Top Kids’ Activities and Sights
Paris works surprisingly well with children—smart parents enjoy the “fine art” of simply experiencing Paris’ great neighborhoods, parks, and monuments while watching their kids revel in the City of Light. After enjoying the city’s most family-friendly sights, your children may want to return to Paris before you do.
Choose hotels in a kid-friendly area near a park. The Rue Cler and Luxembourg neighborhoods are both good. If you’re staying a week or more, rent an apartment (see here).
If traveling with infants, plan on bringing or buying a light stroller (poussette) for neighborhood walks, and a child backpack (porte bébé) for riding the Métro. Strollers usually work fine on the bus (enter through buses’ larger central doors, then park the stroller in the designated poussette area...if there’s room), but they’re tough in the Métro (miles of stairs). Many sights allow either strollers or backpacks, but usually not both (some museums that don’t allow backpacks even provide strollers).
If traveling with older kids, you can help them keep in touch with friends at home with cheap texting plans and by email. Hotel guest computers and Wi-Fi hotspots are a godsend. Readily available Wi-Fi (at hotels, some cafés, and all Starbucks and McDonald’s) makes bringing a mobile device worthwhile. Most parents find it worth the peace of mind to buy a supplemental messaging plan for the whole family: Adults can stay connected to teenagers while allowing them maximum independence (see here).
Get your kids into the Parisian spirit with books and movies about France. Watch or read the Madeline stories by Ludwig Bemelmans, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, or Dumas’ Man in the Iron Mask. Anni’s Diary of France by Anni Axworthy, a picture-filled book about a young girl’s trip, could inspire your children.
How Would You Survive in the Middle Ages? by Fiona MacDonald is an appealing “guide” for kids. Serious kid historians will devour The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia. Paris, by Renzo Rossi, is a fun introduction to the city and its history, told mainly through illustrations. Cathedral, by David Macauley, re-creates the building of a French Gothic cathedral in detailed pen-and-ink sketches. If your children are interested in art, get your hands on The History of Art for Young People by Anthony Janson and Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters by MaryAnn Kohl. (Also see “Recommended Books and Movies,” including some good choices for teenagers, on here.)
Bring along plenty of kids’ books; they’re harder to find and more expensive in Paris. If you run out, visit one of the English-language bookstores listed on here.
Try these tips to keep your kids content throughout the day.
• Eat dinner early, before the sophisticated Parisian crowd dines (aim for sitting down at 19:00-19:30 at restaurants, earlier at cafés). Skip romantic places.
• Look for cafés (or fast-food restaurants) where kids can move around without bothering others. For a review of kid-friendly restaurants, check www.bebeguide.com/restaurants-et-cafes-avec-bebe/2 (though the site is in French, the key information—addresses, prices, and photos—is easy enough to glean).
• Kid-friendly foods that are commonly available and easy to order include crêpes (available at many take-out stands), croque monsieurs (grilled ham and cheese sandwiches), and tartines (open-faced sandwiches). For breakfast, try a pain au chocolat (chocolate-filled pastry) or dip your baguette in a chocolat chaud (hot chocolate). Fruit, cereals, and yogurt are usually available. Carry a baguette to snack on.
• If your kids love peanut butter, bring it from home (hard to find in France) for food emergencies…or help them acquire a taste for Nutella, the tasty hazelnut-chocolate spread available everywhere.
• Picnics work well. Boulangeries are good places to grab off-hour snacks when restaurants aren’t serving.
The key to a successful Paris family vacation is to slow down. Take extended breaks when needed.
• Have a “what if” procedure in case something goes wrong. Give each child a business card from your hotel, along with your contact information and taxi fare, to use if you get separated. If they have a mobile phone, make sure they know how to use it in Paris (see here).
• Involve your children in the trip. Let them help choose daily activities, lead you through the Métro, and so on.
• Check the Paris TI website for hours and prices for children’s activities, including shows, museums, and park events (www.parisinfo.com). You can also look under “Enfants” in Pariscope magazine (see here).
