What to do in Paris with 11 year old DGD

A boat trip on the Seine is brilliant and you see all The landmarks without having to walk for miles. The art gallery I like best is the Rodin Museum which had a lovely garden and not huge. I have taken students there in the past and they loved it.

Years ago we went on a tour of the Paris sewers! It was very interesting!

Disneyland - I hardly dare suggest this after the previous cultural pursuits!

www.gransnet.com/forums/travel/1198659-Travelling-to-Paris-with-a-grandchild

This is an old thread, Grannynise, but there may well be some ideas you might find interesting.

When I was 10, I went to Paris with my grandmother. Part of the visit was to visit Cousine Therese, but we went to the Eiffel Tower,
saw the Arc de Triomphe, Notre dame . But what I still remember, more than half a century later was the Musee Grevin. I guess it it a bit different now, but it is still there according to Google:-)

The bus tours are great especially if you sit upstairs. We had been to Paris several times before we took a ride and just saw so much more.

The Louvre is daunting but the Muse d'Orsay is a delight. Mind you there is nothing to stop you choosing a few galleries of a larger Museum and limiting the choice. To be honest its what I do anyway. I decide before hand on what pictures/displays I want to see and self limit the visit.
The boat trips on the Seine are good too....you can use them as a sort of hop on hop off service.

I agree re the bus tours. We have done this in lots of cities - New Yor, Madrid etc and it's a great way to see the city.

or New York even!

Hi Grannynise. How wonderful that you are taking your 11 year old granddaughter to Paris. I used to live there and for decades afterwords took students on study trips there. I suggest the following to do with an 11year old:

-Tour Eiffel + rides on the beajtiful caroussel( merry-go-round) opposite it. Buy multiple tickets as she will want to go round and round
- Bateaux Mouches( pick up onquai opposite Eiffel Tower( or Bateaux Parisiens, pickup under the "Pont neuf" which is actually the oldest bridge in Paris, despite the name. Worth doing this twice: once inthe morning and in the early evening, another time. It is magical to see the lights of Paris go on from your river vantage point.
--Notre Dame + climb up to the top for a spectacular human view of the city, a view of the famous bell, and she might know ghe qtory of the hunchback, otherwise, you can tell her
--La Sainte Chapelle , just a five minute walk from Notre Dame( within the grounds of the Supreme Court), fabulous ( and small) jewel of a chapelle: you will both be enchanted by the stained glass windows
--Centre Pompidou: musuem of modern art with much to interest a child, not least of all the structure itself, the escalator that gives a fabulous free view of Paris and the artists, jugglers, street performers outside
--I'd skip the Louvre( too big for first visit and tortuous and crowded to wade through to see only highlights, BUT take her to see the pyramid in the courtyard and have a chat about the juxtaposition of this in such a classical surrounding( free here). AND DO CROSS "Le Pont des B eaux Arts" in front of the Louvre and watch the artists drawing on the pavement
--Musee D'Orsay: great but will be crowded. Head for the ground floor only for the highlights, if you go.
--MUSEE RODIN- wonderful visit of Rodin's sculptures and gardens. The Thinker is in the garden and would provoke a great discussion with an 11year old. OPPOSITE is The Invalides with its golden dome. You can tell her about Napoleon, who is buried there
--JARDIN DE LUXEMBOURG: forget Eurodisney, go here for fun and real Parisian atmosphere. There is a wonderful lake where children sail model boats AND a terrofic activities playground which costs about 6 euros per person to enter( they stamp your hand) and she will have a great time on all the marvellous equipment, then you can lunch or have a snack in the outdoor café
--I would also tell an 11 year old about the Latin Quarter and walk around it, drinking inthe atmosphere and student life
--FINISH up with a visit to MONTMARTRE, which is in the 18th arrpndissement in Northern Paris: fun and full of stories to delight her, as well as fabulous views( beware of pickpockets

--ALSO, take her for a great ice-cream CHEZ BERTHILLON on the ILE ST LOUIS and let her see Paris from this tiny island on the Seine, behind Notre Dame

PM me if you would like more info. I could go on forever.
Have fun, both of you!

Forgot to add that just walking in Paris, with breaks in cafés, is the one of the loveliest things you could do with her and just chatting about what you see.

It looks as if we'll have to make a few more visits! Thanks for all the super suggestions.

The only suggestion I can add is..........take me with you!!

As a 12-year-old, I remember being really impressed by a day trip to Versailles.

I'm trying to put myself into the mind of an 11-year-old, but it's difficult without knowing what her interests are. The big expensive shops might be attractive - Galeries Lafayette, or all the designer outlets along the Champs Elysees.

She may be content just to have croissants and cocoa and watch the people at Montmartre and on the steps around Sacre Coeur.

Here are some walking tours for families:

www.localers.com/our-tours-in-Paris/category/family-tours-of-paris

Not a long trip to the Louvre but pop and see Mona Lisa that's part of her education.
+ go high and see views of the city

My GS brought home a letter last week about a school trip to Paris they are doing in Year 6 (next year). I asked him if he would like to go. "No" he replied, "F says his brother went and it's just a lot of boring museums!" That didn't cut any ice with his parents of course. I hope you and your DGD have a really lovely time, Grannynise - it's a wonderful city.

I expect someone on here has said this before but if you take the boat on the seine you can get on and off at different places. Just have to buy your tickets before you start. Did this with my daughter we had a great time

How about les egouts de Paris? The historic sewers of Paris. They are interesting and not as smelly as you would think.

There's a new perfume museum just opened in Paris. Roden's museum is excellent and the musee d'orsay is worth a visit. The sewers are fun and the famous cemetery plus Monmatre is well worth a visit. There's a crypt with lots of bones too. It depends how old your grand daughter is I suppose.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions. We're off on Tuesday and I'll let you know how we get on.

We like the "Hop on hop off" open transports. Great overview.

We had an absolutely lovely time. Your suggestions will be useful for our next Parisian break, we just didn't have enough time for everything that we wanted to do.

Catacombs might appeal to some? If so check opening hours.