The first time we traveled to France with our kids was when Celestine was about 18 months old. At the time we only had one kid, so it was much easier to deal with, but it was also our first trip with her. I had never lived in France with a child of my own, so it was also new territory for me. We have learned so much from that first trip, but also from the following ones. We now have a 6 year old, a 4 year old, and an 8 month old baby. Here are some tips on traveling to France with kids. Allow more time for adjustment to jetlag As an adult, jetlag can be rough and can take a couple days to get over it. It takes twice as long for kids, especially young ones. We live in Utah, so there is an 8 hour difference between there and France. Whenever we go to France, we allow ourselves about 4 days to recover from jetlag, just to make sure we are all rested enough so we can then enjoy the rest of our trip. Only one or two activities per day With kids, especially with babies and toddlers, it is always much better to only plan on one or two activities a day. You have to consider the time to travel to the destination, getting in and out of transport, nap times, mealtimes… I prefer one activity a day and then stay home for the rest of the day. You can spend time with family, go to the hotel pool, watch a movie, or catch up on naps. The kids are in a better mood when their energy isn’t strained to the max. Plan on meals This is especially for France and some countries in Europe, but something that is good to know is that most restaurants do not have a kids menu available. Most don’t even have high chairs. We do have kids that like to eat almost anything (my French culture couldn’t allow myself to feed them only chicken nuggets), so most of the time we can go to any restaurant and easily find something that the girls will like, but if your kids are picky eaters, here are some options. You could pack a lunch for them, but in that case, call the restaurant ahead and ask if it is ok for them to eat something that isn’t served from their kitchen. You could have picnics (France has some beautiful parks). You can also check the menu if available online before going to a restaurant. Also make sure that your kids can and know how to behave in a restaurant. Yes, most French kids do know how to behave in a restaurant. Plan on travel accessories Between our many trips to France with our kids, we have been able to test some accessories depending on the kid's age and the destination. In Paris, I do not recommend a stroller. Paris has a lot of stairs or little steps and it makes it hard to deal with a stroller. Some metro stations don’t even have elevators. Also going in and out of a metro during rush hour and a stroller is a nightmare. If you go with a baby, use a baby carrier. We liked the Ergobaby from Target because the baby can be front facing and it is easy to put on. With a toddler, you can use a stroller that folds and can be carried easily if needed, and in a compact size. A very common stroller in France that works well for the French streets is the Yoyo stroller, available on Amazon. Also, make sure to check on your destination if strollers are allowed. For example, strollers are not allowed inside the castle of Versailles when it is full of people. For smaller cities and villages in France, a normal stroller will be just fine. It would still be better if it’s a small stroller (some sidewalks can be very narrow). I do not recommend traveling with a double stroller. We preferred to use two different single strollers rather than bringing our double one. Adjust to mealtime In France, breakfast is between 7 and 9 in the morning, lunch is between 12 and 2 pm, and dinner starts after 6:30 pm. If you are like me and you are used to an American mealtime, you might be ok for breakfast and lunch, but not for dinner. It is really up to you if you want to change their dinner time at night. For our babies, we keep the same time as it is easier and they only have a bottle or baby food. For our older kids, we try to adjust them to mealtime in the country we are visiting as much as we can. As a side note, most restaurants are only open during mealtime, meaning they are not open between lunch and dinner time. It might be rough at first, but it is worthwhile in my opinion as it will make lunch and dinner much easier for everybody. Plan on activities during transport In Europe, we like to use public transportation a lot. Most people use the train over the car when they’re traveling. It is cheaper and less tiring. Plan on having some fun activities depending on the kids’ age. In the train, kids are expected to behave and be quiet. We are not super tablet fans, but the girls like to color, solve puzzles, build legos, read books, listen to books… On our last trip, we used the mini voyager bags from www.minivoyager.com. Our oldest also likes to listen to stories now, so we got her a Lunii box on Amazon. We like this one the most because you can download stories from different languages. Plan on security for your kids
Have you seen the movie Taken? Yes, it takes place in Paris. If you have never been to France before and you are used to leaving your kids outside without supervision (as a reminder, we live in Utah), then I would suggest you to invest in some products that will put your mind at ease. Nobody wants to lose a child so I would rather be safe than sorry. We have used a backpack leash for kids before. Those can be easily found on Amazon. We have also used a GPS tracker. I would suggest buying one from France so it will have the European map available. It is cheaper that way since GPS trackers bought from the US will only have the US map and would need an extra cost for the European map, if available. We have used the Weenect bought on Amazon.fr. It was the cheapest option I could find and it is connected to an app on your phone so you can see where they are. You can pay for a 3 month subscription for 10 euros a month and then you can stop it anytime after that. My favorite product that worked well with my kids was the safety wrist. It is cheap, actually comfortable to have, and I don’t have to think about it. As soon as it is on their wrist, they can’t take it off. It was so useful whenever we went to the market. Rest days It is so important for kids (and for parents in my opinion) to rest some days. Some people like to use that method: one day we go out and do something, then the next day we rest, then the next day we go out, then the next day we rest. We don’t always do that with our kids, and there were some times when I would tell the kids to get ready to go out, and they would actually respond by: “mom, I’m tired, I don’t want to do anything today”. And no, we don’t have teenagers yet. It is so much more enjoyable to rest a few days, even if it is just staying at the hotel or with family, so then you can enjoy the next day well rested and in a better mood. Have a plan B This one is valid everytime you travel with kids. Sometimes, the weather is not what you were expecting. Sometimes one of your kids is sick. Or you didn’t check before, and the place you wanted to see that day is closed. We have experienced all of those situations and more. When it happens, either have a rest day, or have a plan B. When we go to France, I make a list of things that we want to do or see. So everyday when something happens at the last minute and we need a change of plan, I pull out my list, we go through it and decide what we want to do instead. It makes it so much easier and it doesn’t feel like the day is ruined anymore. If you can, have someone buy essentials for your kids beforehand This is a great one if you know someone already there. In my case, my entire family lives in France, so whenever we go, I ask my mother or father to go to the store and buy some essentials, just so we don’t have to worry about it after we land. We didn’t do that on our first trip with Celestine, and we had to find a store that was open at 8 pm (stores are usually closed at 7 pm except for a few rare ones) and then find everything we needed for our 18 month old baby like diapers, baby food, wipes… We were tired, annoyed to not find a store right away, and it was after Celestine’s bedtime. I would not suggest doing that. Bonus: On our last trip, we wanted to stay for a month in France. Cameron couldn’t because of work, so he went home a week early. My mother in law was also with us, so I didn’t fly alone with 3 kids. We actually loved doing that because Cam was already over jet lag by the time we went home so he was able to take over when we arrived and I was able to get some sleep. I would totally recommend that if it was a possibility for you.
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AuthorMy name is Melanie Ashby. I am from France and I currently live in the US. Here are some tips about traveling to France from a French and an American perspective! Archives
December 2022
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