• Limit museum visits to 45 minutes—period! Kids will tolerate a little culture if it’s short and focused, with plenty of breaks. At the Eiffel Tower, that first level may be plenty (rather than waiting in line for the top).
• Follow this book’s crowd-beating tips to the letter. Kids despise long lines even more than you do.
• Since school lets out early on Wednesdays, expect Wednesday afternoons to be busy days at parks and other children’s sights.
• Museum audioguides are great for older children. For younger children, hit the gift shop first so they can buy postcards and have a scavenger hunt to find the pictured artwork. When boredom sets in, try “I spy” games or have them count how many babies or dogs they can spot in all the paintings in the room.
• To up your toy supply, check large department stores, such as Bon Marché, which tend to have a good selection (see the Shopping in Paris chapter). Visit a bookstore to pick out books together (see here).
• Learn and play boules, a form of outdoor bowling (see the sidebar on here). The best thing we did on one trip was to buy our own set of boules. We’d play before dinner, side by side with real players at the neighborhood park. Buy your boules de pétanque at the Décathlon sports store (Mon-Sat 9:30-20:00, closed Sun, in Commercial les Trois Quartiers mini-mall, 23 Boulevard de la Madeleine, Mo: Madeleine, check their website for other locations, www.decathlon.fr). The boules make great (if weighty) souvenirs and also provide entertainment (and memories) once you’re back home.
• Instead of hot daytime sightseeing, try a nighttime stroll among the street performers on Paris’ pedestrian-friendly streets. See “Night Walks” on here for ideas.
When it comes to sightseeing with kids, don’t overdo it. Tackle one key sight each day (Louvre, Orsay, Versailles), and mix it with a healthy dose of lighter activities. To minimize unnecessary travel, try to match kid activities with areas where you’ll be sightseeing (e.g., the Louvre is near the kid-friendly Palais Royal’s courtyards and Tuileries Garden). Kids prefer the Louvre after dark, when it’s less busy (Wed and Fri only). Additional kid-friendly sights are located within Paris parks; see “Parks and Gardens,” later.
Note: At some sights (such as the Army Museum and Arc de Triomphe), Museum Pass holders must wait in line to pick up their free children’s tickets.
You could fill an entire kid-centric day here. Come early and ride the elevator up the tower before crowds appear, or ride it above the lights at night (
see the Eiffel Tower Tour chapter). The Champ de Mars park stretches out from the tower’s base, with picnic-perfect benches, big toys, sand pits, pony rides, puppet shows, and pedal go-carts. Big toys are located at the non-river end of the park (with your back to the tower, it’s to the right). The pony rides, puppet shows, and go-carts are in the center in the park (usually after 11:00 Wed, Sat-Sun, and on all summer days; after 15:00 otherwise, Mo: Ecole Militaire, RER-C: Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel, or bus #69).
All ages enjoy the view from Trocadéro, across the river from the Eiffel Tower, especially after dark (Mo: Trocadéro). The terrific National Maritime Museum (Musée National de la Marine) is docked at Trocadéro, with all things nautical, including wonderful ship models (see listing on here; the Musée de l’Homme anthropological museum next door is closed through 2015). The Cinéaqua aquarium/cinema in the gardens below the Trocadéro boasts 10,000 fish in more than 40 tanks (some English explanations), along with regular shows (French only) and subtitled kids’ movies, usually with a sea-creatures theme (students and kids under age 12-€13, ages 13-17-€16, adults-€21, daily 10:00-19:00, 5 Avenue Albert de Mun, Mo: Trocadéro, tel. 01 40 69 23 23, www.cineaqua.com).
