Things to Do with Kids in Paris

Paris with children is the same Paris, just slower. The parks run sailboats, carousels and small zoos. The museums run children's trails. The theme parks sit at the end of an RER line. Cold winter and rainy autumn push you indoors; spring and early summer make the parks the whole day.

Outdoor and parks

The Jardin du Luxembourg in the 6th is the city's most loved family park. Children rent wooden sailboats for EUR 4 / 30 minutes and push them across the pond with sticks. The Théâtre du Luxembourg runs marionette shows most Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons (EUR 7). The paid playground in the southwest corner (EUR 4 / 3) limits entry, so it stays usable. Métro: Odéon (M4, M10).

The Jardin des Tuileries runs a permanent carousel (EUR 4) and, from late June to late August, the Fête des Tuileries funfair: Ferris wheel, log flume, rides EUR 3 to 7. Métro: Tuileries (M1).

The Jardin des Plantes in the 5th pairs a botanical garden with the Ménagerie (the 1794 zoo) and the Galerie de l'Évolution (natural history hall, dinosaur gallery, the procession of African taxidermy). EUR 13 / 10 each, combined ticket cheaper. Métro: Jussieu (M7, M10).

The Parc de la Villette in the 19th is the city's biggest single family destination. Inside it: the Cité des Sciences, the Cité des Enfants for ages 2 to 7 and 5 to 12, the Géode dome cinema and the Cité de la Musique. Half a day minimum. Métro: Porte de la Villette (M7).

Parc Monceau in the 8th is the locals' park: peacocks, a carousel, a Roman colonnade, no ticketing. The Bois de Boulogne holds the Jardin d'Acclimatation, a 19th-century children's park with rides, a small farm and a rollercoaster (EUR 7 entry, rides extra or an EUR 39 unlimited wristband). Rowing boats on the Lac Inférieur in summer. Métro: Les Sablons (M1).

Buttes-Chaumont in the 19th is the east's equivalent: a suspension bridge over a lake on a former quarry, with Guignol de Paris puppet shows Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. The Champ de Mars is the Eiffel Tower picnic park, with a carousel at the tower's foot and a football lawn. The tower itself runs EUR 14.20 to 35.30 for adults, free under-4s.

Indoor and air-conditioned

Winter is dark by 5pm from November to February; autumn rain runs through October. The indoor circuit keeps a weekend with children working.

The Cité des Sciences at La Villette is the single best wet-weather day. Three hours minimum in the Cité des Enfants alone; combine with the planetarium or a Géode film for a full day. Adult day pass with one Cité des Enfants slot EUR 12 / 9.

The Aquarium de Paris at Trocadéro holds 13,000 fish and a shark tank (EUR 23.50 / 17 at the door; 20 percent off online). Small by London or Singapore standards; useful for a winter morning paired with the tower. Métro: Trocadéro (M6, M9).

The Musée des Arts et Métiers in the 3rd is the engineering museum: Foucault's pendulum, Lavoisier's lab, early aircraft hanging from the ceiling of a deconsecrated church (EUR 9, free under-18s). Métro: Arts et Métiers (M3, M11).

The Centre Pompidou runs children's workshops (Atelier des Enfants, ages 2 to 12) on Wednesday afternoons and weekends, EUR 12 to 15 with parent. The Pompidou closes from late 2025 for a five-year renovation; the Palais de la Découverte in the 8th is closed through 2026, expected to reopen 2027.

For older children, the Catacombs in the 14th are two kilometres of tunnels stacked with the bones of six million Parisians (EUR 29 / 10, ages 5 to 17). Effectively ages 8 plus, claustrophobic and dimly lit. Pre-book online; queues otherwise run 90 minutes. Métro: Denfert-Rochereau (M4, M6).

The Sainte-Chapelle on the Île de la Cité is a 15-minute visit children remember for years: 15 metres of stained glass on all four walls of the upper chapel (EUR 13, free under-18s). Pair with Notre-Dame's parvis. Métro: Cité (M4).

Theme parks and water parks

Disneyland Paris at Marne-la-Vallée is the headline day trip. Two parks (Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios), reached by RER A in 40 minutes from Châtelet. Single-day single-park EUR 62 to 132 (USD 66 to 141); two-park EUR 92 to 162. Ages 3 to 11 cheaper, under-3 free. Prices climb in school holidays. Book 30 days ahead, 60 for Christmas.

Parc Astérix, 35 kilometres north, leans older (rollercoasters are the draw) and runs cheaper than Disney: EUR 39 to 59 gate, online from EUR 35. April to early November plus Halloween and Christmas. Best ages 8 and up. Mer de Sable at Ermenonville is the Wild West-themed alternative for ages 3 to 10 (EUR 25 to 29, April to September). France Miniature at Élancourt scales 117 French monuments at 1:30 (EUR 22 / 15, ages 4 to 10). Sea Life Val d'Europe next to Disneyland is a two-hour add-on east (EUR 22 / 18).

