< Introducing Paris

The Parks of Paris

Families soaking up the sun, Jardin du Luxembourg

The parks of Paris are one of the many reasons the city is a perfect place to visit with children. There is much more to do in them than simply feed the ducks, too. Kids can sail wooden boats, ride on carousels or ponies, take in a puppet show, even come face-to-face with a woolly sheep. A bonus is that many of the top tourist sights are near some of the city’s best parks – handy for letting off steam after a session of sightseeing.

Jardin des Tuileries

The Jardin des Tuileries lies at the heart of the city, right beside the Louvre. In summer it has a funfair, but all year round there are trampolines and a carousel. For a classic Parisian childhood experience, wooden model boats can be hired to sail in the circular pond. There are several outdoor restaurants, too, which are great places to eat with kids. This is Paris’s grandest park and the place for a leisurely stroll, but be warned – the lawns are strictly off-limits.

Sailing a boat, Jardin des Tuileries

Parc Monceau

Children can enjoy pony rides and eat candy floss in Parc Monceau, close to the Arc de Triomphe. They will have fun, too, discovering the Chinese pagoda, Dutch windmill and Egyptian pyramid. Huge mansions surround the park, some of which are fascinating museums such as the Musée Nissim de Camondo and the Musée Cernuschi. This makes for a great day out, mixing culture and play.

Jardin des Plantes

One of the world’s oldest botanical gardens, the Jardin des Plantes is full of exotic species of flora. There is also a playground with a huge dinosaur, very appropriate as the garden is home to four great natural history museums with lots of fascinating dinosaur bones and other animal exhibits. Kids will love the small Ménagerie, or zoo.

Jardin du Luxembourg

Simply the best park in Paris for kids, the Jardin du Luxembourg is just a short walk from the Panthéon and is the place to really get a feel for the city. Parisian families come here to sail wooden boats on the round pond in front of the Senate and ride on the magical carousel, designed by Charles Garnier, the architect who built the Opéra. There are ponyrides for kids, boules courts, old men playing chess under the trees and a great puppet theatre – but there is a charge for the playground. Do not miss the charming beehives in the beekeeping school.

Champ-de-Mars

The Eiffel Tower stands at one end of this huge open space that was once a military parade ground. The Champ-de-Mars also has a good-sized playground, a puppet theatre and, as a vast patch of grass, it is the perfect place for letting off steam. Across the river at the Trocadéro there is another great garden – kids will especially love the giant fountains.

Before the show, Marionnettes du Champ-de-Mars

Further afield

Paris has two huge, leafy parks that sit on either side of the city, offering the kind of wide open spaces ideal for activities such as cycling or football. In the west, the big attraction for kids in the Bois de Boulogne is the Jardin d’Acclimatation, an amusement park with rides, water shoots and farm animals. You can hire bikes to get around, as well as rowing boats to take out on the enormous lake.

Around two-thirds of Paris’s 500,000 trees are in the Bois de Vincennes. Among the activities for kids are a fairytale château and a city farm to visit; puppet shows and free concerts, and bike and boat hire.

Off the tourist trail

Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, east of Montmartre, has craggy cliffs, an island temple reached by a high arched bridge and an open-air guinguette café, Rosa Bonheur. The island in the lake of Parc Montsouris features a grotto and waterfall, and Florida turtles can be spotted basking on its shore. Both parks have puppet theatres and sometimes offer pony rides.

Parks of the future

While the majority of the city’s parks are 19th century, Paris has a number of modern parks that are popular with local families. A dragon slide is just one of the attractions of the futuristic Parc de la Villette, with its playful gardens and follies. It is also home to the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie. Bring a skateboard or rollerblades when visiting Parc de Bercy, to use in its modern-art skate park. There is a dramatic stepped cascade and a strange man-made canyon fountain, too. The fountains at Parc André Citroën are great for cooling in off on a hot day, but it is the giant tethered helium viewing balloon that will impress the kids.

Puppets in the park

Almost every Paris park has its own marionette theatre, known as Les Guignols after the leading character Guignol, a lovable rogue. The shows have not changed in 200 years and, although in French, have lots of visual humour that needs no translation.

Puppet theatres

Arrive early for performances, usually on Wed, Sat, Sun and public hols and often daily in school hols: €12–18

Les Guignols des Champs-Elysées

Rond-point des Champs-Elysées, 75008; 0142453830; www.theatreguignol.fr

Guignol du Jardin d’Acclimatation

Bois de Boulogne, 75016; 0145015352&0620524037; www.guignol.fr

Guignol au Parc Floral

Bois de Vincennes, 75012; 0143284159; www.guignolparcfloral.com

Guignol de Paris

Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, 75019; 0140309760; www.guignol-paris.com

Marionnettes du Luxembourg

Jardin du Luxembourg, 75006; 0143295097&0143264647; www.marionnettesduluxembourg.fr

Marionnettes de Montsouris

Parc Montsouris, 75014; 0146630809; www.guignolrank.com

Théâtre des Marionnettes de Paris

Orée du Bois de Vincennes, 75012; 0675234589; www.lesmarionnettesdeparis.com