Paris’ famous Gothic cathedral doesn’t have to be just old and boring. Replay Quasimodo’s stunt and climb the tower (go early to avoid long lines). Kids love being on such a lofty perch with a face-to-face look at a gargoyle. The crypt on the square in front of Notre-Dame is quick and interesting (covered by Museum Pass). Kids can push buttons to highlight remains of Roman Paris and leave with a better understanding of how different civilizations build on top of each other. The small but beautiful park along the river outside Notre-Dame’s right transept has sandboxes, picnic benches, and space to run (Mo: Cité). My preteen son loved the traffic-free lanes of the Latin Quarter across the river.
See the Historic Paris Walk chapter.
This area is popular with teenagers, day and night. Mine couldn’t get enough of it. Watch the crazy traffic rush around the Arc de Triomphe for endless entertainment, then stroll Avenue des Champs-Elysées with its car dealerships (particularly Renault’s razzle-dazzle café), Disney store, and the river of humanity that flows along its broad sidewalks. Take your teenager to see a movie on the Champs-Elysées (“v.o.” next to the showtime means it’s shown in the original language).
See the Champs-Elysées Walk chapter.
Teens like the Pompidou Center for its crazy outdoor entertainers, throngs of young people, happening cafés, and fun fountains next door (but it’s dead on Tue, when museum is closed). Inside, the temporary exhibits and gift shop on the main floor are visually impressive. The Star Wars-esque escalator to the top is a kick for all ages.
See the Pompidou Center Tour chapter.
The newly renovated Paris Zoo is spectacular, re-creating habitats from five continents for both beasts and visitors to enjoy. Visit the modern glass greenhouse and walk among colorful birds, jumping monkeys, and other furry tree-dwellers. Combining time at the zoo with a picnic lunch (pick up elsewhere) in the Bois de Vincennes park (with paddleboats, pony rides, and chateau tours) is a delightful way to spend the day.
Cost and Hours: Adults-€22, ages 12-25-€16.50, ages 3-11-€14, under age 3-free; March-Oct Mon-Fri 10:00-18:00, Sat-Sun 9:30-19:30, Nov-April daily 10:00-17:00; Mo: Porte Dorée or St. Mandé, then 15-minute walk—head toward the skyscraper-sized rock at edge of Bois de Vincennes; bus #46 or #86 bring you closer, tel. 08 11 22 41 22, www.parczoologiquedeparis.fr.
For budding artistes a trip here is a must. This small art museum near the Louvre, designed with the youngest of art lovers in mind, offers contemporary art exhibits, a colorful bookstore, and workshops where kids can make their own art. Reservations are required for all workshops—which are offered only in French—but the smiling, paint-covered kids don’t seem to mind.
Cost and Hours: €6, daily 10:00-19:00; €10 one-hour workshops offered daily July-Aug, Wed and Sat only during school year, for ages 2.5–5 parents must stay, for ages 5–12 parents must leave; call, email, or stop by to reserve; 21 Rue Hérold, Mo: Palais Royal, tel. 01 40 67 97 66, www.musee-en-herbe.com, resa.meh@gmail.com.
This massive conglomeration of palaces, gardens, fountains, and forest can be brutal—or a good family getaway if well-planned. Avoid Tuesdays and Sundays, when the place is packed from open to close; the gardens also get quite crowded on weekends from April through October, when the fountains are flowing. On other days, arrive around 11:00, and do the gardens first and the interior later, when crowds subside. Note that strollers are allowed in the gardens, but not inside the palace (you’ll have to check yours). Rent a bike and let the kids go wild on park paths (bikes of all sizes are available, even toddler bikes with training wheels). Or explore the gardens in a rented golf cart—while pricey (€32/hour), it’s great fun and extremely easy. (For liability reasons, the staff wants only parents to do the driving, but once away from the palace...) Or you can row row row a boat on the Grand Canal or attend an equestrian performance at Versailles’ stables. The Domaine de Marie-Antoinette has trails for scampering on, and her Hamlet has barnyard animals up close and personal (keep in mind that the Domaine does not open until noon).
See the Versailles chapter.
Paris’s public parks are perhaps your single best source of kid-friendly fun (especially on Wednesdays, when school gets out early). Besides providing an outlet for high-energy kids (and a chance for the whole family to take a sightseeing breather), Parisian parks host a variety of activities, many of them with a quintessentially French flair.
