Enjoying Paris with the Kids

Visiting and exploring a city like Paris, there is nothing better than to share and enjoy the experience with your love ones. Of course, there is nothing wrong enjoying things all by your lonesome.

But going the city with your children works not only having to enjoy the finest achievements of man, but also to have them get their actual lessons in history and art and some science. Some of the greatest museums around the planet are densely packed in just the city of Paris. 

The number of museums in the city, the monuments and other exhibit buildings all add up to more than three times the city’s districts (arrondissements).

Museums

Watching the exhibits of some of these museums cannot be finished in even two days. With the sheer number of choices to go to, or watch in, your child’s innate curiosity and interest will more than make up his day’s enjoyment.

The Paris top crowd-drawers (and a real must-visit for the kids) are the famous l’Ouvre, the Center Pompidou and the d’Orsay Museum. Depending on which part of the city you are staying, you cannot miss the other museums in your district.

Touches of History and Science

At least for children, there are other great places that rival these super-famous ones. The others have some totally different exhibits. The Paris Natural Museum has one of the world’s most extensive collections of dinosaur relics and artifacts, aside from their other surprising displays. 

At the Paris Air and Space Museum, you (and the kids) will marvel at the many historic planes on display since its invention and participation in war and modern transportation. There are other aircrafts on display, too, all the way to the modern rockets that send satellites, and they’re all authentic.

In the meantime, the children can enjoy historical moments, personalities and other aspects of history (mostly French, though) at the Grevin Wax museum. For most of us, each of the museums have their own super attractions that people keep coming back for. At the l’Ouvre, nothing beats de Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” while Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” reigns supreme at d’Orsay.

Visiting days

Of course, Parisians themselves love visiting their museums, perhaps all throughout their days.
They tend to crowd out other visitors on weekends. (Sunday afternoons are simply too crowded.) You would need some strategy to time your visits to your desired museums on weekdays.

There’s a quirk with schedules at these two places. The l’Ouvre gets crowded on Mondays because d’Orsay is closed. (People tend to go to the other place that’s open.) On Tuesdays, the l’Ouvre is closed and the d’Orsay is full – people go there on Tuesdays.

Visiting time

The perfect time to visit museums is early morning, before the crowds (which will trickle in going to noon). By then, you would have enjoyed the quiet as you go through the exhibits and displays.

Also, museums are open till late at night at least once a week. (The l’Ouvre closes at 9:45pm Wednesdays and Fridays. The d’Orsay closes Thursdays 9:45pm.)

Do your other touristy things with the kids – shopping, eating, market-hopping, walking around, etc. – during the day. You know when to go to the museums to enjoy them fully.