|
| |
|
KIDS' PARIS |
| |
|
|
| |
With its vibrant street atmosphere, buskers and lively pavement
cafés, Paris holds an immediate appeal for many children . The most
popular tourist attractions such as the Eiffel Tower and boat trips on
the Seine are also sure to delight the young. Don't necessarily rule out
museums - some, such as the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Pompidou Centre
and Parc de la Villette, have interactive displays and hands-on
activities, designed to appeal to all ages. When your children get fed
up of trawling the streets you can recharge batteries in one of the
city's many parks and gardens. And if you really want to give the
kiddies a treat, Disneyland Paris is just outside the city, and there's
also the home-grown theme park to the north, Parc Astérix.
The French are extremely welcoming to children on the whole. Many
restaurants and cafés offer a special menu enfant or are willing to cook
simpler food on request. Hotels tack on only a small supplement to the
regular room rate for an additional bed or cot.
Parks and gardens
Children are well catered for by the parks and gardens within the city.
There's even a park designed especially for kids, the Jardin
d'Acclimatation , in the Bois de Boulogne, with an impressive array of
activities and attractions. On the other side of the city in the Bois de
Vincennes, the Parc Floral also offers a host of treats, and the high-tech
Parc de la Villette , in the northeast of the city, will keep children
entertained for hours. Most of the city's other parks have some
activities for children, usually an enclosed playground with swings,
climbing frames and often a sandpit. Many also have guignol (puppet)
shows, the French equivalent of Punch and Judy.
Funfairs
Three big funfairs ( fête foraines ) take place in Paris each year. The
season kicks off in late March with the Fête du Trône in the Bois de
Vincennes (running until late May), followed by the funfair in the
Tuileries gardens in mid-June to late August, with more than forty rides
including a giant ferris wheel, and ending up with the Fête à Neu Neu,
held nearthe Bois de Boulogne from early September to the beginning of
October. Look up "Fêtes Populaires" under "Agendas" in Pariscope for
details if you're in town at these times.
Out of season, rue de Rivoli around St-Paul métro stop occasionally
hosts a mini-fairground, and there's usually a merry-go-round at the
Forum des Halles and beneath Tour St-Jacques at Châtelet. Merry-go-rounds
for smaller children are to be found on place de la République, at the
Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées by avenue Matignon, at place de la Nation,
and at the base of the Montmartre funicular in place St-Pierre. The
going rate for a ride is ¬1.53
Circuses
Circuses ( cirques ) are taken seriously in France and come under the
heading of culture as performance art (and there are no qualms about
performing animals). As circuses tend to travel, you'll find details of
the seasonal ones under "Cirques" in the "Jeunes" section of L'Officiel
des Spectacles and under the same heading in the "Enfants" section of
Pariscope . The Cirque Diana Moreno Bormann, Grands Sablons, at the
Jardin d'Acclimatation, 16e\up6 (tel 01.45.00.23.01; Mº Sablons) is a
perennial favorite; admission prices start at ¬10.67.
Museums
One of the city's best treats for children of every age from three
upwards is the Cité des Sciences in the Parc de la Villette. A number of
other museums may also appeal to children, for example the under-touristed
Musée des Arts Africains et Océaniens , with its masks, tropical fish
and live crocodiles; the Grande Galerie de l'Évolution offers a
children's discovery room on the first floor with child-level
microscopes, glass cases with live caterpillars and moths and a burrow
of Mongolian rodents. Doll-lovers should enjoy the Musée de la Poupée .
The Pompidou Centre has a children's espace , consisting of a room
filled with hands-on exhibits. Paris has two excellent planetariums , in
the Palais de la Découverte and the Cité des Sciences.
For a more earthy experience, you could visit les égouts - the sewers -
at place de la Résistance, in the 7e. Dank, damp, dripping,
claustrophobic and filled with echoes, this is just the sort of place
pre-teens love. Another underground experience popular with youngsters
is the catacombs at 1 place Denfert-Rochereau, 14e.
Shops
The fact that Paris is filled with beautiful, enticing, delicious and
expensive things all artfully displayed is not lost on most modern
youngsters. Toys, gadgets and clothing are all bright, colourful and
very appealing, while the sheer amount of ice cream, chocolate, candy,
and sweets of all shapes and sizes is almost overwhelming
Theme parks
Disneyland Paris has put all Paris's other theme parks in the shade and
is one of the country's top visitor attractions. The enchanted kingdom
certainly works its magic on most children, though if you're prepared to
make the effort to get there, Parc Astérix theme park, north of Paris,
is better mind-fodder and cheaper than Disney.
|
| |
|
