Are you planning a family trip to Paris? This 5 night Paris Itinerary with kids will give you everything you need to know to plan your family vacation to Paris.
We knew when planning our family trip to Paris with a family of five we would have to do a lot of research.
From where to stay in Paris with a family to what activities to do in Paris, there were a lot of decisions to make.
This trip to Paris was part of a 12 Day London Paris trip that included 2 nights in Iceland, 3 nights in London, 3 nights at Disneyland Paris and we finished our trip with 2 nights in Paris.
It was a really busy trip!
I don’t usually recommend changing hotels every few days but for this trip we had a limited amount of days and wanted to see as much as we could with the time we had.
Where to Stay on a Family Trip to Paris
We stayed at the Grand Hotel Leveque hotel in Paris. It was within walking distance to the Eiffel Tower and located along a cobblestone street with bakeries and food markets.
The location was perfect for us. It was also close to a Metro station making it easy to get to most places in Paris.
If you know you want to visit specific places you should plan to stay at a hotel near those places. Keep in mind prices are higher near the touristy areas.
The Metro, Paris subway/train, is very easy to navigate and was the best way for us to get around.
Also when booking accommodations in Paris for a family of five be sure to check that it accommodates larger families.
We booked connecting rooms at the hotel and it fit us well.
Another thing to consider is Air Conditioning. A/C is not standard in European hotels.
During our July visit the temperatures were in the 90s and we were very happy the Grand Hotel Leveque had A/C in the rooms.
What to Do on a Family Trip to Paris
Paris is a huge city with so much to see and do. You can’t really do it all on one visit so you.
I suggest brainstorming and researching all the things to do in Paris with kids. Make a list. Have everyone you are traveling with also do this.
Then bring your lists together and start narrowing down the things you want to do. What is a priority for your family?
We spent 3 nights in Disneyland because we love visiting the Disney parks. If that is not for you a day trip to Disneyland or skipping it all together might be a better option.
I’ve put together some of the most popular places you may want to visit on a family trip to Paris. This should help you get started with planning.
Visit the Louvre Museum | This is where you can find the Mona Lisa as well as lots of art work. It is a good idea to purchase tickets for the Louvre ahead of time to avoid long lines.
Eiffel Tower | Older kids, young children, and adults will want to include a visit to the Eiffel Tower in a Paris vacation.
If you can I suggest seeing it during the day and at night. One of my favorite things was seeing the Eiffel Tower twinkle.
If you want to see some of the best views of the city of lights purchase a ticket to go to the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower.
The Eiffel Tower is a very popular attraction and crowds will be busy. Guests have the option to purchase a lift ticket or a walking ticket to the top.
There are a lot of stairs to walk up, keep this in mind when traveling with mobility issues or young children.
Paris is an amazing city to walk and explore. You don’t actually have to book any tours but if you like to do that you can!
More Things to See and Do in Paris
- Luxembourg Gardens
- Take a river cruise along the River Seine
- Notre Dame Cathedral
- Arc de Triomphe
- Palace of Versailles
- Sainte-Chappelle
- Sacre Coeur (The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris)
- Disneyland Paris Theme Park
- Moulin Rouge (Not for kids.)
We had 2 nights in Paris so when we were planning we knew we couldn’t see and do everything.
I share our full itinerary below of how we split our time between Disneyland park and time in Paris.
As a family I suggest talking about what you want to see and do the most as well as how much time you have to visit.
This will help you put together a customized itinerary for your trip to Paris.
Things to Know When Planning a Family Trip to Paris
Before I get into our family trip to Paris I want to share some tips for visiting Paris for the first time.
These were things I found to be helpful on our visit.
Use an Esim card to have Wifi wherever you go. We used Nomad and felt it was a good choice for the price.
Having WIFI while traveling made it easier to use google maps to walk around and explore without getting lost.
It also allowed us to map out the Metro stations stops we needed to get to different locations throughout the city.
Do not be afraid to use the Metro. As an American visiting Paris I was very worried about getting around.
I usually have a car to get me everywhere I need to be but I knew I would have to rely on public transportation during this trip.
The Metro was very easy to understand and follow. We could always find someone to help us too if we got stuck.
Although everyone speaks French we didn’t have many issues communicating in English. Most of the people were kind and helpful to us.
When doing research for our trip I was most concerned about the pick pockets. We didn’t have any issues with this.
Keep your valuables close to you. Always zipped and in front of you. Don’t have your phone out in crowded places or leave on café tables.
I have heard many people have a phone stolen as they say at an outside café. Talk to older kids about how to stay safe and be aware of your surroundings.
I used a crossbody bag that stayed in front of me at all times when we were walking. Paris is like most busy cities in that if you look vulnerable you could be targeted.
Stay aware and keep valuables safe.
Overall we felt safe traveling the Metro and had a really great time in Paris!
5 Night Paris Itinerary with Kids
We had so much fun visiting Paris. Let’s get into our Paris itinerary!
Day 1: Arrive to France via the Eurostar
I think the whole family was excited to visit France. We couldn’t wait to check out Disneyland and the city of Paris.
We took the Eurostar from London to central Paris. This is a great way to get between the countries and I was really impressed with how easy it was to travel.
I purchased tickets ahead of time and you will go through customs much like air travel.
Our final destination was Disneyland Paris but the Eurostar no longer goes directly to Disneyland, so we had to transfer a few trains once arriving in Paris.
