GO ADVICE: From keeping the kids happy to finding plain food, JOAN SCALESanswers your questions about visiting the French capital
Child’s play in Paris
We are travelling to Paris at the end of July with our seven-year-old son. Apart from visiting the obvious such as the Eiffel Tower, could you advise on any other child-friendly activities which would be worth checking out in the city. We have not decided on a hotel yet either. A good value in relative comfort suggestion would be much appreciated.
LM, Kilkenny
In summer, the banks of the Seine become a beach, Paris Plage (paris-plages.fr), with deckchairs, swimming pools, ice cream, beach volleyball and concerts. Three areas of the city are transformed, Louvre/Pont de Sully, Port de la Gare and Bassin de la Villette. It begins on July 20th for lasts for four weeks.
If you want to take a journey back in time, to your childhood and beyond, the Jardin d’Acclimatation (jardindacclimatation.fr) is the place to go. It opened in 1860 and features a magical river, road train, farm animals, open-air theatre, workshops and lots of other attractions.
The Parc de la Villette (villette.com) is a great place for kids and adults to explore and offers multi-themed gardens, open “prairies”, a cultural centre and open-air cinema, perfect for a day out in one of the city’s less-explored areas.
A fun way to discover Montmartre is by train. All year round, two little trains (promotrain.fr) take you on a 35-minute guided tour in French and English.
Climb aboard the biggest hot-air balloon in the world (ballondeparis.com) and get a bird’s eye view of Paris.
In the grounds of the André Citroën park, this tethered balloon can carry a couple of dozen people. No need to be scared – the 22m wide, 32m high balloon (the equivalent of a 12-storey building) takes off gently and noiselessly.
The Museum of Histoires Naturelles (mnhn.fr), or as we might call it the Dead Zoo of Paris, has millions of specimens on display.
The Grevin Museum (grevin.com/discover) is the home of the waxworks in Paris where you can rub shoulders with the late and great.
I always recommend a boat trip on the Bateaux Mouche (bateauxparisiens.com), just to get a feel for the city. Check out the parisinfo.com website for more activities for children.
To see Paris through the eyes of a local, consider the Paris Greeters, who are volunteers wiling to share their knowledge of Paris with visitors. You can book a tour on parisiendunjour.fr.
Staying near friends’ barge
We are two couples who are planning to join friends who have a barge in France. Our friends hope to be moored near the Arsenal in Paris in April and I was wondering could you suggest some good value accommodation around this area, either a hotel or self-catering.
LOD, Dublin
The Bastille area is one of the liveliest in Paris and you will find plenty of restaurants, bars and shops. The Citadines Bastille Maris (citadines.com) has self-catering apartments that would be ideal for you and cost about €200-€250 per night.
Another self-catering property five minutes from the Arsenal is Maison Zen (maisonzen.com) which is a period house divided into studio flats, and has a court yard with a Zen Garden. The studios are around €130 per night.
Hotels in the area that you could consider are the Hotel Castex (castexhotelparis.com) at about €140 per night. This is a typical Paris hotel, with small rooms, but charming and well located. Otherwise, the Hotel Paris Bastille (hotelparisbastille.com), facing the Opera Bastille, is a modern contemporary hotel with rates from €150 per night.
Plain food on our menu
My husband and I with our three sons are going to Paris to celebrate a big birthday of mine in April. However, one of our sons has Crohn’s disease. I would like to find a restaurant that can also serve good plain food. Can you recommend anything?
PM, Dublin
Traditional French brassiere-style cuisine usually has more plain food with the focus on quality. With the following suggestions I think you all will find food you will enjoy. Fermette Marbeuf (fermettemarbeuf.com) is in a beautiful building near the Champs Elysees.
Chez Clement (chezclement.com) has a number of restaurants in Paris in places such as Montparnasse, Opera and Bastille, food is fresh and French and it’s good for meat dishes.
On the banks of the Seine beside Pont Louis Philippe and close to Notre Dame, Chez Julien (00-33-427-83164), has a lovely French romantic ambience with a terrace that’s perfect for fine days.
A family room for five
We are having difficulty finding a room in Paris that will sleep five, our children are two, six and nine. We would like to stay for three nights and have a budget of up to €1,000.
EM, Dublin
There are a number of hotels with family rooms or suites in Paris, including the Novotel Tour Eiffel, Holiday Inn Montparnasse, Hotel Claud Bernard Saint Germain and the Citadines apartments, in a number of locations.
All of these cost less than your budget. The easiest way to find a room for more than two people is on booking.com, where you can search by number of occupants.
GO ASK JOAN
E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com