Aquaboulevard in the 15th is the city's indoor-outdoor water park with a wave pool, slides and a lazy river: EUR 36 / 22 (ages 3 to 11) for four hours; under-3s not admitted. Weekday mornings in term-time are calmer. Métro: Balard (M8).

Discovery and learning

The Louvre runs family trails ("parcours en famille") at the information desk: themed booklets for ages 5 to 7, 7 to 11, and 11 plus. EUR 22 online, free under-18s and under-26 EU. Book a timed entry. Two hours with children is the working maximum; pick one wing. Métro: Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre (M1, M7).

The Musée d'Orsay works for children from about 7 upwards (EUR 16, free under-18s); the fifth-floor clock window is the photograph everyone takes. The Cité de la Musique runs Sunday family concerts (EUR 8 to 16) with hands-on instruments. The Musée de la Marine at Trocadéro reopened in 2023 (EUR 14, free under-26 EU), and the Musée de l'Homme's prehistory floor is the better hook for primary-age children.

Free or low-cost

The first Sunday of every month is free entry at most national museums: Louvre (October to March only), Orsay, Pompidou (until closure), Arts et Métiers, Cluny, Picasso, Rodin gardens. Timed slots fill 7 to 14 days ahead. Under-18s enter all national museums free year-round with passport ID; EU residents under 26 too.

Parks above are free, except the Luxembourg paid playground (EUR 4) and the Jardin d'Acclimatation (EUR 7). Notre-Dame's parvis is free; the interior is free with a timed reservation since the 2024 reopening. Sacré-Cœur is free; the dome climb is EUR 8. The Promenade Plantée, a four-kilometre garden walkway on a former railway viaduct from Bastille east, is ungated and child-paced.

Pass Navigo weekly (EUR 31.60) or monthly (EUR 88.80) covers all Métro, RER, tram and bus in zones 1 to 5, including Disneyland, Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Versailles. Children 4 to 11 pay half, under-4s free. For a family week, the maths almost always beats single tickets.

Day trips

The Château de Versailles, 30 minutes by RER C, is the obvious day trip: EUR 21.50 château, EUR 32 passport (château, Trianons, gardens, Hameau); under-18s free. The Hameau de la Reine, Marie Antoinette's model village, is the part children remember. Closed Tuesdays.

Giverny, Monet's house and garden, sits 75 minutes northwest (SNCF Saint-Lazare to Vernon plus shuttle): EUR 13 / 8 (ages 7 to 17), April to early November. Weekdays before 11am or after 3pm beat the bus-tour wave. Fontainebleau, 60 kilometres southeast, is the quieter alternative to Versailles (EUR 14, free under-18s, Transilien R from Gare de Lyon in 40 minutes plus 15-minute bus). The surrounding forest carries marked walking and rock-climbing routes.

Chantilly, 25 minutes north from Gare du Nord, pairs a smaller château with the Grandes Écuries (the largest princely stables in Europe, still working) and a horse museum: EUR 18 / 9.50 (ages 4 to 17). Vaux-le-Vicomte, the château that inspired Versailles, runs candlelit Saturday evenings May to October when 2,000 candles light the gardens from dusk: EUR 18.50 / 14 (ages 6 to 17).

By age band

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FAQs

Is the Paris Museum Pass worth it for a family? Under-18s already enter national museums free; the pass pays back only for adults. The two-day pass (EUR 79) covers itself at three paid adult sites: Louvre + Orsay + Sainte-Chapelle, or Versailles + Pompidou + Arts et Métiers.

What's the cheapest weekend in Paris with children? A first-Sunday museum at opening, a Luxembourg afternoon with EUR 4 sailboats, a Saturday at Buttes-Chaumont with a Guignol show, a Champ de Mars picnic. Under EUR 30 for a family of four.

How early should we book Disneyland? 30 days minimum for the lower price band, 60 days for school holidays and Christmas. Hotel-plus-park bundles beat separate bookings over two nights.

Where do parents take children to eat? The market streets carry boulangeries, fromageries and crêperies children pick from themselves: rue Cler (7th), rue de Lévis (17th), rue Mouffetard (5th), rue des Martyrs (9th).

Sources

• Ticket prices and opening hours from each venue's official site, March to April 2026.
• Disneyland Paris pricing from the disneylandparis.com booking tool.
• Pass Navigo and transport fares from Île-de-France Mobilités.
• First-Sunday list cross-checked against the Ministère de la Culture directory.
• EUR to USD at indicative 2026 rate of EUR 1 = USD 1.07.