Last October, we took a family trip to Paris, and it was amazing in the Fall! I love traveling with my kids, obviously, and this trip was no different. We loved every second. We walked a lot, ate a lot, and just soaked it all in as much as possible. My boys are such fabulous little city walkers, and I was so impressed, we covered some serious ground while also making it as fun for them as possible too!
We flew in on a Thursday morning and spent five days enjoying Paris. We took the train from the airport to our AirBB, and checked in early. We stayed right in the city center, which we try to always do when doing city trips. It makes it easy enough to pop in and out when we need to. I always recommend spending a bit more to be more centrally located, its very worth it when you’re traveling with kids.
Where We Ate:
Le Royal Fabulous lunch and incredible French onion soup!
Bistro Saint Dominque Delicious dinner and a really chic vibe!
Castel Cafe Cute Parisian Cafe for a coffee (or drink) stop!
Cafè le Quartier General Probably my favorite lunch spot we tried, everything was so amazing!
Le Boudoir Chicest spot for Aperitivo! The kids got dessert and frites while we sipped on tasty cocktails!
Bo & Mie Fabulous pastry stop near The Lourve!
Le Florentin Another absolutely incredible lunch spot, highly recommend!
Amorino Cler fabulous gelato!
Cafe Central grab that gelato for the kids, then sit down here next door for a drink!
Kosy Bousquet A brunch spot worth the wait!
Ladurée Naturally a must stop for macaroons!
L’Eclair A great stop for cocktails and snacks!
Le Campanella Ate dinner under heat lamps on the sidewalk, so perfectly Parisian! Loved everything about our food here too!
Les Saveurs de Cler Breakfast pastries you simply cannot miss!
Le Roussillon I might have lied, this was probably my favorite lunch spot! French onion soup and Beef Bourguignon…to.die.for.
Day 1
As soon as we checked in, we walked around the corner to grab lunch at the cutest little spot. If you can believe it, I had my very first French onion soup here at Le Royal! I fell in love and ordered it as much as possible for the rest of our trip! ha
Since we were so close to the Eiffel Tower, we had to walk over there immediately following lunch. The Iron Lady is even more incredible in person, and Im so happy we got so much time with her over the five days we spent in Paris.
We didn’t have any intentions of going up to the top, but the boys kept begging, so we made our way over, stopped for drinks and snacks at the cafe underneath the Eiffel, and then hopped on the elevator to the top! Im so happy they talked us into it, because it was amazing.
Fun Fact, there is a secret apartment at the the top of the Eiffel, that Gustave Eiffel built for himself. When you get up there, you can peak through the windows and see how it was setup, pretty cool.
The 360 views are amazing from the top, we spent awhile up there and the boys absolutely loved it. So so happy we made the trek to the top!
When we got back down to the bottom, there was a guy playing some killer covers on the piano in the Champs de Mars. We sat down, bought a bottle of Champagne from the guys walking around selling it, and settled it to watch the Iron Lady light up. (Every hour on the hour in the evening in case you’re wondering! & absolutely worth sticking around for!)
After spending a couple hours hanging out, we walked to dinner at Bistro Saint Dominque, which was close to our AirBB thankfully. The vibe was chic and the food was fantastic. A fabulous ending to our first day!
Day 2
Before going to Paris, we scheduled family photos with our good friend Katie. We don’t do them often enough, but Ive always dreamt of having some in front of the Eiffel and was so happy when she graciously offered to take some for us. If you’re ever in Paris, get in touch with Katie Donnelly Photography for some amazing captured memories!
We did our photos first thing in the morning on the Trocadero before it got to busy, then headed back to change and hopped on the metro over to Notre Dame. It was beautiful of course, and we were lucky enough to stumble upon an entire fresh bread popup. They were making it and selling it right there in front of us, and wow what an experience to watch. Naturally we grabbed a fresh loaf to snack on as we explored.
We walked over to the iconic Shakespeare & Co, to spend some time looking around. The shop houses writers in need in exchange for working around the store. The bookstore opened in 1951, and since then, more than 30,000 people have slept in beds that are tucked under bookshelves, how cool is that!
By the time we left here, we were walked through the latin quarter and stopped for lunch at Cafè le Quartier General, which was amazing. One of the best soups Ive ever had in my life. Also, I will never get over the cute sidewalk cafes in Paris, sitting there everyday was one of my favorite parts of our visit.
After lunch, we headed for some macarons at Ladurée, and then went and soaked up the sun at Jardin du Luxembourg and enjoyed our treats. There are playgrounds within, and we met up with our friend Katie again, and gave the boys some time to run around freely and play, it was so great.
When we left we ventured through the streets of Saint-Germain, just admiring all the buildings and cafes. Eventually we stumbled into Le Boudoir for drinks and dessert. They were so lovely, and we thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and vibe here!
