Art and culture

A family guide to Paris

April 29, 2022

With its world-class museums, zoos and sporting events, Paris offers an array of experiences for families with children of all ages. Create your perfect family day out with our selection of inspiring activities.

The image shows a view over Paris with its most well-known monument, the Eiffel tower

Paris from above

There’s no experience quite like soaring above Paris in your own Airbus helicopter with Helipass. Fly over the Palace of Versailles on the city’s southwestern outskirts and take in its glorious 2,000 acre gardens from the air. Stop over in the neighbouring Saint-Cyr l’École airfield and enjoy refreshments with the captain for company. Taking to the sky again, you’ll pass over the Eiffel Tower, River Seine and Le Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain’s football stadium. Finally, you’ll receive a ‘first flight’ certificate to take home, a perfect show-and-tell momento.

61 rue Henry Farman, 75015 Paris

Paws for a second at Parc Zoologique de Paris

From a flamboyance of flamingos to a tower of giraffes, Parc Zoologique de Paris is home to more than 3,000 animals. Set in Bois de Vincennes forest on Paris’s southeastern border, the 35-acre zoo takes visitors on a journey through Europe to South America and on to the plains of Sudan and Madagascar. Here you’ll find golden mantella – a frog endemic to Madagascar – herds of North African addax and South American fur seals. Children can also discover how the zoo contributes to the conservation of species, especially those threatened by extinction.

Avenue Daumesnil, 75012 Paris

©F-G_Grandin

©Rrrainbow

Getting spooky at the Gallery of Evolution

Whether they love it or loathe it, your children will be fascinated by the National Museum of Natural History’s 7,000-strong collection of taxidermy in its Gallery of Evolution. Littles ones can learn about endangered species and our environment, and the importance of protecting both. After marvelling at birds frozen in movement and the first preserved example of a giant squid, you can enjoy a stroll around Jardin des Plantes. France’s oldest botanical garden is also home to a zoo and Art Deco greenhouses displaying a tropical jungle of banana trees, a Mexican desert landscape and replicas of extinct plants.

36 rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, 75005 Paris

Hop from a pony to rollercoaster

Napoléon III inaugurated Jardin d’Acclimatation, an amusement park in Bois de Boulogne forest west of the city. Here, children can enjoy rollercoasters, merry-go-rounds, a puppet theatre and over 400 farm animals. They can also splash under sprinklers, run through a mirrored funhouse and ride ponies. To reach Jardin d’Acclimatation from Porte Maillot, take the miniature locomotive, Le Petit Train, which dates back to 1878. On your return, visit Fondation Louis Vuitton, a contemporary art museum designed by architect Frank Gehry.

Bois de Boulogne, Route de la Porte Dauphine à la Porte des Sablons, 75116 Paris

©SBACHELOT

Once you’ve discovered the City of Light’s finest family attractions, explore the museums and architectural gems a short distance from Le Meurice and Hôtel Plaza Athénée.

Paris

Le Meurice

The original palace hotel in the heart of historic Paris, Le Meurice with its splendid newly-restored rooms and suites is the very epitome of quiet elegance and is alive with the artist's soul of wit and magic.

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Eiffel tower view from Hotel Plaza Athenee

Paris

Hôtel Plaza Athénée

True to its extraordinary city, Hôtel Plaza Athénée is no ordinary hotel. Here, on the prestigious avenue Montaigne, the tree-lined boulevard of French fashion, our hotel proudly offers guests the very best of Paris.