Paris for Families

My husband and I actually took our three kids (ages 9,8,6) to France last year for three weeks. We were in Paris for a week. I thought this book was one of the best I'd ever read about traveling with children. It is a book that helps you understand the philosophy behind successful family travel. Great tips on budgeting, packing, scheduling and how to avoid killing each other. It also functioned as a "what to see guide" and it gave us great suggestions about things to do in Paris. I'd recommend it to anyone who is planning a big trip with children even if you are going no where near Paris.

Paris for Families is the right guidebook for you if you can answer "YES" to at least one of the following questions:I'm traveling with my children to Paris;I want to see the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and someplace I never knew Paris could offer me;I do not have $25,000 to spend on my vacation and/or I am Bill Gates and/or Bill Gates owes me $25,000.Two things make this book better than the others however: 1) the book entertains you with suggestions on special places, odd museums you will otherwise stroll past and gives you the information you need to locate an apartment or smaller hotel that makes kid maintenance easier and 2) the author traveled over many years to many places with his own kids and wrote down stuff of use to the rest of us. Enough philosophy. On to the details.Where to Stay The book sorts out the advantages and disadvantages to staying in a large hotel and recommends you book a short-term apartment instead. The author gives you specific addresses to write to and websites to look at to find the right place at the right price.Then the author gives you fill-in-the-blank sample letters in French to FAX to the hotel to make reservations or get more info (for example, in French, "How much will ___ nights cost?", or, more to the point for parents, "Does the apartment face the street or a courtyard?", "How quiet is it?", "Does the apartment have laundry facilities?", "Are rollaway beds available for extra people?". Maybe your French is better than mine, but for me, the terms "ex. Laverie (self-serve launderette)" and "tarif reuit (reduced price)" are going to come in handy.How to Get Around Lain again is ready with the details, including specific directions from the major airports and rail stations into/around the city, as well as a kids-in-mind look at using taxi versus the subway (Le Metro) versus buses versus trains versus walking. Is it better to go from Famous Place A to Famous Place B by taxi, or would a short walk take you by something interesting? If the route is long but scenic itself, maybe the bus would allow you a more interesting jaunt than the Metro?The author also provides pages of detailed self-guided walking tours. Here's a sample:gStroll the Jardin des Tuileries (Ch. 14). There was once a royal palace here, too. Watch the children sailing boats in the fountains and walk all the way to the end of the gardens. The building at the end, on your left, is the Musée de l'Orangerie (Ch. 13), devoted to impressionist painting. If you go up the embankment here, you have a splendid view of the Place de la Concorde (Ch. 11) with the ancient Egyptian Obelisk in its center. From here you can look straight down the Champs Elyses (Ch. 16) to the Arc de Triomphe. We'll be there in a little while.gGo back down the embankment and into the Place de la Concorde. (Before you do, there are public toilets just inside the gate if anyone would like to stop a moment.) Turn left and walk toward the river and stroll along the quai