Especially for Kids

Paris is not always the easiest city to navigate with children, but kids will still love many of the museums, parks, and attractions the city has to offer. If you're staying on the Right Bank, take the children for a stroll through the Jardin des Tuileries, where there are donkey rides, ice-cream stands, and a marionette show; at the circular pond, you can rent a toy boat. On the Left Bank, similar treats exist in the Jardin du Luxembourg. After a visit to the Eiffel Tower, you can take the kids for a donkey ride in the Champ de Mars.

A Paris tradition, puppet shows are worth seeing for their colorful productions; they're a genuine French child's experience. At the Jardin du Luxembourg, or the Buttes Chaumont, puppets reenact plots set in Gothic castles and Oriental palaces; some critics say the best puppet shows are held in the Champ de Mars.

On Sunday afternoon, many French families head to the Butte Montmartre to bask in the fiesta atmosphere. You can join in: Take the Métro to Anvers, and walk to the funiculaire (the cable car that carries you up to Sacré-Coeur). When up top, follow the crowds to place du Tertre, where a Sergeant Pepper-style band will usually be blasting off-key and you can have the kids' pictures sketched by local artists. You can take in the views of Paris from the various vantage points and treat your children to ice cream.

Here is our list of top attractions that children will enjoy:

• Basilique du Sacré-Coeur
• Bois de Boulogne
• Cimetière du Père-Lachaise
• Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie
• Gaîté Lyrique
• Jardin d'Acclimatation
• Jardin des Tuileries
• Jardin du Luxembourg
• La Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine
• La Promenade Plantée
• Le Musée du quai Branly
• Les Egouts
• Musée Carnavalet-Histoire de Paris
• Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature
• Musée des Arts et Métiers
• Musée Grévin
• Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle
• Musée Rodin
• Palais de Tokyo
• Parc des Buttes Chaumont
• Place des Vosges
• Tour Eiffel
• Tour Montparnasse