Visiting Paris with Kids? La Belle Paris Art, History and Culture That Kids Will Love!

The City of Lights. Paris. It's a destination almost everyone dreams of and those who've been are often drawn back, time after time, by the art, history, culture and romance that flow through the city as surely as the Seine. It is a place to visit with the lover of a lifetime for a romantic escape, but it is also the perfect place to take the kids for a fun filled adventure through some of the most impressive art, history and culture that the world has to offer. If you're creative, maybe you can even sneak in that romantic evening you've always dreamt of!

Art
Don't be afraid to take your kids to art museums! Far from being "boring" halls with "nothing to do" art museums are filled with magical portals into "other worlds" painted by magicians who have the magic to transport those who will really take the time to look across time and space to visit places that cannot be visited any other way. Encourage your kids to look at the art in that light. Ask questions: "What do you see in that painting?" "What is happening just beyond the edges of the picture that we cannot see?" "Who is that lady? Man? Child?" Resist the urge to rush through the Louvre like everyone else, ticking of the "major finds" on your brochure. Instead, take a wander through the places "less traveled" and allow your child to make friends with the statues and spend the day with Vermeer. Taking this approach allowed us to discover that our youngest has a penchant for impressionist art… he loves it and has a story to tell about every single piece.

A list of museums is hardly necessary. The Louvre alone deserves a week. The Musee d'Orsay has the best collection of Rodin sculptures in town, and a LOT of impressionist pieces, which made Ezra very happy. There are so many excellent collections, and even more minor, hole in the wall type museums dotted across Paris that I hesitate to suggest too many lest you stick too religiously to a list. One great way to see many of the museums at a significantly reduced cost is to purchase the Museum Pass, which is available at any of the major museums as well as the tourist bureaus. For one price you'll get unlimited admission to the participating museums for a specific number of days. This means you can do the Louvre in one hour chunks if you need to and keep the littlest art lovers happy! Most museums in Paris are FREE for children, which is good news in one of the most expensive cities in the world!

History
It is impossible to visit Paris without being affected by its long and rich history. From the Palaces of Versailles and Vincennes reflecting an opulence and excessiveness that lead to the French Revolution to the Conciergerie which housed the prisoners of the Revolution (including Marie Antoinette) and the tribunal which condemned them to death, history is all around you. Architectural history abounds: learn about the World's Fair as you visit the engineering marvel of its day that is the Eiffel Tower (be sure to pay the big bucks and go clear to the top, it really is worth it) L'Arc de Triomphe and the monument that commemorates the location of the Bastille. The Louvre itself was once a palace and in the basement you can even see the remains of the walls of the old fort that stood in that spot even earlier. Do you have kids who love music? Paris has an enormous amount of musical history. Attend an opera and step into another world with your child, one where music IS the story. Too expensive? Then take a day and head to the Pere LaChaise Cemetery where you'll find the graves of musicians as varies as Chopin and Jim Morrison as well as people from every walk of life, those you've heard of and those you haven't. Pick up a map at the entrance, bring a picnic lunch, and spend the day wandering through the greats of Parisian history. Walk rue St. Antoine and shop the length of the historical district made famous in Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Let me know if you find Defarge's wine shop, we never did.

Culture
Paris is home to unique culture that blends history, the arts and some of the best food on the planet. From the moment you arrive in Paris you'll be swimming in a culture that is rich and at the same time very down to earth. Parisians have mastered the art of blending the finer things into everyday life. This is nowhere more evident than in their enjoyment of food. Be sure to sit down at a street side café and order a coffee and watch the world go by. Treat your kids to crepes from one of the many hole in the wall crepe shops. Even try a Mexican Crepe if you can find one, sounds weird, but, they're delicious! Any child would love an afternoon of free play in les Jardins Tuileries. Ride the carousel, take a pony ride, or just find one of the many playgrounds and let them learn a little French playing with the local kids. It is right next to the Louvre, so it makes a great refresher after a long morning of quiet in the museum!

Just Do It!

If you've been dreaming of a trip to Paris but have been waiting for the "right time" stop waiting and just do it! There are often discounted airfares available from all over the world to Paris that can get you there on a dime. If you go on the shoulder seasons (spring, before school is out and fall, after school is back in session) you'll find hotels cheaper, museums less crowded and the weather still lovely. Paris is the perfect place to take kids for an "ed-venture" they'll never forget!

For more information on visiting Paris, and to learn more about combining education and adventure, please visit: www.edventureproject.com

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