Marionette shows, called guignols (geen-yohl), can be interesting for children patient enough to sit still. Shows are in French, but have fairly easy-to-follow plots and some internationally understood slapstick (look for them in bigger parks, such as Luxembourg Garden, and check Pariscope or L’Officiel des Spectacles, under “Marionettes,” for times and places). The game of boules is played nearly everywhere (for rules, see here). Temporary amusement parks pop up in public parks throughout the city; the summer Ferris wheel and rides in the Tuileries Garden are the best—my daughter preferred them to Disneyland Paris. You can rent toy boats to sail on a park’s pond, or rent real rowboats at bigger parks, such as in Versailles’ gardens (along the Grand Canal) or in the huge Bois de Vincennes (€12/hour, refundable deposit, Mo: Porte Dorée). Bigger parks can be perfect for a relaxing bike ride. Pony rides are offered on certain days in some parks, such as Luxembourg Garden, the Champ de Mars, and the Bois de Vincennes; to learn when and where the ponies are trotting, check www.animaponey.com or call 06 07 32 53 95.
This is my favorite place to mix kid business with pleasure. This perfectly Parisian park has it all—from tennis courts to cafés—as well as an extensive big-toys play area with imaginative slides, swings, jungle gyms, rope towers, and chess games (see map on here). To find the big-toys play area, head to the southwest corner (small fee, entry good all day, many parents watch from chairs outside the play area, open daily, usually 10:00-19:00 in summer, until 16:00 in winter, pay WC nearby). Kids also like the speedy merry-go-round (small fee), the pony rides (by the tennis courts), and the toy sailboats for rent in the main pond (activities open daily in summer, otherwise only Wed and Sat-Sun). Near the main building is a toddler wading pool (summer only) and sand pit (both free). A puppet theater hosts guignol shows (in French), located in the southwest corner of the park near the children’s play area (about €5; shows year-round Sat-Sun at 11:00 and also Sat-Sun and Wed at 15:30 or 16:00—times vary by season, 1-2 shows daily for most of July-Aug, check schedule online; 45 minutes, no air-con, tel. 01 43 26 46 47, www.marionnettesduluxembourg.fr). The park has many shaded paths as well as big, open areas perfect for kicking a ball. Kids can even play in the grass opposite the palace (Mo: St. Sulpice, Odéon, or Notre-Dame-des-Champs).
This central park, located between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde, across the river from the Orsay Museum, comes in handy for kid breaks. You’ll find the usual children’s activities on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays (toy sailboat rental in pond and pony rides) and fun trampolines in the northwest corner of the park near the Place de la Concorde Métro stop (€2.50 for 5-10 minutes, 2-12-year-olds only, daily 11:00-19:00, see map on here for specific location). Nearby is a play area with rope towers and slides, and an old-fashioned merry-go-round. The Tuileries Garden also hosts a summer fair with rides, games, and a huge Ferris wheel.
These colorful gardens are a must for gardeners and good for kids. Located on the Left Bank southeast of the Latin Quarter, the park is short on grass but long on kid activities, including several play areas and two kid-friendly natural-science museums (both closed Tue and described below). There’s also a zoo, but it has just a few animals in old cages. From the park entrance near the river on Place Valhubert, you’ll find these museums lining the left side of the park (Mo: Gare d’Austerlitz or Jussieu).
Young kids enjoy the dinosaur exhibit at the Galerie d’Anatomie Comparée et de Paléontologie; there are no English explanations, but they’re not really needed (adults-€7, under age 27-free, not covered by Museum Pass, Wed-Mon 10:00-17:00, until 18:00 on April-Sept weekends, closed Tue, busiest on weekends, entrance faces river next to McDonald’s).
