It is called the “village en bois” — the wooden village — and is built on a side of a hill so you have to climb up a fair few steps (hence the before mentioned energy burning). On the way down the children are rewarded by a massively long slide that goes all the way down again.

The whole play structure is divided into three parts, depending on the age of the children. There is a whole philosophy behind this structure — city children don’t often have the chance to push themselves physically and learn how far they can go. This structure is designed for children to push themselves a little bit further than they would normally do and learn to be more confident. When you are done exploring the play area (it isn’t huge) I highly recommend climbing to the top of the hill, as you will be rewarded with one of the best views all over Paris…

To tour the Argonaute, visitors are given an audio guide that is available in several languages and really easy to listen to. The Argonaute is based right beside the Villette Science Museum and very close to the Villette play areas, so you can combine all three and make the visit into a day trip.

Finding that is easier said than done, as most Parisian parks are made out of gravel, and grass is generally off-limits to walk or sit on.

So I decided to get off the beaten track of the centre of Paris and head over to the Butte de Chaumont, a park in the 19th arrondissement.  It is lovely!  It was built about 150 years ago on what used to be the city’s gallows and wasteland.  Today it looks like a Gothic dreamscape — complete with waterfalls, a temple and a grotto.

It is great for kids: there is a manage (a merry-go-round which French kids, especially my kid, are obsessed about), little ponies to ride on (from 18 months onwards with parental supervision), a horse and cart that goes around the par, a playground, and of course the ubiquitous crepes and ice cream stand.  I even saw a puppet show theater, though we did not have enough time to check it out.

We had a wonderful day out.  I just hope the sunshine continues, which unfortunately is something that cannot be arranged by the Parisian Park Authorities…

-Emilie

Luckily enough, the sea and the little harbour town of Honfleur is only about 2 hours (and what feels like another world) away.

Though it doesn’t have its own beach, the village is centered on its own picture-perfect harbour and you can while away time wandering around the lovely little cobbled stone streets. If you feel like some beach fun you can find a long, sandy beach only 10 km away in Deauville.

The one place I would recommend (especially if you do happen to fall upon a rainy day), is the Satie Museum, la Maison Satie. Satie, a famous composer, grew up in the house but died in poverty so none of the original furnishings were left. This gave the curators a blank canvas to work with, and they managed to create one of the most inspiring museums I have ever visited. It is very interactive so it will keep both parents and children mesmerized.

We stayed in a hotel called Hotel des Loges, which is a lovely modern hotel in the centre of the town. Though it is not specifically geared towards kids, it is super kid friendly. Nothing seems to be a problem; I was able to use the hotel breakfast kitchen to cook dinner for my kids, and to keep food in. The owner organized a babysitter for us and was really good at recommending kid-friendly things to do.

Honfleur is definitely worth visiting, even if you are just on holiday in Paris. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

-Emilie

If you happen to be in Paris for the month of August (most Parisians have left for the country and the city is spookily quiet) Paris Plage is the place to be. It has something for everyone: bars, a swimming pool and a great play area.

If you go in the mornings the “beach” is relatively quiet, even on the weekends, and it is a perfect place for kids to get rid of some excess energy. This year the place to be for kids is the area around the Pont de Sully at the eastern edge of the beach.

The other area of Paris Plage around the basin de la Villette is great too, there is even a sailboat you can rent! I loved the idea of sailing around a canal in the middle of Paris, but so apparently do a lot of people so it is completely overbooked. If you have kids from 6 years upwards, there are some fantastic little pedalos that they can peddle around in, in a supervised area of the canal. All of this has been sponsored by the Mairie of Paris so almost all the attractions are free!

My kids seem to love the beach as much as I do, so we were all very, very excited to discover a beach about one hour away from Paris in the middle of the country!

The river beach in the picturesque little town of Ville d’Adam actually doubles up as the local community pool and is a perfect escape from a hot and sticky day in Paris. You can jump on a direct train from the gare du Nord and be in the water approx. 50 mins later, as the beach is about a 5 minute walk from the station.

The girls had a ball — there is a pretty big sandy area, and we put our towels down by a massive kid’s paddling pool. There is a huge Olympic sized swimming pool built in the ’20s for more ambitious parents, but, for my part, I was very happy building sand castles and splashing around in the shallow pool. If your kids do get bored of playing in the sand, there is a huge bouncy castle area for all ages and two big water slides.

