baby
In Paris With Baby
03/01/06 Filed in: Travel
Well, we decided to spend Christmas with family in Paris last year and collected some small points to recommend to other families spending time in Paris. Pretty much the whole experience revolved about having a baby stroller with us.
In most cases bringing a very small stroller would have made everything easier, ours was built for the mountains.
METRO
Fortunately some of the Metro stations had escalators but in almost every case there were stairs to climb and with a stroller that is not soo easy. Escalators are definitely not my preferred solution for moving a stroller but with a little bit of work and a nice hand strap it can be done. We recommend anyways 2 adults... just in case, one in front and one in back.
So, if you are going to take the metro make sure there are at least 2 adults or be ready to be late arriving as you ask someone to help. There are elevators but we could not find any that worked.
TAXIS
Imagining how difficult the Metro could be we also brought a car seat with us. The taxis are quite friendly about baby car seats (at least our taxis were). This is not too suprising since they arrive with the clock ticking so the longer it takes you to set things up the more they make. Our baby seat could easily fit with any seatbelts so that was easy and it saved a lot of hassle getting from the Lyon train station to/ from the hotel.
TICKETS
We had previously tried to get into the Orsay Museum on our last visit but even without a visit the lines were too long. I finally headed out early one morning to wait for tickets to be sure that we could quickly get in (it was cold!) That actually worked very well. Some places also allow you to reserve tickets in advance. Be sure to check or stand a good 1-2 hours outside.
STAY IN THE LATIN QUARTER
Well, we were going to do this regardless of having a baby with us or not. It really helped though since we could easily get out to eat or walk around where we wanted... Notre Dame, Odeon, and just the Latin Quarter in general. The places might be a little more expensive but being able to quickly hop out for a meal at any time was great, especially for a short stay. We stayed at Hôtel du Levant *** but there were easily another 4 hotels in the area.
ASK ABOUT STROLLER ACCESS
We were unhappily suprised that the hotel elevator was so small. There was no way to fit the stroller into it. Fortunately they did have easy access to a storage place on the ground floor but that was pretty small. We luckily arrived when there were not many other guests so there was room for us but it would not have taken to many other visitors to fill up even that space. Also, having the stroller downstairs meant always being blocked by other visitors whenever we came and went. A tiny stroller would have been perfect and we almost went for getting one... if it had not been so cold (our big one had a lot of wind protection and warm stuff).
DISCOUNT BABY TRAIN SEAT
When we made our reservations to get to Paris we by chance discovered that there were discounted seat prices for babies. It was a very good thing... the TGV is not known for being space friendly and the extra seat really made for lower stress. And the baby car seat fit in well so our little one had a nice place to sleep/ play.
Additionally, the TGV train to Paris typically has a semi-closed compartment for each 2nd class train car. Those were great... seats 11,12, 13, 14 I think. Not only were we right at the door to unload everything, we were facing each other and so had extra floor space, and the glass doors, while opening for everyone passing through, made the trip much more relaxing.
Without the above mentioned space be prepared to be among the first on the train so that you can try to store your luggage and stroller before everyone else gets to the limited space. Pay attention what is happening in the winter. The stop before ours on the way home had the doors frozen shut and people had to walk back a few train cars to get out. That would have been quite difficult with luggage and stroller. Luckily our stop got out on the other side of the train but even then the conductor was in such a hurry to be on time that he rushed us out, throwing my wifes hat and coat out before her to be sure she got out quickly. Very friendly indeed.
BRING WHAT YOU NEED
Yes it is Paris but is shopping for baby stuff what you want to do? If you are taking a taxi just fill your bags. We used the minifridge of the hotel room to keep any baby food in and getting hot water was not too difficult. We had also a small thermos that held the baby bottle so we could always ask for hot water anywhere to make a bottle.
If you do need to travel lite, be sure to ask the Hotel if there is a grocery store nearby. The only thing we really did not pack up with was water, it was just too heavy and well worth a visit to a grocery store whereever it might be.
BRING PATIENCE
There will probably be lots of suprises, mainly around your hotel so just be patient unless you want to waste your time. For example our hotel Hôtel du Levant while being ideally located, also had a lot of little suprises.
Our rooms could not regulate the heat... but at least they were hot. So, we left the windows open whenever we left and had to put on our coats downstairs. Also, they have a light saving system where you leave the key in a socket to activate the lights. This can be annoying if one person wants to go to town and the other wants to stay with the baby in the room (i.e. no lights). When we explained this they did say we could get a second light only key on request.
An unhappy suprise was to find out that this system would not allow you to turn off some of the lights in the room.. some were always on. Their solution was to take out the key which would kill all power to the room. Well, with a little baby, total darkness does not work either. Finally we just removed the main lightbulbs at night and left a dimmer single light on.
Another suprise was that they did not have any baby chairs for the included morning breakfast. Instead they had horribly open metal chairs (where we say an unhappy child fall through when leaning back). They also refused to allow us to bring in the baby stroller since that might scratch their precious wooden floors. Fortunately we had grandparents with us and they could take turns holding the baby while we ate. However, in general restaurants were fine bringing in our bulky stroller.
So there you go. We only had a few days and griped here and there but heck, we were in the middle of the Latin Quarter and it was Paris. It was still fun but patience was the key.
In most cases bringing a very small stroller would have made everything easier, ours was built for the mountains.
