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, puppets re-enact plots set in Gothic castles and Oriental palaces; many critics say the best puppet shows are held in the Champ de Mars.
On Sunday afternoon, 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.
The "Beach" of Paris -- Relaxing under a palm tree on a chaise lounge sounds more Caribbean than Parisian, but a nearly 4.8km (3-mile) stretch of sandy shore has opened along the Seine. With the Eiffel Tower looming in the background, visitors and locals can splash in fountains, swing in hammocks, play volleyball, or enjoy a picnic. Just don't go into the polluted water of the murky Seine. The Paris beach opened in the late summer of 2003, after tons of sand were poured into concrete bases along the river.
