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Paris is one of those places that holds a very special place in my heart, having first visited it when I was 18 which was in fact for our 1st Anniversary! I fell in love, with everything about Paris and Parisians in general.
Now we’re 14 years in and 3 kids later we figured another trip was needed, this time driving over and staying at a EuroCamp site just outside of the city. Our kids at the time were 4 and twin 2 year olds! Yes you could say we’re slightly bonkers but frankly I love showing our kids new places and they really love exploring.
Paris did not disappoint, our first full day took us via bus and train a first for them as we usually drive everywhere when in England, Public transport was starting to feel a little like we’d made a terrible decision to bring 3 very young kids to Paris but when the lift doors opened and we caught sight of the Arc de Triomphe, I knew we’d made the right decision. Despite miserable faces here they were so excited about being somewhere new.
As a family dynamic we come with 3 kids our Eldest here was 4 and our twins were 3 weeks away from turning 3! Kris (future husband) is a wheel chair user, so to make life easier on getting around we ditched the pushchair as often one of the twins will sit on Kris’ lap and I use a carrier on my back for the other one and Dra walks. (very well for a 4 year old in fact) Getting around was alright to be honest, crossings on the streets are simple and easy to understand and Parisians (from my experience) are incredibly wonderful and helpful in times of need, like when Kris got stuck on the train and the doors closed! lol four lads helped get him off. Trains are great for access you just ask at a main desk and say where you’re heading to and they call ahead for someone to meet you, you need to be at the front of the train for this.
The Eiffel Tower is just something else, it was sad to see so much building work going on whilst they erect huge clear walls all around it, but still heading to it from the Champs de Mars is wonderful the kids loved running about and all 3 are now obsessed with it and are desperate to go back so we can go to the top.
Here they are again not looking very happy! (honestly these kids lol)
There’s a little play park near the ice cream vendors which they loved, along with the ice cream, the toilets are closed and the port a loos are well far from lovely! so bad in fact it’s best to just avoid. If you pop to any coffee shop and order a coffee you can use their toilets instead, if you don’t order anything most will charge a couple of Euros.
Of course we HAD to go on the carousel located across the road.
Paris is busy and at times full of hustle and bustle, access and getting around was brilliant. Having young children just makes it more fun they either go at a slow pace so you can see everything or they run full pelt through everything giving an interesting view of the world (hehe) I don’t regret not using a pushchair as our kids are pretty good for walking and not needing to be carried because of tired legs etc. Having the carrier came in useful especially when Cosima just fell asleep, I love being able to just pop her on my back and she can nap whilst we carry on. I got mine from Argos – Infantino zip travel carrier this rolls up and can be worn as a belt until needed or strapped through a back pack handles. It’s light weight and coped with carrying both twins tremendously. I got mine for under £30.
The absolute highlights for me were the look on the kids faces at seeing these iconic structures, visiting DisneyLand and getting lost on the Champs Elysees, because we couldn’t find the lift to get back to the train station. That’s on Avenue Carnot incase you need to use the lift instead of the stairs and don’t fancy wondering aimlessly around the Arc de Triomphe! This takes you to the RER train Charles de Gaulle Etoile.
Paris is wonderful and the kids are already begging to go back.
Nicci x