The journey from Paris to Disneyland was the most difficult part of our entire 12 day trip. You have to purchase tickets at the kiosks to Disneyland.
While this is kind of straight forward we found it to be confusing. The first train is RER B or D then you transfer to the RER A.
This was also a very busy time at the train station and it made our first day in France a bit stressful.
Thankfully we were able to figure it out. We didn’t get on the wrong train and we eventually arrived at the entrance to Disneyland Paris.
There were moments where it was kind of scary because we had all of our luggage, had no idea where we were going, and it was crowded.
At one point a passenger was pushed down the stairs on the train because people were trying to get in.
I was informed by a local that it is not typically this busy but keep that in mind when planning your visit. You may want to consider a car transfer if the price is in your budget.
I suggest watching a few videos about getting to Disneyland from Paris on youtube to familiarize yourself with how it works.
Once we arrived we made the 15 minute walk to check-in to our hotel Disney’s Newport Bay Club.
I was very excited to stay on-site and start the first day of our trip to Paris.
We had booked a package that included 3 nights at the resort and 4 day park tickets. Once we were settled we headed over to Walt Disney Studios for a few hours before the park closed.
It was around 6:00pm when we finally made it to the park so do not plan too much on travel days.
For dinner we ate at Five Guys at Disney Village and then went back to the room to go to sleep.
Day 2: Disneyland Paris
I am not going to go into full details about our Disneyland itinerary because I will be writing it’s own article to cover that. I will link here once done.
We arrived an hour before park open because on-site hotel guests have early entry. Big Thunder Mountain was our first ride and we had the best time on it. Don’t miss it!!
Day 3: Walt Disney Studios
This day was basically the same except we started at Walt Disney Studios park. We started with the most popular attraction, Crush’s Coaster.
We took a mid-day break and ended the night at Disneyland Park for the Disney D-Light Show. This show uses drones and it was awesome!
After that we went home to pack and get ready to travel back to Paris for day 4.
Day 4: Disneyland to Paris
We slept in for the morning and then went back into Disneyland Park for a bit before lunch. The park wasn’t very busy and we took the opportunity to meet Daisy.
We couldn’t check-in to our Paris hotel until late afternoon and we didn’t want to arrive in the city with all our luggage and no where to go.
The train back to the city was much better than the way in. It wasn’t crowded and we found it easier to figure out.
We arrived at our hotel around 4:00pm and after relaxing for an hour or so decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower.
We didn’t have plans to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower but we did plan on going to see it.
Our hotel was along a street with many shops and bakeries so we grabbed a few baguettes and started walking.
Paris was really fun for us because we enjoyed just walking around and taking it all in. I think with older children it is nice to not be as structured and see what you discover.
After lots of photos in front of the Eiffel tower we walked back to our hotel. We stopped at a few markets and purchased a chicken, fruit, and more baguettes.
Our hotel was also very close to an Aldi grocery store. We stopped here to get some drinks and snacks for our room.
After dinner in our room we walked back out for some ice cream and a walk. It was a great first evening in Paris.
Day 5: Full Day in Paris
For our full day in Paris we planned on taking a self-guided walking tour much like the one we planned in London.
Our visit was in July and I didn’t realize how hot the summer months can get in Paris. Be prepared if you visit at this time that the temperature can get hot.
It was in the high 90s for our visit and we carried refillable water bottles with us.
This day was at a slow pace because we were tired from our week adventures and we didn’t want to rush.
We took the Metro to the Louvre and walked around this area. There is a lot of construction going on around Paris to prepare for the 2024 Olympics.
From there we walked along the river seine over to the Notre Dame Cathedral. This was still closed due to the fire.
If we visit again I would probably purchase tickets to tour the inside.
Then we took the Metro over to the Saint-Germain stadium. We followed the World Cup in 2022 and were excited to see the stadium.
We didn’t realize tours were available in the off-season so we decided to purchase tickets to tour the stadium.
This was such a fun surprise. We didn’t have it planned and I was happy we didn’t overbook our trip so we could go.
The tour takes you through the locker room and onto the field. It is a fun experience.
After that we were exhausted from all the walking. We took the metro back to our hotel and took a break.
One of the things we wanted to do but didn’t know if we would have the energy was to see the Eiffel tower lights.
We decided to push through and I am so happy we did.
It was one of our favorite moments of the entire trip. Walking around the Eiffel Tower as dusk settled in was so cool.
When the lights came out it was beautiful. It didn’t get dark until about 11:00pm so be prepared to stay up for this.
We also felt very safe walking back to our hotel at night. The area we stayed in was well lit and it was an easy walk back.
Day 6: Morning in Paris and Depart Home
The next morning we had to check-out and had a little time before our driver arrived to take us to Charles de Gaulle airport.
We could have taken a train but this is the one time I splurged for a car to take us. I am happy we did because it made transportation easy.
In the morning before pick up we did walk around our hotel a bit and found more historic buildings and museums.
The Rodin museum and the Army museum were around the corner. We could have spent another day exploring Paris in the other direction!
Paris was one of the best places to stop at during our family travel trip to Europe. There were beautiful parks and so much to see.
It had so much to do and we loved spending time together as a family. If you enjoyed this article you may like this one too: Family Trip to Iceland: Our 2 Days in Iceland Itinerary
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