The Grande Galerie de l’Evolution, at the non-river end of the park, is an Old World museum describing the evolution of animals. It features a giant whale skeleton, tons of dead bugs under glass, all sorts of taxidermied animals, and many other cool exhibits. Pick up the English map and look for the good English explanations (fiches de lecture) inserted into wood benches throughout the gallery (adults-€7, under age 27-free, not covered by Museum Pass, Wed-Mon 10:00-18:00, closed Tue, busiest on weekends, gift shop may have some helpful books in English, tel. 01 40 79 30 00, www.mnhn.fr). On weekends and Wednesdays, you can pay extra to visit the Galerie des Enfants du Muséum, a cool series of exhibits within the Galerie de l’Evolution. It’s stuffed with animal-centric interactive displays and activities designed for 6- to 12-year-olds, all in English. Visitors are admitted only at 15-minute intervals, and the gallery can fill up fast—consider booking a time slot online a few days ahead (adults-€9—includes Galerie de l’Evolution admission, kids-€7, Wed and Sat-Sun 10:00-18:00, last entry at 16:45, tel. 01 40 79 54 79, www.galeriedesenfants.fr).
The small zoo, Ménagerie des Jardins des Plantes, displays live animals as opposed to stuffed ones—although the population here is old and a bit sleepy (adults-€13, age 16 and under-€9, age 4 and under–free, daily 9:00-18:00, tel. 01 40 79 37 94).
Turn right out of the Grande Galerie de l’Evolution to leave the park and find the Paris Mosque and the recommended Moroccan-themed Café de la Mosquée (see here).
This vast area of parks and museums has outdoor concerts, outdoor movies, a playground that’s great for summer visits, and grass you’re allowed to run around on (a rare treat in Paris). Main attractions for kids are Europe’s largest science museum (Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie), an IMAX theater, a real French submarine, acres of parks, and a working canal (211 Avenue Jean Jaurès, Mo: Porte de la Villette, follow Corentin-Cariou or Porte de Pantin signs, tel. 01 40 03 75 75, www.villette.com).
Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie: For families, the best part of this big science-museum complex is Cité des Enfants, a fun place that’s perfect for simultaneously teaching and exhausting your children. Kids can climb inside a living ant farm, operate a crane (safety vest and too-cute hard hat provided), create whirlpools in the water exhibit, step into a tornado, film themselves driving down the highway in front of a green screen, and much more. Tickets are sold for a specific 1.5-hour time slot, and for one of two sections of the museum: the area designed for 2- to 7-year-olds, or the one designed for 5- to 12-year-olds (adults-€9, kids-€6; Tue-Fri starting at 10:00, 11:45, 13:30, or 15:15; Sat-Sun starting at 10:30, 12:30, 14:30, or 16:30—verify times on website; closed Mon, www.cite-sciences.fr). There is a great health-food café on the ground floor, an indoor picnic space, and a bookshop to keep you busy while you wait for your entrance time.
The science exhibit designed for adults, the Expositions d’Explora, is dense—likely to appeal only to hard-core science fans and teenagers on the honor roll (adults-€9, under age 26-€6, under age 6-free, Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, Sun 10:00-19:00, closed Mon, no specific entrance time required).
A midsized 1950s military submarine is permanently parked outside the Cité des Sciences. It comes with videos, buttons to press, a working periscope, and tight quarters—even on uncrowded days (€3, closes 30 minutes before rest of Cité des Sciences).
Take your kids out for a bike ride. If the city’s streets seem too intimidating, consider heading to one of the parks outside the city center—many of them are great for biking, and even offer rentals (such as the gardens of Versailles). Bike About Tours has good information and kid-friendly bike solutions (baby seats, tandem attachments, kid-sized bikes). They also offer private family tours of Paris that include fun activities like scavenger hunts (€200 for the first 2 people, €25/person after that, 15 percent discount for Rick Steves readers, 4 hours; for contact information, see here).
Remember that Sunday afternoons are fun for rollerblading with locals at your own pace, starting at the south side of Place de la Bastille at 14:30 (see here, www.rollers-coquillages.org; skate-rental shop nearby).
