Paris in pieces – the basics

How did we get here?

 

To say I love the Eurostar is an understatement. I have many fond memories of great (and easy) mini-breaks to the continent pre-children and of business trips travelling first class, supping on bubbles and reading glossy mags (and that’s what they are now – just memories…!!). 

 

Keep up Mummy!

 

Perhaps it’s not surprising then that this is not the first time we have headed off to Paris 'en famille' using this dream machine. But, there are a few things you need to know before you book your tickets! First up, seats on Eurostar core routes like Paris (and Brussels and Lille) can only be bought four months before the departure date. And they sell out fast. Don’t wait for a week or two so you can book a return journey all at once. Get your trip out the day it is released to be sure you can choose the most suitable journey time, get the best price and reserve the seats around a table (essential if you are a family of four). And then – do exactly the same for your return! The tickets for the Disneyland Paris service go on sale six months in advance (I like to think that’s just like buying a ticket to heaven…).

Bedding down

We booked our apartment via Holiday Velvet; the service was impeccable and I would certainly use the company again. It has a whole host of apartments of different sizes in different arrondissements with clear descriptions of the location and facilities on its web site. Reading between the lines (which I don’t advocate since squinting causes wrinkles) the same apartment is also available via Perfectly Paris. 

Worth waking up for

 

The apartment suited our needs well – it has two bedrooms, plus a well-equipped kitchen and bathroom with both a shower and a bath (daughter one is a ‘showerphobe’) and a dining room and living room. This meant that there was plenty of space for the kids to play (and make a mess). It was also architecturally beautiful with gorgeously tall windows, high ceilings and intricate cornices. But while we had narrowed our search down by arrondissement we hadn’t given any thought to things such as – is it near a Metro? (luckily, our apartment was very near two stations, which was just as well when you have spent all day walking about Paris in a heat wave and your five-year-old has really had more than enough of walking thank you very much!) or what sort of sights were nearby (Montmartre since you ask…). Those sorts of things really make a difference to a holiday – we were lucky this time but next time I will double check (what I really mean is, I will delegate this job)!!!

Montmartre

Getting around

 

I feel bad saying this, but I think the Metro could be better than the London Underground. It just seems so much less crowded and there is quite a lot of (multi-lingual) staff around to help out. We survived by buying a 'carnet' of tickets rather than individual tickets which saves about 30 per cent. The carnet gives you 10 tickets that can be used by the whole family (as well as the same person just taking 10 trips!). Maps are up on the walls, but you can ask for one at the ticket office to help you work out your route. We got about ten, since my girls do like to collect things - and I'd rather it was maps than old sweet wrappers or yoghurt pots (no, seriously, this is my serious face). 

 

A ticket to ride

If you and your family are physically capable of knocking off a lot of top sights in a small space of time – and that is how you like to spend holidays – then the Paris Pass might be an option for you. We looked into it, and downloaded the free on-site guide to the city, but decided our kids couldn’t keep up the pace needed to make it worth the price (yeah, that’s right the kids couldn’t keep up, not that we wanted to laze around supping wine in the shade every lunchtime). However, once I had visited the site and downloaded the guide, I did go on to receive an offer of 10 per cent off a pass (so if it is for you, do try and hold out and see if you get the same offer…).

 

As chilled as the wine...

And finally a word of thanks to the people at Holiday Velvet, within our apartment was a fantastic street map, which helped us no end. It was a Michelin Paris Par Arrondissement and it is well worth buying if you are heading off to the city.

This is just the first write-up of our family trip to Paris; I still have the major sights, Disneyland, Paris for kids and shopping bits to file. Not sure which to do next though – so let me know which you would prefer in the comment box below…

My Disneyland Paris review can be found here.

We’ll always have Paris

It’s safe to say that hubby and I did not enjoy our first holiday as parents. We booked a ‘cottage’ for two weeks in Wales (you can see we weren’t thinking straight) when our first daughter was just shy of six months. What fools!

