Christmas in Paris with Kids | Itinerary, Tips & More!

Visiting Paris during the holidays has been a dream of mine since I was little. From the sparkling, magical city streets to the scent of bounlangerie’s baking in the air – the thought of it used to give me chills. Celebrating Christmas in Paris with kids was a dream come true for me. Now, I want to share our incredible experience with other families who also dream of this bucket list trip. Below is our 5 day itinerary and guide to Christmas in Paris with kids. Additionally, we’ll include plenty of tips for traveling with little ones in this city of love. Check out some of our fave Christmas markets and be prepared to explore all that this wonderful city has to offer!

Christmas in Paris with Kids

After traveling to Colmar, Alsace (read our Colmar with Kids guide here) and exploring the local Alsatian Christmas markets, we took the train to Paris for a different, yet immersive city experience. Christmas in Paris with kids differs slightly from Alsace in terms of the crowds mainly. There’s a massive population boost in Paris and many more market options. Alsace had small markets all through out the different towns. In comparison, Strasbourg was the only large market that bared similarity to those in Paris. We loved both Marche de Noel (“Christmas Market” in French) cultures and appreciated the differences of both.

Many of the Paris markets were more upbeat and had a carnival feel to them. Colmar and the Alsatian towns mostly consisted of strolling through the stands with Vin Chaud (mulled wine) and observing the local shops and restaurants. There were some rides for kids, but not many options outside of Colmar and Strasbourg. Either way, we recommend checking out both locations for the full French Christmas experience!

When to Visit

The best time to witness the magic of Christmas in Paris with kids is right after Thanksgiving/end of November through December. We arrived the last week of November and most of the markets had just opened. Unfortunately, there were a couple of markets and events in Paris that began the first week of December. Although some markets are open until early January, but your best bet is visiting in December.

We always travel the last week of November because December 1st is our anniversary. So, this is why we went a traveled a bit little earlier. Gregg and I were lucky enough to be in Paris (our engagement location) on our actual anniversary. It was such a special moment celebrating with our girls. Thankfully, all of the best markets were open during our stay in France. I’m sure we got some better hotel and Airbnb prices as it was the beginning of the Christmas season.

Where to Stay

Staying in European cities with a family can be very expensive and most hotels do not allow a family of four (regardless of children’s ages) to book a standard room. So, this tends to almost double the nightly rate or more as you will be booking a larger room/family suite. I guess only Americans cram an entire family into a small hotel room with two queen beds… 😬

That being said, booking a Paris hotel in a prime location was extremely frustrating. Even the Airbnb’s were a little far from the area we wanted to be in. Originally, we planned to stay near the Eiffel Tower in the 7th or 8th Arrondissement. However, we decided to stay closer to Tuileries Gardens and the Christmas Market in the 1st Arrondissement. In my opinion, it ended up being the best location for our family! Not only could we walk out to the markets, but we were a short walk from the Tuileries metro station. This location was very central and easy to hop on the metro to get anywhere. Below is a map of the Paris Arrondissements to get an idea of where we stayed and the most popular attractions.

Renaissance Paris Vendome Hotel

After much research, we found a very reasonable rate through our Capital One Venture X travel card. We booked five nights at the Renaissance Paris Vendome Hotel and it was beyond perfect for our family. The hotel was a two bedroom, two bathroom family suite that was incredibly spacious. Also, it allowed for enough separation from the girls bedroom to stay up later in the night. The staff were beyond wonderful refilling our bottles of milk each day. The hotel even had a lovely gathering in the lobby with delicious hors d’oeuvres, hot chocolate, and cocktails for the guests one evening.

Most importantly, the location for our family was the best part of this hotel. Each night, we enjoyed a beautiful walk over to the Tuileries Christmas market, the train station was about a 5-10 minute walk, and the Louvre was nearby as well. Above all, this location has so much to offer for families and we highly recommend the Renaissance hotel.

How to Get Around

Getting around Paris is very simple: walk or hop on the metro. We pretty much rode the metro all over the city and did a substantial amount of walking. Walking around Paris was one of the highlights of the trip. Everything was decorated for the holidays and sparkled at nighttime! It was truly even better than I had remembered after visiting in the summertime.

