Hello all. Thanks for all your great advice in planning our trip to France. I compiled, printed and referred to much of the information gleaned from this board throughout the trip. So here it is… the trip report. (I’m embarrassed to note that it’s seven months late, but most of this was compiled right after we returned.)
The Travellers: A family of four: two boys (8 and 11) and two type-A travel-loving forty-somethings. We always dreamed of going to France with our kids. They are in French immersion school in Ottawa where we live. Although it is a very bilingual City and we live a stone’s throw from Quebec, we thought it would be interesting for them to experience a totally different French culture. We had both been to Paris previously (before kids) and looked forward to returning.
The Itinerary: After much research, we settled on an 11-day trip in early February. We chose that time of year because we hoped for smaller crowds and because, frankly, everything was much cheaper. (On airfare alone, we saved the equivalent of one ticket by going off-season.) We spent the first four days on a driving trip through Normandy and the remaining week in Paris. There were many sunny and warm days but if you go in February, be prepared for rain.
The Driving: I’m not sure if we were incredibly brave or incredibly stupid (don’t answer -- it’s a rhetorical question), but here’s how we decided to do it. We arrived in Paris at 8 a.m. on a Tuesday morning after an overnight flight. We picked up our car at the airport and drove to Bayeux, about a 3-hour drive.
I was really nervous about navigating our way from CDG airport to the highway heading towards Normandy and spent an hour on the plane reviewing my several maps and the Michelin and Mapquest directions I had printed out. The route was not direct – there were several highway changes before we struck west out of the vicinity of Paris. Everything went okay until that last turn-off. I thought we were on the right track until I noticed the road was getting more and more congested. I looked up and, to my horror, saw a giant stone arch looming on the horizon. “Oh no!” I cried. “It’s the Arch de Triomphe! We’re going the wrong way!” Somehow we sorted it out, but it wasn’t the happy moment I imagined experiencing when seeing my first major Parisian landmark of the trip (My next visit to the Arch – on foot – was much happier). The rest of the drive to Bayeux was uneventful. We were tired and the drive seemed endless, but adrenalin kept us going. The kids slept the whole way – thank goodness.
Over the next four days, we visited Bayeux, Mont St. Michel and Angers. We got lost many, many times – even though I had maps and directions, I just couldn’t seem to acquire an instinct for making the right split-second decision when things were unclear. But were happy that we drove because it gave us a lot of flexibility and an opportunity to see parts of France that we may never have seen. Still, it’s not for everyone. My husband loves to drive so it was a good choice for us.
Of course, once we arrived in Paris, we dropped off the car (at the rental car place at Gare L’Est). The drive into Paris was particularly stressful because we were under time pressure (to meet the owner of our rental apartment), and because the route I had chosen really sucked. Our exit on the ring road was closed for construction and the congestion on our route was unbelievable. Having a car in Paris is about as useful as carrying a big metal hump on your back – but it was great for touring Normandy. Which brings me to…
The Sites: We did most the typical tourist things. I found the sites could be divided into those that the adults liked, those the kids liked and those we all enjoyed. (I found it really helped my mental outlook to realize that the success of the trip didn’t depend on everyone loving everything.)
For the adults, the highlights were: the Bayeux tapestry, the friendly street-life in Angers, the Jardin de Luxembourg, and the museums (Pompidou and Louvre). The kids really liked the Eiffel Tower (no surprise), the Military Museum (my husband also really liked that), the Cite des Science, and the children’s section on the main floor of the Pompidou. They barely tolerated the museums – in fact my 11-year old found the Louvre embarrassing because it’s full of naked people (I’m talking about the art, not the tourists!). Could not even coax him to look at the Venus de Milo. They found the modern art in the Pompidou irritating and somehow offensive (because, to their minds it was not well executed). But they loved the escalator and the street life outside. Not the cultural awakening I hoped for but I did find their ideas and attitudes interesting.
A big disappointment for the kids (and me too) was Disneyland Paris. It’s a very pretty park and easily accessible on the RER. But on the day we visited (a drizzly Monday), two big rollercoasters broke down (one while we were on it!). We found that the crowds were not well managed so we ended up waiting for a long time when there were minimal crowds. What a contrast to the WDW, which we visited last year during a much busier time of year.
(Continued...)
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Thanks so much for your trip report. Our boys will be 7 and 10 when we go, and visits to Juno beach and Vimy are on our current plans. It was great to here of your boys reactions to Juno. I am also really interested in your %26quot;dining feedback%26quot;. I can%26#39;t imagine my boys approach to unfamiliar food will become more expansive by the time we go ;-) Your post reinforced the idea of giving it a try. What were things from a %26quot;non-children%26#39;s menu%26quot; that seemed to be consistent hits or options. I am taking to heart your point that everyone doesn%26#39;t have to love everything for the trip to be a success! How was the %26quot;travel stamina%26quot; of your family? Did you need to schedule %26quot;do nothing days%26quot; or did you find that as long as there was variety it was ok.
Thanks for your post!
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