Here is a short list of stuff for kids within a short distance from the apartment
- Carrousel in the Square Boucicault in front of the Bon Marche.
- 55th Floor observation deck at the tour Montparnasse. Not really a haunt of many US tourists, but the best view of all of Paris.
- Jardin du Luxembourg:
- Sailboating at the main fountain at the Jardins de Luxembourg. Note: you can rent sailboats only on weekends, Wednesdays, and holidays.
- Kids’ park at the Jardin de Luxembourg. This is just a big playground with a few extra slides and a short zip-line, but, warning: there is an entry charge (more if you want to go in and supervise).
- Burro and pony rides
- Small carrousel (un manège) with a ring game where small kids hold sticks and try to spear rings as they go around. This was always a favorite with our kids.
- Famous Marionette puppet show. It’s in French, but small kids will still find it amusing. Check for times, but only open on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
- Deyrolles outdoors store (46, rue du Bac and rue de l’Universite) covers the outdoor life including butterfly-collecting and taxidermy. The attraction for kids is the many, many life-sized (literally) stuffed real animals including a tiger, elephant, and giraffe. Part of the store and some of the collection burned down a few years ago, but is in the process of being recreated. Even in it’s abbreviated condition, it is still worth a visit with kids.
- Seine boat ride at the Vedettes de Paris – Quai at the Pont Henri IV.
- Bon Marché toy store (recently relocated to 3rd floor)
- Montparnasse Cemetery – Not as famous as the Père-Lachaise cemetery, this nearby cemetery still has a boatload of famous dead people. It’s a fun walk for kids and includes the final resting places of Charles Baudelaire, Eugene Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Jean-Paul Sartre, Man Ray, Simone de Beauvoir, and Tristan Tzara, among many others — Map and list at back of notebook (and on-site).
- Jardin des Plantes – Includes Paris’ Natural History Museum, beloved by kids especially for “la Grande Gallerie de l’Evolution” with it’s huge stuffed animals on display walking almost among us. There’s also a small zoo in the this park.
- Amorino gelato both on the rue de Buci and nearby on the rue Vavin (convenient to a Jardin de Luxembourg entrance). It’s superior to Berthillon in our opinion, and now available in some cities in the United States. They have also added one on the rue Guisarde, on the cobble streets near the Eglise St. Sulpice.