A variety of companies offer one-hour Seine cruises on huge glass-domed boats, with departures until 22:30. Or hop on a Batobus, a river bus connecting eight stops along the river: Eiffel Tower, Orsay Museum, St. Germain-des-Prés, Notre-Dame, Jardin des Plantes, Hôtel de Ville, the Louvre, and Pont Alexandre III—near the Champs-Elysées. Longer boat trips ply the tranquil waters of a peaceful canal between the Bastille and Bassin de la Villette (see here).
The hop-on, hop-off double-decker bus tours (see here) are a good way to begin your visit. Taking a nighttime tour in a convertible Deux Chevaux is a terrific way to end your trip (here).
Paris has more than three dozen swimming pools. You can ask your hotelier for the location of the nearest pool, or head for one of the places listed below. Note that boys and men are required to wear Speedo-style (tight) swimsuits at pools (oh la la!); and most public pools require everyone to wear a swim cap (bring one with you, or find them at a local Monoprix or Décathlon sporting-goods store).
Aquaboulevard: Paris’ best pool/waterslide/miniature golf complex is easy to reach and a complete escape from the museum scene. Indoor and outdoor pools with high-flying slides, waves, geysers, and whirlpool tubs draw kids of all ages. It’s pricey (and steamy inside) but a good opportunity to see soaked Parisians at play (kids under 12-€18/6 hours, adults-€28/6 hours, much cheaper rates for more than one visit, daily 9:00-23:00, English-speaking staff, keep a €1 coin for lockers, men’s swimsuits sell for €6-10 at the Décathlon store right there, tel. 01 40 60 10 00, www.aquaboulevard.fr). Ride the Métro to the end of line 8 (Balard stop), walk two blocks under the elevated freeway, veer left across the traffic circle, and find Aquaboulevard in a complex of theaters and shops.
Joséphine Baker Pool (Piscine Joséphine Baker): Housed in a giant barge docked along the Seine, this state-of-the-art floating swimming pool boasts generous wood decks and views of the city that get even better (though the pool gets more crowded) on sunny days, when the retractable rooftop is opened up (€5 for first 2 hours, then €2.60/hour, less for kids and in winter, daily approximately 13:00-21:00, opens earlier in summer, cabana-type cafés next door, near Gare d’Austerlitz at 8 Quai François Mauriac, Mo: Quai de la Gare or François Mitterrand, tel. 01 56 61 96 50).
Europe’s Disneyland is a remake of California’s, with most of the same rides and smiles. The main difference is that Mickey Mouse speaks French, and you can buy wine with your lunch. My kids went ducky for it.
Disneyland is easy to get to, and may be worth a day—if Paris is handier than Florida or California.
By Train: The slick 45-minute RER trip is the best way to get to Disneyland from downtown Paris. Take RER line A to Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy (check the signs over the platform to be sure Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy is served, because the line splits near the end). Catch it from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle-Etoile, Auber, Châtelet-Les Halles, or Gare de Lyon stations (at least 3/hour, drops you 45 minutes later right in the park, about €8 each way). The last train back to Paris leaves shortly after midnight. When returning, remember to use the same RER ticket for your Métro connection in Paris.
By Bus and Train from the Airport: Both of Paris’ major airports have direct shuttle buses to Disneyland Paris (€20; from Charles de Gaulle daily 8:30-20:00, every 45 minutes; from Orly daily 9:00-19:30, hourly; 45-minute trip, http://vea-shuttle.co.uk). Fast TGV trains run from Charles de Gaulle to Disneyland in 10 minutes, but leave only hourly.
By Car: Disneyland is about 40 minutes (20 miles) east of Paris on the A-4 autoroute (direction Nancy/Metz, exit #14). Parking is about €15/day at the park.
The Disneyland Paris Resort is a sprawling complex housing two theme parks (Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios), a few entertainment venues, and several hotels. Opened in 1992, it was the second Disney resort built outside the US (Tokyo was first). With upward of 15 million visitors a year, it quickly became Europe’s single leading tourist destination. Mickey has arrived.
