Background
In May 2022, our family took a fun trip to Paris. We started our trip in Versailles and then took the train to Paris for 3 days. On our first day in Paris, we had a busy but fun day exploring highlights including the Eiffel Tower, Arch De Triomph, Orangerie Museum, and an evening Seine Boat Tour.
Read all of our Paris posts at the following links:
- Flight details (free using points!) Jetlag with kids, packing tips, and more.
- Hotel stays: Versailles, Hyatt Paris (free using points!) & Disney
- Itinerary and Logistics (phone, metro, language)
- Versailles Palace and Gardens & an awesome Chartres light show
- Paris Day 1: Eiffel Tower, Arch De Triomph, Boat Tour (This post)
- Paris Day 2: Sainte Chapelle, Musee D’ Orsay, Montmartre
- Paris Day 3: Louvre, Luxembourg Gardens, Macaron Class
- Disneyland Paris: Best rides, shows and activities
Day 1: Eiffel Tower, Arch De Triomph, Orangerie, Tuilerres Garden, Boat Tour
After arriving in Paris from Versailles, we checked into our hotel and took the train to Trocadero park to get our first views of the Eiffel Tower. We bought some sandwiches at a food stand, avoided the people selling cheap souvenirs and had a picnic and took some pics! Wow! Is it really a visit to Paris if you don’t catch a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower? Both kids were familiar with the tower and very excited to see it in all its glory. We decided not to go up the Eiffel tower but to just enjoy the views from below. If you decide to go up, you will need pre-reserved tickets that give admission to various levels. There was a carousel nearby and a stand at the Champ De Mars park selling popsicles. After our visit to the tower, we then walked around 30 minutes towards the Arch De Triomph.
Entrance fees to the Arc de Triomphe were included in our museum pass. There are so many beautiful details on the outside and inside of this monument. The kids did great at climbing the 284 steps. There is an elevator but it is reserved for disabled and families with strollers. At the upper level, there were restrooms, a gift shop, and some information on other arches around the world. At the top, there were gorgeous views over the city, including of the Eiffel tower. The best views in Paris! Our visit lasted around an hour.
Next on our itinerary, I had noted that the Orangerie museum would be nice to do if we had time and energy but not a must-do. When making plans for trips with kids, being flexible is so important. We took the train to the museum even though we would only have an hour at the museum. This was just enough time to briefly walk through the main exhibits including the Monet Water Lily rooms. After our visit, Ben did a run, while the kids and I visited the carousel in Tuileries garden and walked 15 minutes back to our hotel.
We took a brief break at our hotel for some free(!) drinks in the lobby, iPad time for the kids, and discussing our plans for the evening and the next day. We ate a yummy dinner at a brassiere near our hotel and headed out by train to an evening boat tour on the Seine.
Based on our research, we knew we wanted to take a night cruise to see the city lights. Because of the late sunset, the lights on the Eiffel Tower didn’t turn on until 10pm. The boat cruise we chose was the cheapest option, the Bateaux-Moches. It was a very basic cruise where we would pass by a site and 1 sentence would be shared in 5 different languages before passing by another. We were able to see a lot of cool sights that we would continue to explore in future days. The highlight was definitely the Eiffel Tower. Every hour, there is also a lovely “sparkle” show on the tower that was fun to watch.
More Paris Posts
Read all of our Paris posts at the following links:
- Flight details (free using points!) Jetlag with kids, packing tips, and more.
- Hotel stays: Versailles, Hyatt Paris (free using points!) & Disney
- Itinerary and Logistics (phone, metro, language)
- Versailles Palace and Gardens & an awesome Chartres light show
- Paris Day 1: Eiffel Tower, Arch De Triomph, Boat Tour (This post)
- Paris Day 2: Sainte Chapelle, Musee D’ Orsay, Montmartre
- Paris Day 3: Louvre, Luxembourg Gardens, Macaron Class
- Disneyland Paris: Best rides, shows and activities