This being France there is also a gorgeous looking restaurant, but I decided that my kids would not appreciate being forced to sit at a table looking out at a beach and watching other kids have fun, so I did not check out if it was as fabulous as it looked.

All I can hope for is a long, hot summer to enjoy our new found out-of-town escape!

- Emilie

I have just discovered the great outside play park at La Villette. La Villette is the place you can find the fantastic Science Museum for kids (I still have not been, but I need to go, so I can let you guys know my verdict on it). There are more than 10 different themed gardens at La Villette — the one my kids loved is called “Jardin des Dunes et des Vents”.

The outside play area is divided into age groups, with age-appropriate equipment. It’s fantastic as I could relax knowing that my kids were not going to be knocked over by an over enthusiastic 7-year-old.

My 13-month-old loved climbing over the bumps of a bouncy castle type thing and climbing up the climbing frames a bit like her ancestors the primates. The 3-year-old was running, jumping, spinning and climbing until she couldn’t move anymore.

A great way of letting go of a week’s worth of pent up energy!

- Emilie

The Jardin de l’Acclimatation in the Bois de Bologne is Paris’ own kiddie fun park, and it is great. My eldest daughter is finally old enough to enjoy it, so this past weekend we headed off for a day of fun-filled activities. I really recommend a visit if you ever happen to be in Paris with kids.

I will say it has the most random mix of attractions I have ever seen, but who I am to complain? The kids loved it.

These are my top tips to visiting the park:

• Make an entrance by jumping on a little steam train that runs from Porte Maillot all the way to the park. Why not start as you mean to go on, as my friend Sam would say!

• If your kid is three years and over, take them on the roller coaster and on the water ride. I have never seen my daughter so excited. It might be a little tame for grown-ups but for a small kid it is the best thing ever! For older kids there are a couple of bigger roller coasters and rides.

• In the summer there is a big splash basin for kids to cool down in, with sprinklers to run through. Parents get to lounge on the sun loungers and eat crepes, while kids go crazy.

• There is a little farm with cows, goats, hens and pigs. For my kids, who are growing up in the centre of Paris, a real live pig is as exciting to see as a real live elephant. In between all these domestic animals there are also some lamas. (As I mentioned before there is a certain randomness that is part of the charm of the park).

• If the weather is good I would recommend bringing a picnic with you, though there are restaurants ranging from fast food to full on three course meals.

• If possible try to go during the week as the Parisians are in the know and it can get a bit crowded during the weekends and Wednesday.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

- Emilie

I personally recommend dragging the family for a quick shopping mission around the rue and then heading off to the playground in the Luxembourg Gardens — a great day out for the whole family.

- Emilie

It might be the best-known park in Paris, but it is one of our favourite places to go. You cannot get a more Parisian park than the Luxembourg Gardens.

It is so much fun, even as an adult, to rent one of the little sailboats in the main fountain of the garden and push it around with a stick.  Most of the time it capsizes or collides with another boat, but that is part of the fun! (You can rent the sailboats on Wednesdays and on weekends.)

I reckon the playground is the best in Paris and is actually relatively empty as it is the only playground I know of in the centre of the city that charges an entrance fee. There are also pony rides (Wednesdays and on weekends) and swings. The ubiquitous Manege is a beautiful older style wooden affair, run by a lovely lady who does not mind kids taking their time to decide on which wooden animal to ride.

Last but not least, and though I hate being so practical, the Luxembourg Gardens is one of the only places in Paris I have found in which the toilets have a changing table and cute, clean, kid-sized toilets with little hand-washing basins.

- Emilie

(Image found here)

This year the city council here in Paris has cleverly put up an outpost of Paris Plage off the beaten track on the basin de la Villette in the 19th (metro Jaures) which is hugely kid-friendly and a huge amount of fun. The ubiquitous manege, big trampolines, a waterplay area and a little beachy sand area all geared toward kids. You can even rent pedalos! It is incredibly clean (even the toilets), relatively empty and what impressed me the most are the organizers (or animateurs as they are called over here), who are incredibly good with kids and make sure that the kids know how to use the facilities and are properly supervised.

So why go to the beach if the beach comes to Paris?

- Emilie

P.S.: all of the facilities are free and the beach is around until the 21st of August

-Emilie

(Picture from here)