I planned a trip to Paris this year for my twin boys, age 14, completely against their will. It is sad to say but they are more interested in what is happening ten minutes from our house than they are in visiting the most beautiful city in the world. We’re closing in on the last of our just-us trips with the boys, and I wanted the boys to see Paris for the first time with me so off we went, like it or not.
While I cannot say that they enjoyed every minute of the museums, it was a successful and fun trip.
Here are my tips to keeping teens (mostly) happy on a first time trip to Paris:
Tip 1: A Reasonable Pace. Obviously there will be a lot of museums and cultural experiences on a trip to Paris but I paced it out nicely with afternoon “chill time” built in. An added bonus to that schedule was a couple of free afternoons to shop and explore on my own.
Tip 2: Food: Food is essential for teens and in Paris of course that is easy. We had amazing breakfasts and tried lots of pastries and other delicious French food during our stay. They looked forward to every meal which kept them entertained and excited for new experiences.
Travel Tip:
Another tip related to keeping a pace that works for impatient teenagers: all of the tours I looked into were initially suggesting four hours. I trimmed the majority of them down to two (except for Versailles and some of the walking tours) and was very glad I did. It was plenty of time. It is important that you communicate with tour guides — both expensive ones or Tours by Locals — to make sure the itinerary is what you expect and works for your travelers. Never assume they know what you want to get out of the experience.
Bonus Tips:
Attire: Bonus points if you overlook attire for the casual tours. I was tempted to insist on golf shirts and khakis but gave in during the days. I did insist on dressier clothing for dinner.
Weather: It was chilly when we were there in March, especially at night. I threw this scarf in my bag at the last minute and was so glad to have it. It is true what they say about packing lots of layers.
Shopping: I did a lot of shopping on this trip. You can find the complete list on my Instagram post. You can also find all of my Paris Guides on my website.
Travel Source:
I used Family Focus Tours Paris for several of our tours &
Art Story Walks for others.
ITINERARY
Day One: Land; check in to hotel, head out to nice lunch.
HOTEL: We stayed at Le Bristol hotel in the 8th arrondissement and went to lunch at le Berkeley, which was a short walk from the hotel. We were starving and tired and excited all at the same time – it hit the spot and by the time we got back to the hotel, our rooms were ready.
The Bristol is a dream.
Other Paris Hotels to Consider:
Hôtel Fougere – Boutique charm, Saint-Germain-des-Prés (6th – Left Bank)
Hôtel Madame Reve – Glamorous post office, Louvre (1st – Right Bank)
Hôtel Balzac – Quiet luxury, Champs-Élysées (8th – Right Bank)
JK Place Paris – Italian chic, Left Bank/Musée d’Orsay (7th – Left Bank)
Grand Powers Hotel – Art Deco elegance, Golden Triangle (8th – Right Bank)
Whining, but make it French!
Travel Source:
Our first activity that afternoon was a Vintage Citroën Car Tour of Classic Paris Highlights ~ the driver was both tour guide and owner of the car and he drove us past all the highlights including the Champs Élysées by the Arc de Triomphe and up to Montmarte. I booked our tour directly through Classic 60s Paris Tours. He picked us up right at our hotel – easy breezy.
This is a great activity for your first day, especially with teens. The car is cool and there’s nothing to do but see the sights and become acclimated with the city. A perfect jet lag activity.
Dinner: Le Grand Café – a relatively new restaurant that I was dying to try in the Grand Palais. It was a risk going here on the first night as I was worried we would be super tired, but everyone had a nap after the car tour and we all enjoyed dinner.
I also went to see the Matisse exhibit here by myself on one of the last afternoons which was wonderful.
Night One Dinner
Day Two Morning: Food Tour in the Marais (boy friendly) – pastries, chocolate, bread, cheese and charcuterie. This is a great non-museum option that still offers a bit of culture. Your hotel concierge should have lots of options for this type of tour.
Picking out a pastry from this legendary patisserie, Aux Merveilleux.
Au Petit Versailles du Marais boulangerie – We walked all over and went into several shops, trying a different Parisian treat at each one. This is an incredible bakery where we all got croissants.
L’Ardèche à Paris – a lovely little cheese and charcuterie shop
Bonus: wine for the adults at the end of the tour.
My coat is Tom Beckbe – the weight was perfect for the weather. I don’t think they make this version anymore but they have other options and Barbour makes similar ones as well. I loved it with the Kujten scarf. My friend found this great Amazon dupe of the Tom Beckbe/Barbour style jacket which I also have and love.
Side note: I threw this Kujten scarf in my bag at the last minute. Someone told me everyone in Paris wears scarves in the colder months – not for fashion per se but for practical purposes. We were there in March when the weather is cold but not freezing and a scarf is perfect for that type of weather. But when I tell you that EVERY other woman in Paris was wearing one of these Kujten scarves, I am not exaggerating. Young and old, I saw them all over the city on fashionable women in different patterns and colors. You can purchase them online (they are pricey but as you can see I got my money’s worth on this trip) but they also have a couple of stores in Paris if you are planning a trip. It would make a fun treat to bring home.
