Paris for The Family Explorers: a Friday-to-Monday weekend
Zinc roofs, limestone, and the long grey light.
A weekend the children will remember and the parents will survive. Short walks between real highlights, a boat or a tram instead of a museum queue, dinners at six, and room to run.
Friday: Skeletons and a carousel
- Grande Galerie de l'Évolution
A procession of elephants, giraffes and a whale skeleton in a glass-roofed hall that darkens for a storm every few minutes; open until six.
- Jardin des Plantes
The dodo carousel and the playground by the Grande Galerie, then the alleys of plane trees for anyone who needs to run.
- Bouillon Racine
An art nouveau dining room of 1906, mirrors and green tiles, a children's menu and a crème caramel; dinner over before bedtime.
Saturday: The science city
- Cité des Sciences, Cité des Enfants
Ninety minutes in a timed slot built for two-to-twelve-year-olds, water tables and a building site in miniature; book the morning session.
- Parc de la Villette
After the nap: the Dragon slide, the bamboo garden and the canal bank, with the giant mirror ball of the Géode as a landmark.
- Bouillon République
A big, bright bouillon on the square, sausages and purée for the children and a bœuf bourguignon for the adults, served fast.
Sunday: The river and the rides
- Bateaux Parisiens
The one-hour cruise from the foot of the tower, an audio guide in children's voices and the bridges counted from the open deck.
- Jardin d'Acclimatation
The 1860 pleasure garden with a little train, a farm, dragon rides and a splash park; the entry is cheap and the rides add up.
- Le Relais de l'Entrecôte
One dish, steak with the secret sauce and endless fries, no menu to argue over; the waitress asks only how you want it cooked.
Monday: Sharks and the view
- Aquarium de Paris
Sharks in a tunnel and a touch pool beneath the Trocadéro gardens, open on a Monday when most museums shut.
- Place du Trocadéro
The terrace with the full tower in front of it, the fountains below and a carousel at the bottom of the steps.
- Carette Trocadéro
A tearoom on the square since 1927, croque-monsieur and macarons, then the metro from the corner to the airport bus.