Fodor's Around Paris with Kids, 2nd Edition: 68 Great Things to Do Together

by Fodor's Travel Publications Inc.

Each book focuses on up to 68 terrific ideas for family days, from museums and puppet theaters to skyscrapers and parks. Written by parents who live in the cities they cover, these books are smart about what kids like--and about what parents need. All the details for planning are included: addresses, phone numbers, admission prices, and age-appropriateness. "Hey, Kids!" info boxes provide fun facts and interesting trivia about the destination, and "Kid-Friendly Eats" features recommend three or four places to grab a bite to eat nearby. Fun to read and easy to use, these handy little guides make it easy to plan an enjoyable, hassle-free day with children in the world's most popular cities. They're perfect idea books for every city parent and grandparent, and indispensable aids for families on vacation.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, France

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 12, 2001

About the author

Fodor's Travel Publications is a United States-based producer of English-language travel guides and online tourism information. It was founded by Hungarian Eugene Fodor in 1936.
Fodor’s was acquired by Random House in 1986 and sold to Internet Brands in 2016.

Reviews

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not just for kids.

[Hoosier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This great, little book is a "must have" for anyone with children who lives in NYC or is planning to visit NYC. In fact, it is even a great book for someone without children but wants to learn about fun, active sites in NYC. The book is small enough that it can fit into any purse, backpack, or jacket and light enough that it would not be a nuisance to carry around the city while sightseeing.

Samantha Chapnick has done a wonderful job summarizing the sixty-eight best things to do with kids in NYC. I have lived in NYC and agree with many of her choices. Chapnick makes the book very user friendly by including information about the best places to eat near each given attraction and different places near each attraction that are worth visiting. Moreover, the summary of each activity lets the reader know the cost, the url site, and the age-appropriateness of each event.

I also own a copy of Fodor's Family New York City with Kids. Unlike Chapnick's book, Fodor's Family book is better for anyone with children who either lives in NYC or spends a lot of time in NYC. Chapnick's book is good at distilling the facts about each activity into two easy pages and is organized by the ranking of each of the 68 activities. Fodor's Family is organized by NYC's geographic areas and it would be difficult for someone who is not familiar with NYC to know which of the activities in each area are worth visiting. However, Chapnick's book only lists 68 main activities and someone who lives in NYC might want a book with more thorough coverage of the city.

My only complaint is that the activities in the book are numbered in reverse-alphabetical order rather than order of interest.

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

The organization of the book is strange, since destinations are rated from 68 to 1, so the things you are most certainly going to visit are all the way in the back of the book. There's no index, either, so all the clever asides with suggestions for parks or restaurants nearby are not searchable unless you remember which destination they are near. And things aren't arranged by neighborhood, so you can't page from one place to another nearby without consulting the list in the back.

All that said, this is a fun addition to your regular guidebook if you're traveling with children. It does a great job of pointing up classes for children, treasure hunts or children's tours of museums, and parks or playgrounds nearby where they can burn off some energy after a hard slog through the art.

We've taken it and my daughter to Paris twice now. I'm sorry that she's outgrowing it now, since we have so much more to explore.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're headed to Paris with children, here's a great book! It's chatty, well-organized and full of good advice such as, "Just because the world's most famous museum is filled with priceless treasures...doesn't mean that kids will like it" and "Your best strategy is to think of the Louvre as a long-term project, and plan to see only a small part of it each time you come." It has each site's address, hours, admission price, website, and tips such as neighboring gardens to run around in after the stie and the location of nearby ice cream stores. It's also pocket-sized, so it was handy to carry around.

[Raelene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun. Lots of good information, tips and ideas to enjoy the best of Paris - the well-known and also less well-known spots - with little ones. Definitely recommend it.

One caveat - it's best geared for kids/families who are staying in Paris either permanently or for a considerable amount of time. It's attractions are geared to half-day events and outings and many are whole-day outings (which of course is perfect if you live in Paris, but difficult to accomplish if you're there for only a week or so).

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for anyone going to Paris with kids. This has great tips in it along with details about traveling throughout the city. It is also perfectly sized to fit into a purse/bag for easy access when traveling.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a few years back (picked it up at a library sale for $1), but just found it in my travel books and figured I'd see if anything would apply for our upcoming trip. I was pleasantly surprised to see that even though my younger daughter is a teen, there is still a lot of great information!

[May · Rating 3 out of 5]

Information-wise I liked it. Presentation and organization was lacking making it hard to use.