Paris for The Little Ones

Contributed By Betsey Brown

Paris has been on my radar my entire life, and between French classes and the classic American Girl Doll Grace Thomas (who goes to Paris to become a pastry chef) my girls too became obsessed with the city of lights.  

It was the ultimate girls trip in the making, and I just knew that having my Mom there would make it that much more special. We wanted to meet Paris on a leisurely pace and really get to know the city. So, we decided to spend six nights in Paris splitting our time between Le Meurice across the street from the Tuileries Garden and the Peninsula Paris right around the corner from Arc de Triomphe. 

In retrospect, we probably could have stayed there weeks longer. We did hit some tourist attractions, after all how could one go to Paris for the first time and not visit the Eiffel Tower? But, we gave it our best effort to try and stay as local as possible, we kept our schedule open and asked the locals lots of questions on where to eat and which corners of the city to check out.  Without further ado, here are some of our absolute favorite places to go, see, stay, and do!

Stay: Favorite Family-Friendly Hotels

• Hotel Plaza Athenee – The location, the red flowers surrounding every window, and the courtyard that turns into an ice skating rink in the winter – everything about it, true perfection! The girls gave it two thumbs up as we visited a suite, had the best view of the Eiffel tower and had a video game console delivered to the room!

• Le Meurice – Perfect in every way for families. Suites are spacious, plus the darling French details, there’s no mistaking where you are, and the views overlooking the Tuileries!  Our favorite feature was the frozen mirror at the entrance, every time we entered the lobby the girls signed their names and drew pictures on it, just magical.
• Le Royal Monceau – Gorgeous lobby, amazing bar and extremely friendly staff.  The location truly cannot be beat, one block from one of our favorite parks in Paris and five minutes away from the Arc de Triomphe.
• Le Bristol – The kids room received two-thumbs up and the girls get to meet Fa-Raon and Kléopatre, the two famous white Birman cats ruling over Le Bristol.  The open courtyard and very warm atmosphere of the rooms was a true winning combinaton.

• The Peninsula Paris – the gorgeous lobby sold us from the start. The girls loved the glass crystal leaves hanging above their heads. The mini-robes, slippers, and Peninsula bears immediately sold the girls, but it was the pool is that stole their hearts at this hotel!

Favorite Places

1. Tuileries Garden– The girls loved the ferris wheel and jumping on the trampolines. This was located directly across from Le Meurice and in the summer months there is a full carnival everyday.  It cannot be beat!

2. Eiffel Tower – I organized a VIP access tour of the tower and it was a great success with our family. We enjoyed an organized tour that pointed out all the great sights in Paris from the Eiffel Tower. The highlight of our tours for sure!

3. L’Osteria dell’ Anima– Amazing Italian restaurant with six tables.  We randomly stumbled upon this and it was our favorite restaurant by far.  It is not fancy, but who needs that when they are making pasta right in front of your eyes!

4. Montmartre to visit local artists, some hot chocolate, and finished off with a stop at Pierre Herme for its famous french macarons.

5. The Peninsula Pool, my girls couldn’t get enough of it.

Favorite Activities

• A trip to Park Monceau and after, a leisurely lunch at Alain Ducasse La Cour Jardin at Hotel Plaza Athenee.

• Cooking School at L’atelier des Sens. Inspired by Grace Thomas, we had to make macarons with the charming Chef Jean.
• A Flytographer shoot with with Gonçalo. Flytographer is a community of carefully chosen local photographers at over 190 locations worldwide who will meet you and take beautiful candid images as you explore their city. We came home with beautiful souvenirs and the girls felt like celebrities!
• A Four hour tour of Paris with a car and driver guide. It was great way to quickly see the city and understand the highlights.

• The Scavenger Hunt at Le Meurice.  The girls could not wait for this and the staff was truly darling with them!  We enjoyed some champagne while the girls were lead to discover this gorgeous property through all the hidden secrets of the hotel that was the former “home” for Salvador Dali!  A picture on the ceiling, hidden animals and a fun surprise at the end.
• The Louvre Treasure Hunt. A huge museum made interesting to little eyes!  We searched for pictures, discovered true masterpieces and were on a family mission!

Interested in working with Betsey Brown on your next Parisian getaway? Get in touch via email at betsey@smartflyer.com.