6 fun things to do with kids in Paris

You can become very happy from a museum visit yourself, but if we are very, very honest, your children won't be made intensely happy by it. At least mine won't. When I do it, I book a ‘guided tour’ because such a guide always has so many fun things to tell that you don't see on the signs next to the artworks. Anyway, if you want to score points with your children and you have already checked off most museums, then these are also fun things to do.

Go to the cinema here

There you won't find any tourists and suddenly you are a Parisian among the Parisians. The cinema in Les Halles is easy to reach by metro (stops in Les Halles) and it's ideal that you can shop a bit afterwards. Just saying... there is also a Sephora. There is also a swimming pool in Les Halles and a kind of indoor playground, so ideal for a scorching (or intensely rainy) day. Tip; go to the bathroom beforehand because a visit to the little room costs €2 per person in Les Halles.

Eating cake at Angelina

Angelina is located next to hotel Le Meurice on Rue de Rivoli, near the Louvre and the Tuileries and is one of the most famous tea salons in Paris. Here, elegant ladies and celebrities poke at a fork. You can find several Angelinas in Paris (and in France and even in New York and Asia), but this is my favorite. Be sure to try the Millefeuille and the Trocadero, delicious. And eat like a Frenchwoman, so poke with different forks from different cakes. You don't have to finish it, but leaving it is difficult in this case.

Swimming in the Seine

Well, not in it, despite the 1.5 billion that has been thrown at it to get the Seine's water somewhat in order, taking a dip in the river remains on the edge of dangerous for your health. But in Parc de la Villette, you will find the Bassin de la Villette where three swimming pools have been created in the Seine, so you can take a nice dip. It's free and supervised. Is it five-star chic? No, but everyone is required to shower first before jumping into the water, so the water is really okay. There are sun loungers and again you can also rent pedal boats. Note; between 1:00 PM and 1:30 PM it closes for cleaning and also to give other people a chance to swim.

Go to the Sephora on the Champs Elysées

My children want to go on safari every year. Sephora safari, that is. I have checked them off in New York from Meatpacking to Times Square, in Barcelona and in Bari, but the branch on the Champs Elysées is of a different order. Spacious, high, large, beautiful brands, also the more expensive perfume houses and many branded makeup corners. Also fun; all kinds of Champs Elysées-only Sephora goodies like drink cups and hoodies.

Eat at Derrière

You don't necessarily have to go here for the food as far as I'm concerned, we give it a ‘fine’ but the experience is great. There is a ping pong table, a bed, there are secret doors leading to rooms where you can play foosball and more of that. The indoor garden is incredibly cozy, but your children will probably want you to take that one low table next to the ping pong table. You sit there comfortably and the Aperol Spritz is well-sized so you can last a while. Tip: if your children order the steak and you happen to have a sturdy knife in your luggage or a Swiss army knife at hand; take it with you. You really get a butter knife served with it. But my children are still talking about it a year later.

Bike to Père Lachaise

Or take the metro if you find cycling too dangerous. Père Lachaise is a beautiful cemetery where many celebrities are buried. Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust, Simone Signoret, Molière, and Yves Montand. This way you can tell your children about the lives of these special people and what they have left behind. It's like putting vegetables in the blender and making a sauce from it, that's how you get that culture, albeit through a detour, funneled in.