Disneyland Paris: This park has a corner on the fun market, with the classic rides and Disney characters you came to see. You’ll find familiar favorites wrapped in French packaging, like Space Mountain (a.k.a. De la Terre à la Lune) and Pirates of the Caribbean (Pirates des Caraïbes).
Walt Disney Studios: This zone has a Hollywood focus geared for an older crowd, with animation, special effects, and movie magic “rides.” The cinema-themed rides include CinéMagique (a slow-motion cruise through film history on a people-mover, mixing film clips, audio-animatronic figures, and live actors); Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic (another slow-mo ride, this time mostly outdoors, through a “movie backlot”); and Moteurs... Action! Stunt Show Spectacular (an actual movie sequence is filmed with stunt drivers, audience bit players, and brash MTV-style hosts). The top thrill rides include the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (which starts out by accelerating from a standstill to 57 miles per hour in less than three seconds, all while Aerosmith tunes blast in your ears) and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (which drops passengers from a precarious 200-foot-high perch). Gentler attractions include a re-creation of the parachute jump in Toy Story and a Finding Nemo-themed ride that whisks you through the ocean current.
Cost: Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios charge the same. You can pay separately for each or buy a combined ticket for both. A one-day pass to either park is about €63 for adults and €53 for kids ages 3-11 (check their website for special offers). Kids under age 3 are free.
A two-day ticket for entry to both parks is about €140 for adults (less for kids); a three-day ticket is about €185. Regular prices are discounted about 25 percent Nov-March, and promotions are offered occasionally (check www.disneylandparis.com).
Hours: Disneyland—daily 10:00-22:00, closes at 20:00 in winter, open later on weekends, until 23:00 mid-May-Aug, hours fluctuate with the seasons—check website for precise times. Walt Disney Studios—daily 10:00-19:00.
Skipping Lines: The free Fastpass system is a worthwhile timesaver for the most popular rides (check map and legend for details; you may have only one Fastpass at a time, so choose wisely). At the ride, check the Fastpass sign to see when you can return and skip the line. Insert your park admission ticket into the Fastpass machine, which spits out a ticket printed with your return time. You’ll also save time by buying park tickets in advance (at airport TIs, some Métro stations, or along the Champs-Elysées at the Disney Store).
Avoiding Crowds: Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday, public holidays, and any day in July and August are the most crowded. After dinner, crowds are gone.
Information: Disney brochures are in every Paris hotel. For more info and to make reservations, call 01 60 30 60 53, or try www.disneylandparis.com.
Eating with Mickey: Food is fun and not outrageously priced. (Still, many smuggle in a picnic.) The Disneyland Hotel restaurant Inventions offers an expensive gourmet brunch on Sundays (roughly €60/person) and daily dinners where the most famous Disney characters visit with starstruck eaters.
Most are better off sleeping in the real world (i.e., Paris), though with direct buses and freeways to both airports, Disneyland makes a convenient first- or last-night stop. Seven different Disney-owned hotels offer accommodations at or near the park in all price ranges. Prices are impossible to pin down, as they vary by season and by the package deal you choose (deals that include park entry are usually a better value). To reserve any Disneyland hotel, call 01 60 30 60 53, or check www.disneylandparis.com. The prices you’ll be quoted include entry to the park. Hôtel Santa Fe** offers a fair midrange value, with frequent shuttle service to the park. Another cheap option is Davy Crockett’s Ranch, but you’ll need a car to stay there. The most expensive is the Disneyland Hotel****, right at the park entry, about three times the price of the Santa Fe. The Dream Castle Hotel**** is another higher-end choice, with nearly 400 rooms done up to look like a lavish 17th-century palace (40 Avenue de la Fosse des Pressoirs, tel. 01 64 17 90 00, www.dreamcastle-hotel.com, info@dreamcastle-hotel.com).