Traveling Moms- Where to Stay in Paris

If you’re considering a vacation in Paris with your little ones tagging along, don’t hesitate. We did it and so can you.

My hubby and I spent over a week in Paris with our eight month old and one of the best favours we did to ourselves was to choose a good location to live in. Here are some tips for you, coming straight from our personal experience.

Take an Apartment Instead of a Hotel

This may not make sense if you’re in town for just 2-3 days, but if you’re doing longer than that, an apartment makes sense on many counts. We sought out apartments with a double bed and a sofa-bed that could be turned into another bed. For those many beds in a hotel, we’d have needed a triple-seater room or two rooms, both of which are quite expensive in Paris.

 Apart from being less costly, an apartment gives you the flexibility to cook a few dishes as per your kid’s taste. Maybe your little one likes only rice or you need a stove to heat water for her milk. There will be times when you’ll also return home early, exhausted by a day out with a baby. Instead of having to step out again for dinner, you could just stir up a quick meal for yourself in the flat.

 Check for Amenities You Will Need

Don’t assume that if you’re going for an apartment, you’ll have all amenities included. Not all Paris kitchens have a microwave. Many buildings in the city don’t have an elevator, a pain if you’ve got a baby and a stroller. Need a washing machine for baby’s endless laundry? Make sure the apartment has what you need. Airbnb, through which we book flats while travelling, allows you the option to select amenities that are a must for you. Double-check with the owner before you book.

Click here to get free travel credit on Airbnb.

 Stay in a Central Location

In Paris, they say, any arrondissement (neighbourhood) with a single digit is a fairly central location. Even better, if you have the time, make an approximate itinerary and check where your points of interest lie on a map. Try to look for an apartment close to as many of these areas as possible. Apart from being able to move around quickly, you have the added advantage of being able to touch base when you or the child needs a break from touring. Sometimes, just an hour’s nap at the apartment can buy you a couple of more hours outside.

 Stay near Public Transport

Not only does it help to live in a central Parisian location, you need to have easy access to public transport. When you’re with a kid, you want to spend as much of your precious outdoors time as possible at the place of your choice, rather than in travelling. We were lucky to find a place near the Louvre Museum. Not only were a lot of top attractions walking distance from there, we also found public transport including buses, taxis and metro in the vicinity.

 I hope these suggestions will be of help when you select your place of rest in Paris. If you’d like to ask me something specific about accommodation in Paris or about our experience, you can leave a comment below.

 Also, don’t miss my next post on ‘Traveling Moms- Transport within Paris’.