We ended our tour in this beautiful square in the Marais, Place des Vosges. I wrote about this courtyard in a previous post, The Secret to Having the Streets of Paris All To Yourself.
Day Two afternoon: We had a guided tour of the Eiffel Tower and Summit Access tickets. In retrospect I don’t think we needed a guide but you definitely want the timed tickets. It is extremely crowded and stressful to navigate but it is what it is.
Again, if I had to do it all over, I would not hire a private tour guide. It isn’t necessary although it was helpful to navigate the crowd.
Day Two: Afternoon River Seine Cruise – we walked from the Eiffel Tower directly to the boat. This was incredible – probably my favorite experience of the entire trip. It was a beautiful evening and I loved seeing all the sights from the water.
Day two was a long day and we opted for dinner at the hotel. Not my preference but remember I was picking my battles.
Travel Source:
We used a company called Paris Boat Prestige for this tour. They were great. Make sure you look at their fleet and select the exact boat that you want so that you know what you are getting and aren’t disappointed. The one we chose was called the “Motoscofo”.
How amazing is this view?!
Day Three: Versailles – we took a car to out to Versailles for a tour and cycling around the grounds. My boys actually loved the drive out there as you can see below. We ate lunch at the restaurant by the gardens and it was delicious – highly recommend. Order the profiteroles for dessert!
Pro tip for Marie Antoinette and
history lovers:
Ask your guide to take you to The Queen’s Hamlet, Marie Antoinette’s magical private village dating back to 1786. I hope to write a separate newsletter featuring this special spot. The interiors became accessible in 2018 for the first time in 200 years. It was incredible!
La Flotille at Versailles – suggest making a reservation beforehand which your hotel should be able to do for you.
I cannot resist this on any order on any menu.
Travel Tip:
One of my boys is extremely active so I am constantly looking for ways to entertain him. The afternoon we got back from Versailles, he needed one more activity so we rented bikes (we struggled with the app as you can see but we figured it out eventually), rode to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed to the top. This was a special moment for me as I did this with my own parents many years ago – I loved it and was so glad we decided to make it work.
Here is John riding a bike down the Champs-Élysées — not going to lie it was slightly terrifying (for me not for him). We chose to walk home.
Walking into the underground tunnel that takes you over to the stairs. There was a line to buy tickets but it moved quickly.
Day Three Dinner: After this long day, we let the boys order room service and my husband and I went to dinner at my favorite Hotel Costes.
Day Four: Tour of the Louvre —two hours with a guide. If your kids are studying Greek mythology, this tour is a great place to test their knowledge. They pretended not to enjoy it but clearly did – we opted not to point that out. We had a late lunch after our tour and the boys went back to the hotel while I went to La Galerie Dior exhibit. (This would be a great option for teenage girls or a girls trip!)
Days Five and Six – we went to Normandy for these two days which was a great way to break up the trip and a wonderful experience for all of us. We stayed at this charming boutique hotel, Château la Chenevière which you can read about here. More on that part of the trip in another post.
On day six, we headed back to Paris for our last day. We checked in to our new hotel on the Left Bank (I am not telling you the name because I HATED it). Ugh. Reminder not to let anyone talk you into something that doesn’t feel right to you.
My active son again needed an outing when we got back so we ventured out to this frozen fruit ice cream shop he found (on YouTube sadly) called Fruittini — which ended up being a great find.
Dinner: Highlight of the end of the trip was this delicious and gorgeous Japanese restaurant we went to called Kinugawa – everyone loved it. Incredible nighttime view of the sparkling Eiffel Tower and we enjoyed a change of pace from heavy French food.
Day Seven: Toured the Musée d’Orsay and then went to lunch at the Ritz hotel for very expensive club sandwiches and fries. It was a fun way to to show the Ritz to the boys and then we walked over to Musée De L’Orangerie (timed tickets essential).
Club sandwiches for everyone — after all, we are Americans through and through.
I loved this day with my boys. The artwork at the Musee d’Orsay was more familiar to them so they were (again, mostly) engaged and interested. The walk from the Ritz through the Tuileries Gardens over to see Monet’s waterlilies has to be one of the most beautiful in Paris. If you have younger children, they have trampolines and if you’re there in the summer, a massive fair with activities and rides.
The boys went back to the hotel and I took a taxi to Notre Dame and stood in line to visit. It was a long line but moved fairly quickly and I was so happy to see it.
Dinner: The last night for dinner we stood in the long line for no-reservations taken restaurant, le Relais de l’Entrecôte . We loved it but if you are not stand-in-line people this one is not for you.
Day Eight – HOME! I always like to return home on Saturday to give everyone a day to recover before school and work.
There is nothing better than traveling with your kiddos. But you do need a giant glass of wine at the end of the day to get through it.
Bon Week-end!