Married with Children: Paris

Arrive at Station Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy in the afternoon. Yes, I know that Disney is cheesy, but this is Disney PARIS! How many kids can say they’ve gone to Euro Disney? It’s a really fun way to kick off your family trip and not make the kids feel like you’re just dragging them from one boring historical place to another.

Check in to one of many Disney hotels in the afternoon. I have booked clients at the Disneyland Hotel, which is located at the entrance of the park, but I booked my own family at the Disney Hotel New York - The Art of Marvel Hotel, which is still walking distance from the park, but features more superheroes than princesses. The boys loved it!

Walk through the Disney Village and pick a spot for dinner. Options include the Rainforest Cafe, The Royal Pub, La Grange Western Saloon, and even the American fast-food icon, McDonalds. The village is also where the iconic Disney Paris “hot air balloon” takes off. If you stay at the Disneyland Hotel, make sure you’re back in time to see the fireworks from your balcony!

There are two Disney Parks in Paris. One is Disneyland, and the other is Walt Disney Studios Park.

If you’re short on time, or just hate waiting in lines with kids, I highly recommend purchasing a Disney VIP pass. It’s about 3,000 euros for a six-hour tour for up to 10 people. This gives you the ability to skip every line, get private dining reservations, and have VIP seating at every parade and the end-of-night fireworks/drone show!

Regardless of how you party in the park, you HAVE to go underneath Sleeping Beauty’s Castle to see the dragon. It is the only Disney castle in the world with a dragon below, and it actually moves, breathes fire, etc. It is super cool, and a really special variation from the other parks!

Take a morning train to Paris. This ride takes about 40 minutes and costs about $10. Alternatively, you can book a driver to take you from Disney into Paris proper.

Drop your bags at the hotel and take the kids to the Louvre. Make sure you book your Louvre tickets in advance, and I recommend getting any kind of fast pass available, because the lines get crazy, and that isn’t fun with little ones.

Depending on the age of your kids, you could spend several hours (even days) strolling around the Louvre. However, if you’re there to check it off your list, I’d head straight to the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, snap a photo, and head out. The kids will love your next move, which is just walking outside of the museum to the Jardin de Tuileries, which has fountains, a carousel, ice cream vendors, and lots space for kids to run!

When it’s time for dinner, hit up a casual brasserie to enjoy steak frites, duck l’orange, or, for the more adventurous, escargot and frog legs!

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel, followed by the hop-on hop-off bus tour. Before leaving the hotel, tuck a blanket in your tote or backpack. I know that hop-on hop-off can be cheesy, but Paris is a large and confusing city to get around. The streets fan out like a spider web and it is exceptionally easy to get lost. If it’s a romantic trip or a solo trip, get lost! Have fun! But when there are kids involved, do the tour, stay on the paths, and thank me later. This tour allows the kids to see everything, but not stop at every single place. Some stops have too much traffic and aren’t kid-friendly.

Get off at the Eiffel Tower stop. There is a boulangerie (Boulangerie du Champs de Mars) at the base, where you can get bread, cheese, juice, fruit, etc. There is also a shop on the corner that sells champagne and cups, which I highly recommend purchasing.

Take your food, along with the blanket you packed earlier this morning, and have a picnic on the grass below the Eiffel Tower. I do this every time I’m in Paris! This is such a fun and free way to get great photos and spend time around Paris’ most iconic landmark without waiting in any lines.

If you want to go to the top of the tower for photos, get tickets in advance. But, really, what you want to see most is what you’ll be standing on, so I’ve never really seen the point of going up there.