I found this post written by DrDebu in another thread (What blew the budget?) - butI think it is so good that it deserves its own thread. And I will nominate it for TA to keep as an insider guide.
So thank you DrDebu - your boys are lucky to have a parent with so much humour and being so relaxed with them, even in the presence of %26quot;Very Serious Grown Up Culture and Not-to-be-joked-about-by-kids Art%26quot;:
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Our boys were 7 %26amp; 9 when we took them to Paris. We%26#39;re going back to France next Easter....most of our time in Normandy (at their request, they are huge history buffs!) but 4 days in Paris again, too. We took the oldest to Europe at the age of 2. The youngest had his first trip (that was to Rome/Pompeii/Sicily) at the age of 5. Travelling with kids really opens your eyes to the world.
When you%26#39;re in the Louvre with kids, let them be the guides....we just wandered to see what looked interesting and it kept them VERY interested even though it%26#39;s all %26quot;old%26quot; art that kids could often view as stuffy and boring. The old Italian sculptures caught their eye first. Then we went off in search of the Mona Lisa. We found a room of jewels.....crowns and things like that. I headed them over to the hall of big (BIG!) French battle paintings which they loved (French painters, it%26#39;s a special hall, not too far from the Mona Lisa I think). The Egyptian section was neat (though just a quick run through). And then....and then.....the BEST PART according to them was going into the %26quot;basement%26quot; where the old castle walls are. Not the basement really, but down below the basement (kind of near the Egyptian stuff if I remember right). It%26#39;s blessedly cool and for some reason there is never anyone down there and you can RUN on boardwalks far underground in the old Louvre castle moats! Wow! Fun! There%26#39;s a model at the end of what the original castle on the site looked like, which looks like Neuschwanstein or Cinderella%26#39;s castle to us. The Louvre itself is very cool. Stop and have them look at the floors, the walls, the ceilings.....peak out windows into courtyards. Look for these things on your map when you get there and check them out as %26quot;Victor %26amp; Henry%26#39;s Pick for kids!%26quot;
If you go to Versailles, don%26#39;t miss the hall where they have paintings of all the French rulers.....going way way way way way back into French history. Lots of battle scenes. I was marginally interested, but my boys were slack-jaw enthralled. I think kids just naturally like the %26quot;big as life%26quot; pictures like here and the BIG ones in the Louvre.
The Picasso Museum was a big hit. You realize what a sense of humor Picasso had when you see all his work and that REALLY appeals to kids. Especially the sculptures.
The Pompidou. Ah, the Pompidou. It%26#39;s the %26quot;modern%26quot; art museum. Before we stepped in the door, we had no use for modern art. We strolled in there one cold, rainy evening when they were open and we had nothing else to do, not expecting anything and were so impressed. Some of the art was just awe-inspiring and beautiful. Much of it was hysterical....rooms with pantyhose filled with sand hanging from the ceilings, one room all in black and white papier-mache that you could go in, alligators on the wall strung with Christmas lights.....my boys are still talking about it 2 years later! We walked in all in kind of cranky moods and walked out with huge grins on our faces. The running joke became things like when you were about to sit on a chair at the Pompidou we%26#39;d say %26quot;don%26#39;t sit there! That%26#39;s art!%26quot; and the kids would do a double take. Ditto when we%26#39;d go in the bathroom, we%26#39;d say %26quot;Now is this REALLY a bathroom, or is it art?!%26quot; Plus the escalators on the OUTSIDE of the building (!) are just darn fun for kids. Kind of Star-Wars-ish. The plaza outside would probably be very fun in good weather, but it was cold wet and deserted when we were there.
Whatever the line, go up in the towers of Notre Dame. So cool, SO COOL! Everyone has to pick their favorite gargoyle. Find the gargoyle that looks down at the line and is sticking his tongue out. This you have to pay for even with the Museum Pass, but was worth it.
Under the plaza in front of Notre Dame is the %26quot;excavations%26quot; where there are Roman ruins. Free again with your museum pass. Neat for a quick run around inside and kids like the fact that you%26#39;re under everyone%26#39;s feet. Hordes of tourists walk by and never see and never go in. When facing Notre Dame it%26#39;s back behind you at the back of the plaza.......look for the %26quot;excavations%26quot; sign and go down the stairs. This will take you maybe 15 minutes. Also, keep some spare bits of baguette in your pocket when you walk near Notre Dame. The kids can use them to lure the sparrows and pigeons to perch on their arms, hands, shoulders, heads.....one of my boys is a bird lover and would have stayed there all day if we%26#39;d let him. The other thought it was way too freaky. The birds roost in the bushes.....you%26#39;ll see them!
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I second all of the tips above. I traveled with a 3 and 4 year old to Paris. And they loved the Medieval Louvre, the modern art at the Pompidou and the escalators, the Medieval ruins at the Cluny and the Picasso museum (they even begged for me to buy Picasso prints to hang in their rooms at home). Climbing Sacre Cour, Arc de Triomphe and the Notre Dame were also big hits.
A cute story about the Louvre: My boys saw pictures of the Mona Lisa all over Paris, and were excited about finding her in the Louvre. When I pointed where she was, surrounded by about a hundred people in tour groups, my 3 year-old screamed %26quot;Mona Lisa%26quot;, went down on all fours crawling to the front to get a view with me pushing after him saying %26quot;pardon%26quot;. :)
Two other tips:
1. Bring a notebook and colored pencils and crayons. When my kids got tired (or inspired :), we sat in a corner and drew the art of on the walls. Its amazing how little ones really pick up on the color and shapes in Picasso%26#39;s paintings.
2. The museum bookstores sell guides for children that really bring the art to life. The series is called %26quot;My Little Louvre%26quot;, %26quot;My Little Orsay%26quot;, etc. They are translated in English and cost about 10 euros. I purchased the guides ahead of time, read them to my children, and the kids had a treasure hunt trying to find the artwork from the book in each museum.
With these books and some crayons to draw with when they needed a break, we had a blast. And, I was worried that they were too young to enjoy the museums.
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This past summer we returned to Vieux Les Vicomte.
The museum provided costumes for the children to wear and parents were takking their pictures in the rooms! It was so cool!
Many of the museum including the Louvre sell costumes in the gift store. One can get them at the Disney store and let the child bring them to wear on the trip.
Several museums have children activities! We just loved the experience of the children%26#39;s guided tour at Chambord!
This trip we noticed many of the museum attendents dressed in period costumes! It was so amazing! The music in the places brought you right back to the century!
I overheard one your man at Les Invalides who had bought a replica of Neopolan%26#39;s pistol! He was so excited!
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