- the Metro/ Subway is not baby friendly
- bring a baby seat for taxis
- get museum reservation tickets or have someone wait early in the morning
- stay in the Latin Quarter for quick access to restaurant
- make sure the hotel elevator can fit your stroller or that they can store it easily
- if you arrive by train check on getting a discounted baby seat reservation
- bring whatever you need with you
- bring a lot of patience
METRO
Fortunately some of the Metro stations had escalators but in almost every case there were stairs to climb and with a stroller that is not soo easy. Escalators are definitely not my preferred solution for moving a stroller but with a little bit of work and a nice hand strap it can be done. We recommend anyways 2 adults... just in case, one in front and one in back.
So, if you are going to take the metro make sure there are at least 2 adults or be ready to be late arriving as you ask someone to help. There are elevators but we could not find any that worked.
TAXIS
Imagining how difficult the Metro could be we also brought a car seat with us. The taxis are quite friendly about baby car seats (at least our taxis were). This is not too suprising since they arrive with the clock ticking so the longer it takes you to set things up the more they make. Our baby seat could easily fit with any seatbelts so that was easy and it saved a lot of hassle getting from the Lyon train station to/ from the hotel.
TICKETS
We had previously tried to get into the Orsay Museum on our last visit but even without a visit the lines were too long. I finally headed out early one morning to wait for tickets to be sure that we could quickly get in (it was cold!) That actually worked very well. Some places also allow you to reserve tickets in advance. Be sure to check or stand a good 1-2 hours outside.
STAY IN THE LATIN QUARTER
Well, we were going to do this regardless of having a baby with us or not. It really helped though since we could easily get out to eat or walk around where we wanted... Notre Dame, Odeon, and just the Latin Quarter in general. The places might be a little more expensive but being able to quickly hop out for a meal at any time was great, especially for a short stay. We stayed at Hôtel du Levant *** but there were easily another 4 hotels in the area.
ASK ABOUT STROLLER ACCESS
We were unhappily suprised that the hotel elevator was so small. There was no way to fit the stroller into it. Fortunately they did have easy access to a storage place on the ground floor but that was pretty small. We luckily arrived when there were not many other guests so there was room for us but it would not have taken to many other visitors to fill up even that space. Also, having the stroller downstairs meant always being blocked by other visitors whenever we came and went. A tiny stroller would have been perfect and we almost went for getting one... if it had not been so cold (our big one had a lot of wind protection and warm stuff).
DISCOUNT BABY TRAIN SEAT
When we made our reservations to get to Paris we by chance discovered that there were discounted seat prices for babies. It was a very good thing... the TGV is not known for being space friendly and the extra seat really made for lower stress. And the baby car seat fit in well so our little one had a nice place to sleep/ play.
Additionally, the TGV train to Paris typically has a semi-closed compartment for each 2nd class train car. Those were great... seats 11,12, 13, 14 I think. Not only were we right at the door to unload everything, we were facing each other and so had extra floor space, and the glass doors, while opening for everyone passing through, made the trip much more relaxing.
Without the above mentioned space be prepared to be among the first on the train so that you can try to store your luggage and stroller before everyone else gets to the limited space. Pay attention what is happening in the winter. The stop before ours on the way home had the doors frozen shut and people had to walk back a few train cars to get out. That would have been quite difficult with luggage and stroller. Luckily our stop got out on the other side of the train but even then the conductor was in such a hurry to be on time that he rushed us out, throwing my wifes hat and coat out before her to be sure she got out quickly. Very friendly indeed.
BRING WHAT YOU NEED
Yes it is Paris but is shopping for baby stuff what you want to do? If you are taking a taxi just fill your bags. We used the minifridge of the hotel room to keep any baby food in and getting hot water was not too difficult. We had also a small thermos that held the baby bottle so we could always ask for hot water anywhere to make a bottle.
If you do need to travel lite, be sure to ask the Hotel if there is a grocery store nearby. The only thing we really did not pack up with was water, it was just too heavy and well worth a visit to a grocery store whereever it might be.
BRING PATIENCE
There will probably be lots of suprises, mainly around your hotel so just be patient unless you want to waste your time. For example our hotel Hôtel du Levant while being ideally located, also had a lot of little suprises.
Our rooms could not regulate the heat... but at least they were hot. So, we left the windows open whenever we left and had to put on our coats downstairs. Also, they have a light saving system where you leave the key in a socket to activate the lights. This can be annoying if one person wants to go to town and the other wants to stay with the baby in the room (i.e. no lights). When we explained this they did say we could get a second light only key on request.
An unhappy suprise was to find out that this system would not allow you to turn off some of the lights in the room.. some were always on. Their solution was to take out the key which would kill all power to the room. Well, with a little baby, total darkness does not work either. Finally we just removed the main lightbulbs at night and left a dimmer single light on.
Another suprise was that they did not have any baby chairs for the included morning breakfast. Instead they had horribly open metal chairs (where we say an unhappy child fall through when leaning back). They also refused to allow us to bring in the baby stroller since that might scratch their precious wooden floors. Fortunately we had grandparents with us and they could take turns holding the baby while we ate. However, in general restaurants were fine bringing in our bulky stroller.
So there you go. We only had a few days and griped here and there but heck, we were in the middle of the Latin Quarter and it was Paris. It was still fun but patience was the key.
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