Getting around with Kids

I alternated between carrying Luna and putting her in the stroller depending on the day and our plans. To be honest, bringing the stroller through the metro was a bit of a pain and it can be pure chaos at times. If you plan to do a lot of train travel, I would avoid a stroller. If anything, fold it up and don’t use it until you arrive at your destination. I would also highly recommend an easy, compact travel stroller like the gb pockit stroller. Check out more of our toddler recommendations below.

The RATP is the public transportation system of Paris. Here, you can book tickets via metro, bus, or tramway and find timetables for various routes. Honestly, we used Google Maps for directions to most destinations. It is always up to date with traffic conditions and has served us well thus far.

Our 5 Day Itinerary

Below is our 5 day itinerary for doing Christmas in Paris with kids. In light of our past trip to Paris, our plans were centered around certain activities we enjoyed our last visit (read about our summer in Paris engagement trip here). This included some new bucket list items, such as going to a Champion’s League Paris Saint-Germain football game at Parc de Princes. Despite an itinerary focusing mostly on toddler-based activities, it certainly would be wonderful for couples and families with older children. Although your family may be able to complete more of the plan than we did, many parents know that traveling with toddlers comes with its own challenges. As I have shown, we absolutely loved every bit of this itinerary and we know you will also!

Day 1

• Arrive in Paris, Check-in to hotel
• Paris Saint-Germain Champions League Game

A trip to anywhere in Europe is not complete without attending a major football (soccer) match! Of course, when we found out that Paris Saint-Germain was hosting a Champions League game at home during our time in Paris, we were beyond stoked! Not only was this an experience of a lifetime, but we got to catch a glimpse of the passionate football fans while watching the best player in the world. This is a MUST DO if you ever have the opportunity and the timing is right.

Our first day consisted of a 3 hour train ride from Colmar, France to Paris. After heading straight to our hotel, we hustled and got ready for the PSG game. If attending a football match, be sure to allow plenty of time for the metro because you’ll be packed like sardines if you’re on taking the M9 line at rush hour.

Watching Mbappe score the game winning goal was a memory we will never forget. The crowd went insane! Obviously, this was a unique experience and the timing worked out in our favor, but just being able to see a PSG game at home would be incredible. To our relief, the weather was surprisingly tolerable at night time and the girls were plenty warm. One important note, the seats are extremely slim and you won’t have much space for baby/toddler gear, so try to pack minimally.

Day 2

• Walk around the Louvre
• Colorful world of Nelson Mendela Garden (Playground)
• Tuileries Christmas Market

The second day was low-key, yet highly enjoyable for all of us. After a late night, we eased into the morning walking around the 2nd Arrondissement and grabbed some crepes close to our hotel. We strolled down to the Louvre and roamed around the city until we found the Colorful World of Nelson Mandela playground. We may or may not have had our own personal Louvre photoshoot… Shout out to Kiss Me in Paris for capturing our best Louvre moments after our proposal!

Colorful World of Nelson Mandela

The Nelson Mendela park was one of the coolest playgrounds we’d ever seen! Unfortunately, the big kids part was closed for some reason, so we had to stay on the small side. However, Maya enjoyed running around its unique structures. The playground was well worth going out of the way for, as it was the nicest one we encountered on this trip. Visiting Christmas in Paris with kids isn’t complete without finding an awesome PG!

During our stroll, we passed by a couple pharmacies and grocery stores to store up on snacks and baby goods. These are usually your best bets for finding baby and toddler goodies internationally.

After our lovely morning, we headed back to the hotel to rest up for an exciting evening at the Tuileries Christmas Market. Grab some coffee from the delicious Café Kitsuné across from the gardens. The staff were very kind, gave us milk for Luna multiple times and even let us use their personal bathroom for Maya. We definitely appreciated the staff’s extra efforts. Plus, the lattes were yummy too!

La Magie de Noël at Tuileries Garden

The Tuileries Christmas Market is basically a Christmas carnival. This may seem like your worst nightmare or all of your childhood dreams coming true. Although very crowded, we had a blast here! We enjoyed the slides the most, but even just people watching on other rides was hilarious. There’s plenty of stands with local foods and mulled wine. Roam around this hectic market for loads of fun and delicious goods!

Our Location to Tuileries Gardens

Truly, the location at Vendome Palace is perfect. Your family could easily walk out to Tuileries market each evening and explore the surrounding areas during the day. We preferred to check out other markets, but the ease of access to the metro was perfect for getting around. Overall, we highly recommend this location over others despite the cost. Originally, we planned to stay close to the Eiffel Tower, but decided that was out of the way for majority of our itinerary. Christmas in Paris with kids shouldn’t include excess transportation. Save yourself the hassle if you can splurge a bit.

