ice cream is tiny. Which can be fine if you are an adult counting your calories, but you still want to treat yourself.
For families who enjoy that wee bit of extra love in their desserts, big ‘we could have just skipped this one’. Even if you disregard the size of it, the flavour was just OK. If we didn’t come across Le Flan De Notre Dame, with all the protesters and cordons of police roaming around Ile Saint-Louis, our first encounter with the City of Light would be much less bright.
This traditional dessert from Paris with vanilla and cream warmed our hearts (and bellies). Extra plus for me – you can try before buying. You can be sure it’s good. Just like Fudge in Edinburgh. They know once you try it, you will not be able to resist getting more. And we did. We were so delighted, we decided to try Almond and Pistachio Croissants as well. As one would say, ‘so succulent’!
Notre-Dame cathedral itself is still being rebuilt. Plans are to partially reopen it sometime next year. Until they do enjoy Le Flan and the view.
Lego Store
If I haven’t mentioned before – BIG Lego lovers. When we are travelling, if there is anything Lego related, we’ll be there. Same with Paris. That has TWO Lego stores and both are not to be missed. The central one has some amazing Lego displays, and as we all know every store has a different Pick-a-Brick and for my kids this one was that unexpected treasure. The one in Disney village however had built your own Minifig wee factory that made it even more awesome.
Lego store is very near Nelson Mandela Garden that you will find highly recommended everywhere for its great play parks and green space. We wouldn’t know about it as the play park for older kids was closed. It can be rented out for 55 minutes, at least that’s what the sign said. But it didn’t say where you can rent it. There is a water pump with drinkable water (that’s me learning how to see a glass half full😂)
Eiffel Tower and the Louvre
We already knew there were going to be long lines of humans waiting to climb the Eiffel Tower and visit the Louvre. Our plan was, in our opinion – bulletproof. We shall walk from Eiffel to the Louvre, as recommended in so many tourist guides, blogs whatever. When hungry, buy local products and enjoy a picnic on Champ De Mars. If the lines are not big, we might even go to Louvre. But we will definitely visit Angelina’s tearoom and taste, to quote, its incredible hot chocolate (very thick and creamy). Perfect end to a perfect day. That kind of ended like that movie Terrible, horrible, no good very bad day. Kind of.
‘For the prettiest walk to the Eiffel Tower, get off at the Trocadero metro station and enjoy the view as you approach the tower’. That is what you will find wherever you search. The walk actually includes the spot that might be great for photos of you holding, eating or leaning on Eiffel Tower, but unless you are there at 5 am it also includes people selling souvenirs of that same tower and a) will not take no for an answer, b) will most likely follow you even after you said no, c) for the above-mentioned reasons you will not be able to take those funny photos in peace. My kids don’t like their personal space invaded by a stranger, we were out of there in a hyper speed.
We did find our own cute spots for photos, and we were looking forward to exploring more of that picnic idea when we found out there is no picnic anywhere. All the green surfaces were closed due to rat infestation. Eat outdoors and you can be fined with 68 euros. Oh well, we shall then treat ourselves a bit earlier and visit the home of the ‘out of this world’ hot chocolate Angelina Paris.
― Audrey Hepburn
Totally fine to wait for 45 minutes because if there is one thing I enjoy, that is REAL hot chocolate. I have to be careful with my sugars due to pre-diabetes. Treats like this one are rare and therefore even more special. I can get lost in hot chocolate with all my sense.
In short, the ‘incredible’ Angelina’s hot chocolate was lukewarm, and it was no better or worse than the one you can buy in any UK store. It’s not thick, and it’s not creamy. Our son ordered a cake but got the wrong one. Didn’t even manage to explain or get another. Our waitress was so dismissive, obviously annoyed that we don’t speak French, we were happy to finally get the bill and get out of there.
You can’t control if there are rats all over the place, or if there is a strike or the weather. You make the best of what you have. But this. So many reviews online, on travel blogs, wherever you look. Just now and then, someone would write exactly what we experienced. But it gets lost in all the songs of praise. Then you feel you are either crazy or you are that kid from the story The Emperor’s New Clothes.
