Things to do with kids in Paris

How to read this guide

Paris has no shortage of places for children, the hard part is choosing. This guide keeps a short list of places that come up again and again for families, sorted by age rather than by neighbourhood.

The places are tested by local parents and then checked (address, photo, opening). Ages shown come from the venues, so confirm before you go.

Babies and toddlers (0 to 3): park the stroller

With a baby, the best outing is often a place where you can sit, change a nappy and let your child move. Café Pépées in the 14th is exactly that: a neighbourhood cafe with a play kitchen corner, books, toys, high chairs, a changing table and a couch for nursing. It is closed on Mondays and Sundays.

Same spirit at April Café in the 10th, a stroller-friendly cafe with a baby corner opposite Jardin Villemin, and at Ôtipi Saint-Placide in the 6th, which mixes a toy shop, a cafe and workshops for ages 0 to 12.

Outdoors, the Luxembourg Gardens remain the safe bet in the centre, while Parc Georges-Brassens (15th) and Parc Clichy-Batignolles (17th) are calmer, with room to run.

Ages 3 to 6: animals, water and discoveries

This is the age of animals and wonder. The Paris Zoological Park in the Bois de Vincennes and the Aquarium de Paris near the Trocadéro need little explaining: children look, point and stop.

For science without reading, the Cité des sciences has the Cité des enfants, with one area for ages 2 to 7 and another for 5 to 12. At the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, the animal skeletons in the palaeontology and comparative anatomy gallery make an impression.

Ages 6 to 10: workshops, games and museums with a story

From 6, you can plan something longer. A workshop like Einstein Family, the building games at Centre Kapla or a themed museum like Choco-Story (chocolate, with a tasting) give the outing a thread.

The Monnaie de Paris museum and the Museum of Hunting and Nature are more unusual, best for curious kids. For more classic museums, see our guide to Paris museums by age.

Planning your day

On Île-de-France public transport, children under 4 travel free. At national museums such as the Louvre and Orsay, entry is free for under-18s, though booking a slot still helps during school holidays.

Go in the morning for busy places, keep a plan B for the weather (see our rainy-day guide), and do not try to see everything: one main activity and a snack break is plenty.

For bigger days out, Disneyland Paris (Chessy) and Kingooroo (Aubervilliers, a large indoor play space) are outside central Paris but reachable by public transport.