Paris With Tweens: What Actually Worked for Our Family

We spent five days in Paris with our two tweens, and one of my biggest takeaways was that I had underestimated what they would find interesting.

I expected the Eiffel Tower to work. I expected the boat ride on the Seine to work. I did not expect the Louvre to become their favorite experience.

Paris reminded me that traveling with older kids isn't necessarily about making everything more “kid-friendly.” Sometimes it's about giving them enough context and curiosity to discover what they like for themselves.

Our Paris strategy: only 1–2 anchors a day

I generally planned one or two anchor activities each day, mixing sightseeing with eating, shopping, hands-on experiences and time to wander. Paris involves a lot of walking even when you use the Metro, and five consecutive days of major attractions can become exhausting quickly.

Shopping, ice cream, neighborhood wandering and meals weren't filler between the “important” things. They were part of what kept the trip enjoyable.

Our first Paris lesson: air conditioning isn't necessarily what Americans expect

We arrived near the end of a heat dome. Our hotel had air conditioning, but the room stayed much warmer than we expected, and our first couple of nights were difficult for sleeping. If you're visiting during extreme summer heat, I would ask specific questions about room cooling rather than simply checking whether a hotel lists “air conditioning.”

Notre Dame turned into an unexpected family lesson

Notre Dame was the first church Jade and Enzo had ever visited. That meant I unexpectedly found myself explaining quite a lot: why Jesus was killed, how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit fit together, and what different religious symbols meant. Enzo also took one look at the holy water and decided it didn't seem particularly sanitary.

Jade played the Notre Dame Adventure in Adventure Quest. I wasn't playing alongside her. The missions prompted her to notice details such as gargoyles and flying buttresses, and then she came to me with questions. Rather than me pointing at a flying buttress and trying to convince my child that medieval structural engineering was fascinating, she noticed it herself and wanted to know what it did.

The Louvre was the biggest surprise of Paris

I wasn't sure how the Louvre would go. It's enormous, crowded and filled with art, history and culture. We also got in later than planned because the museum had closed temporarily for a meeting. By the time we entered, there were lines and lots of people.

And somehow, the kids loved it.

The Mona Lisa got their attention because they already knew it. But familiarity only got them started. They became fascinated by the Egyptian collections, Roman art and the enormous paintings.

They played the Louvre Experience in Adventure Quest and completed all eight missions. The missions were open-ended prompts—find a famous face, notice a sculpture that seems to be moving or telling a story, look for an ancient clue, pay attention to ceilings and light—rather than a checklist of masterpieces.

Then something even better happened: they finished all eight missions and wanted to keep exploring. They could have played more missions, but they didn't need to. Their own curiosity had taken over. We spent around four hours inside, nobody got lost, and nobody was begging to leave.

Picasso taught us the opposite lesson

We hadn't planned to visit the Picasso Museum. We were walking through Le Marais, happened upon it and decided to go in. It did not produce another Louvre moment. Enzo especially found the abstract work boring and didn't find it visually appealing in the same way the Louvre's art was.

That was useful too: a child who loves the Louvre does not necessarily “love art museums.” Different collections create very different reactions. Le Marais itself, however, was fun to wander, and we found an Asian restaurant there that gave us a welcome change of food.

Eiffel Tower: the experience didn't need a game

I bought our Eiffel Tower tickets online in advance. We met our guide a couple of blocks away and he led us in. Nobody needed Adventure Quest. Going up the tower was already interactive and interesting enough. We took a ton of pictures, looked out over Paris and simply experienced being there.

That's something I've learned using AQ in the field: not every moment needs another layer.

Pair the Eiffel Tower with a Seine cruise

We also booked our Seine boat tour in advance. By then our legs were tired from all the walking, and the boat was exactly what we needed. We could continue sightseeing without continuing to walk. Big active landmark → sit down → watch Paris pass by.

Arc de Triomphe: worry about the parents, not the kids

The climb involves a long, tight spiral staircase. Jade and Enzo handled it like champs. The parents were the ones stopping to rest. The view at the top was worth it, and finding ice cream nearby afterward didn't hurt.

Montmartre in the rain

It rained while we explored Montmartre, but we still climbed the stairs and made our way up the hill. I got to explain the meaning behind the locks we saw on the fences, and Sacré-Cœur gave us another kind of church experience. My husband Roberto found that cathedral particularly interesting because of the different saints.

The Metro worked for us

We used the Paris Metro for most of our transportation. Even using transit, we still walked plenty. I would not build a Paris itinerary around maximizing step counts with kids. Save their legs—and yours—for the places where walking is actually part of the experience.

Would I recommend five days in Paris with tweens?

Yes. Five days gave us enough time to see major landmarks without trying to fit five major landmarks into every day.

• Plan 1–2 anchors.
• Mix demanding experiences with easy ones.
• Use the Metro.
• Leave room for shopping and wandering.
• Book major timed attractions ahead.
• Don't assume you already know which experience your kids are going to love.

I would have predicted the Eiffel Tower. They surprised me with the Louvre. Those surprises are part of why we travel.