It was getting late by the time we left, and the boys were wiped, so we opted to skip sitting down for dinner, grabbed takeout and had a relaxing night back at the AirBB. We’ve traveled a lot with our kids, and the biggest thing we’ve learned is not to push it, because if they’re tired and/or grouchy, its not much fun for anyone, so you’ve got to just readjust plans and roll with it!
Day 3
We woke up bright and early and headed over to the Lourve. Before going in, we stopped across the street for some breakfast at Bo & Mie. The line was out the door, which is always a good sign, but it moved quickly, and everything was fantastic.
After breakfast, we spent a few hours at The Louvre. I have a son who is obsessed with he
Mona Lisa, so this was a must stop for us. My kids thoroughly love and enjoy museums, and Im so grateful for that. Very glad we got to experience it.
When we were done at The Louvre, we walked through the Tuileries and over towards Palais Royale. I was so excited to see this spot after seeing so many photos of it online! We had such a blast bouncing around and having a little photo shoot here!
We left the Louvre and ventured towards Palais Royal. It was such a beautiful spot and we had so much fun bouncing around. The boys loved performing on their “stages” & we took way too many photos!
After that we ventured towards the Champs Elysee, but stopped for lunch halfway at Le Florentin. Another place that was packed, but got us in quickly. We loved our meal here, and it was sh a lovely break from being on our feet so much already.
After lunch, we walked to and all along the Champs Elysee and to the Arc di Triomphe. It was really busy and packed, so after seeing it, we started heading towards Rue Cler. (Side note, if you plugged all this into google maps, that 5 1/2 miles my kids walked. AFTER walking miles around the Louvre. YES, they’re rockstars!)
We walked and shopped along Rue Cler, grabbed some incredible gelato for the kids at Amorino Cler, then sat down at Cafe Central for an apéritif.
After hanging out for a bit, we headed back to freshen up, and then grabbed an Uber to our friends house for the evening, where they introduced us to the magic that is Raclette. (If you don’t know, look it up, and then find a place to experience it, because wow it was amazing!) It was another lovely day in Paris!
Day 4
After getting up and getting ready, we headed around the corner to brunch at Kozy Bousquet. SUCH an amazing breakfast, highly recommend. After brunch, we walked over to the Champs de Mars, and let the kids play around on the playgrounds for awhile.
Afterwards we walked back to Rue Cler, and if you weren’t aware, it is one of Paris’ most beloved market streets, filled with cafés, boulangeries and specialty shops. We were lucky enough to be staying nearby and got to experience it a few times.
We sat down at L’eclair for cocktails and snacks in the sun. While sitting there chatting, we talked about hopping on a boat and causing along the Seine, so that’s exactly what we did! Don’t you just love spur of the moment plans? We googled and found a place, walked down, bought tickets, grabbed a glass of Champagne, and sat in the sun while cursing along the River. It was amazing.
By the time we got done, the sun was setting, and since it was our last night, we knew we wanted to watch the Iron Lady light up a few times. We headed to a bakery, grabbed a couple baguettes, cheese, macarons and a bottle of wine, and went and picnicked on the Champs de Mars, underneath the Eiffel Tower for a few hours. The guy playing covers on the Piano was back, the tower was lighting up, the boys were running around laughing, we were sipping on good wine, it was my favorite night in Paris, and a memory I’ll never forget.
Eventually it was getting late and we were hungry enough for dinner. We walked over to Le Campanella, sat outside under the heat lamps, and soaked in a few hours on the sidewalk, of our last night in Paris.
Day 5
We woke up to our last morning in beautiful Paris. We had a later flight out, so we got to enjoy the morning hopping around. We grabbed breakfast pastries and coffee at Les Saveurs de Cler, which were incredible, and then set off to finish our shopping. We brought a wine suitcase specifically to pick up some French wine, so we went into Nysa, who were so helpful, and grabbed some French wine.
I also wasn’t coming to France without stocking up on my favorite beauty brand, Caudalie. So I popped into a few pharmacies and picked up the goods! ha After dragging the boys around to wine shops and pharmacies, we sat down for one last lunch at Le Roussillon. It was mouthwateringly amazing. I couldn’t decide, and since it was our last meal in Paris, I decided to go out with a bang, and order both the French Onion Soup AND Beef Bourguignon. And Yes, I ate every single bite of both. Such an incredible meal.
Paris was amazing and beautiful, and everything I hoped it would be. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t do it with kids either. Its a very kid friendly city, and my boys loved it! And Im so, so happy I got to experience it with them. Please don’t feel like you need to go to Disneyland Paris to ‘do something for the kids’, because it’s unnecessary. There is so much to do around the city for them, and they get to truly experience the culture!
Until next time beau Paris.