Day 3

• Morning Christmas Market & Playground at Tuileries Gardens
• Eiffel Tower Playground & Carousel
• Stroll through Champs Elysées & Haussmann Boulevard

Tuileries Morning Market & Playground

The next morning we strolled through the much calmer Tuileries market with coffees in hand. In search of breakfast foods, we happened to come across a local meat and cheese supplier. We picked up some incredible ham (jambon) and cheese (fromage) from a kind gentleman. He let us sample his recommendations that would pair well with our Grand Cru wines we picked up in Alsace. It was wonderful to enjoy these with our wine at night in the hotel. I just wish we could’ve taken the food home. Don’t forget a baguette!

Eiffel Tower

After enjoying the playground at Tuileries, we headed to the magnificent Eiffel Tower for lunch and some more play. The girls enjoyed the Eiffel Tower playground and carousel with the incredible view. Champ-de-Mars felt like a wind tunnel this day, so after warming up with some hot chocolate, we headed to Champs-Elysées for a lovely afternoon stroll. This day we banked on naps on the go with great success!

Haussmann Boulevard

Our stroll started from Champs-Elysées and ended up heading towards Haussmann Galeries Lafeyette. Head here for elaborate Christmas decorations and be sure to make some stops on the way! We stopped at the famous Ladurée for macarons – the perfect Christmas gift or French souvenir. Also, we made an entirely too long of a McDonald’s pit stop as we didn’t make enough time for lunch this day.

Although we didn’t plan to do any excessive shopping, window shopping in Galeries Lafeyette was a pretty awesome experience. The Christmas spirit is unmatched and it was a perfect spot to get warm. The girls loved roaming around kids section in the department store. There were tons of toys for entertaining. It was hard to walk away without making a big purchase!

Day 4

• Our Anniversary Day ❤️
• Spa Morning
• Eiffel Tower at night

Day 4 was our anniversary, which there’s no better way to enjoy celebrate than going to the spot where it all began…the Eiffel Tower! (See the rest of our dreamy Paris engagement photos from Kiss Me in Paris here). The morning was spent with Gregg spoiling me with a much needed massage at the Ritz Carlton down the road. I highly recommend this spa if it fits your plans. The facilities were beautiful and it was a lovely way to pamper on a trip full of walking and carrying little ones! This day can be a flexible day for your family. We spent it in a unique way because of the occasion, but would not have typically included a spa day in our itinerary.

A Ritz Carlton Spa Morning

The morning was spent with Gregg spoiling me with a much needed massage at the Ritz Carlton down the road. I highly recommend this spa if it fits your plans. The facilities were beautiful and it was a lovely way to pamper on a trip full of walking and carrying little ones!

The afternoon was spent getting some family photos in the same spot that Gregg proposed to me 7 years ago. What a special moment to experience with our daughters. Gregg is such an amazing father and a great example of a significant other for the girls to witness. Although, they have extremely big shoes to fill now ❤️

Eiffel Tower at Night

After soaking in the moment and rewarming our frozen hands at a nearby cafe, we strolled under the sparkling Eiffel Tower. The girls (and us) were absolutely mesmerized by the dazzling structure in the night sky. It even put our tired, temper tantrum child to peace.

After walking 20,000 steps, is there any better way to end the night than take-in sushi dinner? After devouring some incredibly delicious Japanese food, we all passed out to gain some energy for our last day in Paris.

Day 5

• Rue du Montparnasse Creperies
• Luxembourg Gardens picnic
• Hôtel de Ville Christmas Market

The final day of a trip is always depressing, but we tried to make the most of it! What I will suggest is to not plan any “must-do’s” for the last day…especially traveling with kids. We tried to cram a bit too much into this frigid day and it caused us to miss one of our most looked forwarded to parts of our time in Paris (a picnic in Luxembourg Gardens).

The original plan was to get crêpes for breakfast and walk to La Petit Jacques to stock up on picnic meats and cheeses. We had an unforgettable experience here during our last time in Paris and wanted to stop by and see if they remembered us. Unfortunately, it was freezing and one of the girls was having a meltdown and needed a solid indoor nap. So reluctantly, we headed back to the hotel. We missed out on our Luxembourg picnic, but sometimes c’est la vie! We have learned to prioritize our top plans and make sure they happen early on…just in case.

