Paris mon amour, preparing for our first family holiday abroad

Illustration by my lovely and amazingly talented pal miss Emma Block 

This is a collaborative guest post with Mary Johnson

As you probably know (if you follow me on any of my social media channels), there is not much time left to our first family holiday to Paris and we are all getting super excited about it. We have been dreaming about this trip for so long and we are so happy to finally visit this beautiful city as a family. Travelling with toddlers isn’t easy though and we know there’s no chance we could visit Paris the way would as early twenty-somethings with no responsibilities, so Tom and I have started looking for things to do and see with Wilf.

If you’re heading to Paris this summer just like us, remember to check different accommodation options on booking sites until you are at home. Venere.com is a good example, you can look here for child-friendly places in the central arrondissements so that you can easily move around the city and won’t need to worry about anything else.

One of the first things I’d like to visit is the Cité des Enfants, a museum dedicated to children where they can learn and discover new things about nature, science and other cultures just playing around with other kids. Just outside there is the famous Parc de la Villette, an amusement park that will entertain adults and kids with concert halls and a dragon slide! The Jardin des Plants is on our list of things we would like to see in Paris. This huge botanical garden is perfect for a lovely walk in the sun with the family. Kids have a blast observing flowers and plants they have never seen before and hey, who doesn’t love monkeys and reptiles? The Pompidou Centre is the perfect compromise for adults and kids: inside there is a museum of modern art, a huge library but also a children’s area with rotating exhibits and fun workshops (Tom likes to mention this place on every conversation we have about our trip as he lives the name). In the Jardin du Luxembourg, kids can finally run free and happily and play with slides and swing, while adults can walk and take a breath between the beautiful trees and flowers, I can't wait!

And finally, we can’t forget to taste some delicious French food. Pink Flamingo Pizza had the greatest idea for families: you can have a picnic along Canal St. Martin or Places des Vosges (or several other locations around Paris) and they arrive serving your food with beautiful balloons for your kids! Isn’t that amazing?