We packed our car like we were moving house. We took a travel cot and all madam’s usual bedding including a lovely soft cot mattress, a high chair (not a travel one mind but our large leather one from home despite the fact there was one in situ), a pushchair, the baby carrier, dummies, tons of toys and books, nappies, wipes, plenty of kiddie clothes to cover every eventuality – and yes, the teeny tiny baby herself.

All aboard the holiday express!!

In fact I was so overwhelmed by packing to meet the imagined needs of my offspring that when it came to gathering my things, I sort of zoned out. I headed up to Wales – yes Wales - with a pair of flip flops, my trainers, a few t-shirts, shorts and a pretty dress in case we went out (ha, ha, ha!!). Note the lack of outer garments.

But despite there being a heat wave in the UK (which we could conveniently observe by watching Royal Ascot on the telly); Wales was cold, so cold. I had to buy not just a jumper, but a hat, scarf and gloves since we were actually rather close to this mountain called Snowden (you may have heard of it, I understand it is quite well known). I refused to buy a coat only because it was summer for crying out loud.

Pack your bags

And crying out loud was another charming feature of the holiday. Our daughter just would not sleep in this unfamiliar environment. All night, every night she screamed. While I was used to not sleeping by then, and pretty much since then, the husband had never had it so bad. After a week of the torture we were broken people and begun to discuss cutting our losses and going home. We would still have a week together, at home, in the sun, with the chance of some sleep, we reasoned. It sounded good.

In the end we decided to stick it out. And fortunately for us, the weather improved and the baby settled down a bit. We were able to have some good days out – memorably at Conwy Castle. We also found a kiddie friendly café to eat cakes in. Oh, cakes, my friends in times of need.

Looking back it was a steep learning curve. I’ve certainly never packed as much stuff again – and now I drive a Mini I can get everything myself and the two girls need for an entire week into it and still have leg room. We also know to hang the expense and get more than one bedroom – at least one of you needs to survive until the morning. I also tend to pay a bit more attention to the area I’m visiting if I’ve not been there before. Never again will I find myself navigating thick fog while dressed for the beach.

Plenty to do

One far more successful holiday was a trip to Paris when the baby had somehow morphed into a pre-schooler and was now accompanied by a two-year-old partner in crime. For a city it is incredibly child friendly – with loads of indoor and outdoor attractions. Apparently this is because there are lots of working families in Paris, but typically those families live in apartment blocks with little or no garden space of their own. Consequently the government does a very good job of providing such facilities both during the working week and weekends. And it is of course also home to something even more important to two little girlie girls – Disneyland Paris.

Look! - Tigger is breakdancing outside Sleeping Beauty's castle...

So we have just booked another week in the City of Love. We’ll take the Eurostar and navigate our way to our apartment in the Latin Quarter. And if we can’t carry our luggage easily or pull it along – it’ll be left at home. In the mornings the kids and hubby will head out to buy pain au chocolates, by lunchtime Daddy will be sampling du vin, and by dinner Mummy could well be sporting Minnie Mouse ears. Sparkly is best.

Chocolate for breakfast!

We plan to sail toy boats in the Jardin du Luxembourg pond, get interactive at the Cite des enfants, check out the Eiffel Tower, La Louvre and the Pompidou Centre (minus the child-lost-in- the-lift situation we experienced last time maybe). We’ll eat macaroons at La Laduree and browse in Bon Ton and maybe get a book in Shakespeare and Company. Good times. And I’ll be sure to pack a jacket – in case of freak weather.

Climbing on the culture

And of course we will go to Disneyland Paris because it is amazing and there are real princesses to talk to and you get to ride on a magic carpet and fly in an elephant and go on a boat where little dolls sing ‘it’s a small, small world' endlessly and then there’s a parade and you can see all the princesses again and boo at the baddies…

Hopefully the girls will enjoy it just as much as I will!!!

Sail away with me

 

Do you have any holiday disasters to share – or any advice to avoid them (I probably need it…)? Let me know in the comment box below!