Rue du Montparnasse Creperies

After spending what seemed like forever finding Rue du Montparnasse, we finally came across Crêperie Port-Manech. Luckily, it was just opening because the rest were still closed (we arrived too early 😬). I guess crepes are more of a brunch thing? Clearly, these people don’t have toddlers!

Tip: Be aware that most creperies do not open in Montparnasse until noon on weekdays & 11:30 on the weekend

Hôtel de Ville Christmas Market

This market was a bit out of the way, but was by far the prettiest we have seen. It is small, yet cute and in a beautiful neighborhood. The market itself is right in front of Hôtel de Ville, the Paris City Hall. It is a stunning backdrop and not to mention, in a booming area of the 4th Arrondissement.

This was one of my favorite Christmas markets because of all the activities for families. There was a rock climbing wall, a louge, and a carousel. Despite its small size, it was very crowded. So, be sure to arrive early on and expect lots of lines. Don’t forget to grab some vin chaud for the wait!

---

The Bottom Line

This itinerary is just an example and you certainly do not need to conform to this exact one. These are the places that worked for us and some were added last minute. My favorite tactic for itinerary-making is to categorize destinations by location and try to visit things nearby. Each day can be 1-2 regions that are close to one another. This has worked very well for our family, especially with small children. Spending a Christmas in Paris with kids can seem like an overwhelming vacation to plan. That being said, with our light, yet solid itinerary, you can have an enjoyable family trip.

Below are some tips and suggestions that we have assembled to make traveling with toddlers, babies and small children easier. As always, feel free to reach out to us on social media for any questions or advice! 🙂

Toddler Tips

Stroller vs Baby Carrying in Paris

As always, the continuous internal debate of packing a stroller versus carrying your baby/toddler has been a struggle for years. I think the bottom line is if you plan to do a lot of city travel or walking around large crowds that packing a stroller is worth the annoyance. I probably used our travel stroller more on this Paris and Colmar trip than any other. Typically if we are going on more of an outdoor hiking trip, I tend to leave it at home. However, in Paris and Japan it was definitely convenient to have.

The only con to this is dealing with public transportation and packing/carrying the stroller. There were certain metro stations that were more of a pain to bring the stroller than others. Unfortunately, the Tuileries station (our home base) was the worst. Luckily our gb Pockit travel stroller was super easy to disassemble/assemble. I would suggest taking your baby/toddler out of the stroller prior to entering the metro as there are many stairs and narrow passageways. Once through, you can place your LO back in, but for ease I mostly wore Luna during transport.

Be sure to check out some of our traveling with toddler must haves below 👇🏽

Where to purchase Toddler/Baby products

When traveling international your best bet is to find baby and toddler goods at a local supermarket/grocery store or pharmacy. we have found that diaper wipes, snacks, and food are typically at the grocery store. This is what we encountered in France. we did purchase extra bottles at a pharmacy where we saw pacifiers as well. Monoprix was a common supermarket in Paris and Pharmacie (if not clear enough) is the translation for pharmacy. You will also see a large, green “+” sign indicating a pharmacy.

Did we have trouble finding food for the LO’s?

Absolutely not. Find me a child who doesn’t like chocolate, croissants, or pastries or crêpes. Yes it was a lot of baked goods but hey, we’re all on vacation enjoying ourselves. The girls loved the croissants and Maya enjoyed the crêpes with blueberries on top. There were times in Colmar, Alsace region that the food was a little different. However, Paris has every type of cuisine known to mankind, so I doubt you will have any issues. As stated above, the grocery stores have baby foods, and snacks if needed.

Random Suggestions

• Stay in a central location
• Tuileries Gardens and Eiffel Tower are popular, family-friendly locations, yet centrally located
• Pack a lightweight, easily compatible stroller
• Wear baby when you can
• Don’t pack an excess of diapers/wipes, you can purchase them at the supermarkets
• Baby food & goods can be found in the grocery stores
• The fast-paced city life is real. Maya got trampled over by some rude pedestrian who didn’t even stop or apologize. Keep your children close by.
• Go with the flow, don’t cram your schedule. Paris is full of so much to see and do! Make room for spontaneous activities too!