“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of life.”
“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of life.”
The Little Prince Store Paris
From Hans Christian Andersen to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. This one is not as easy to stumble upon, we were told of its existence and where to find it in person, not online.
We love Little Prince and we loved the store. The lady in the shop was fluent in English (not a common thing in Paris), super friendly and helpful. They have LP postcards of course, but also you can buy an international LP postage stamp, have an Little Prince stamp on top of it and post your card straight from the shop through a golden postbox. Our families received them in just three days. The experience was unique. Simply lovely.
Montmartre
We left the best for last. What got me was the idea of having a coffee in a café where one of my favourite movies Amelie was filmed. The kids liked the idea of an authentic village with loads of small shops. We were all looking forward to hidden gems and incredible vibe that Montmartre offers.
The Café des Deux Moulin Although the tobacco-selling counter, run by Georgette in the film, ceased to exist in 2002. much of the café is the same. Plus the wee shrine to Amelie with the travelling garden gnome and all. What immediately got my spirits high was the fact there were no ques in front of the café. And the coffee was delicious. It was relaxing just being there.
Interesting info – the café references the two windmills of Montmartre. The Moulin Rouge and the Moulin de la Galette, which dates back to the early 17th century when it actually produced flour, and operated as a tavern starting in 1810. Both windmills are a short, pleasant walk from the Café. Easy to get lost in the small shops, pâtisseries with mouthwatering pastries and cakes.
Passing by one exquisite very chic shop where chefs were preparing cakes literally in front of us, got us to stop, watch and decide to explore more in detail. The store is Aux Merveilleux de Fred and the cake – Le Merveilleux by Frédéric Vaucamps is a must-have dessert. It’s secret? An inimitable meringue that makes it super light and airy. It is extremely lightweight, I would even say fluffy. Originally chocolate flavoured, today there are so many different flavours it might be hard to decide. Luckily, they do come in mini shapes as well, making it so much easier to choose a few.
Our first day in Paris, aim was to try the best ice-cream ever. Our next stop was exactly that. The beauty that caught our eyes was a rose shaped ice cream. My first thought was that it somehow connects to the Little Prince and his Rose, making it an ideal treat for us on our last day. Amorino ice-cream roses are not connected to Saint-Exupéry’s rose, but they are on the top of our list of favourites from now on. Not only do they look romantic, and taste yummy, you can choose as many flavour as you like! Your edible rose can have rainbow petals if that’s your heart’s desire. Now that’s what I call a hit.
Wherever we’ve been across UK, it is impossible to find a place that will allow you to have one scoop with two flavours. In Croatia, this is a normal thing. Cherry on top was when we discovered there are Amorino gelato boutiques in the UK as well. While writing this, I also added ”learn to make a rose shape ice-cream” to my bucket list. Amorino definitely gave us that fuzzy feeling. You know the one.
Jardin d’Acclimatation
Being nature spirits, we craved a bit of green – making Jardin d’Acclimatation our last destination. Old-fashioned meets the new and crazy rides kind of amusement park. Extra plus – no ques. Loved every second of it! Note to future self – plan at least a day on the right side of Bois de Boulogn.
PS We later found out that the Jardin d’Acclimatation has a very strange not to use word ‘gruesome’, past. It was established in 1860as zoology park. During the siege of Paris in 1870. Parisians were forced to eat dogs, cats and other animals in order to survive. But not the bourgeois, as such a thing was below them. They had a special menu of only the most exotic animals from the Jardin d’Acclimatation. These included kangaroo stew, elephant consommé, roasted camel and so on. As if this was not bad enough, seven years later they decided to exhibited in their ”zoo” people from isolated tribes around Africa as well as the Inuit. This was closed in 1930 (!) when they made into a park for children. More on this sinister past you can read in Atlas Obscura.
That took a dark turn quickly, but to leave on a more positive note, in the words of Joe Dassin: In the sun, under the rain, At noon or at midnight, There is everything you want, At the Champs-Elysees…Now the tune is in your mind, we shall say au revoir.
And if after Paris you decide to check Edinburgh with kids, don’t miss our tips on best starting points to explore Auld Reekie.