Paris Parks - The Love Affair Begins Here

In the spirit of the Kate/Eloise project, we spent most of our time last week in the parks of Paris and had a perfectly wonderful time. Both of us.

Like all parents, I made most of my mistakes with the older children. Back when my sons where small, I would never have agreed to “going all the way to Paris to lounge around in parks all day when we have perfectly nice grass and trees at home. We’re here to see and do something different.”

For the record, boys, I’m truly sorry, because I’ve now changed my approach to Paris parks. In fact, a key learning from the Kate/Eloise project is that Paris parks are the most instructive places for introducing children to the many pleasures and possibilities of the City of Light. For parents, Paris parks are living museums of French culture. For children, they are pure unadulterated fun. I’m sure now that the most effective way to begin a lifelong love affair with Paris is to have spent time as a child in a Paris park.

Take, for example, the Luxembourg Gardens which has succeeded in seducing both my husband as a child and my daughter. In this gorgeous setting, Eloise can:

Go to the marionette theatre and shriek, clap and boo the bad guys just like a native
Meet and interact with natives in the huge playground
Beat her previous record on the merry-go-round with the rings
Sail a boat in front of the palace built by a homesick Marie de Medici surrounded by statues of the Queens of France
Ride a donkey
Eat something bad for her or worthwhile – both choices are available
Visit the beehives and the orchards
Find the bronze replica of the Statue of Liberty
Use a clean, nice bathroom (it’s nice because there is a small charge)

While Eloise is having the time of her life, I can:

Enjoy the fact that she is hearing and speaking some French and meeting French children
Be happy that she is getting plenty of exercise
Introduce some feminist history via the Queens of France
Talk about how the Statue of Liberty got into the Luxembourg and some of the history of Franco-American relations (It wasn’t always strained)
Watch the best mother and child fashion show in town (after all this is the Left Bank)
Get a decent cup of coffee
Read a good book
Use a clean, nice bathroom

The culture and history lesson can continue by taking lunch at one of the historic and traditional bistros in the area, either at Aux Charpentiers or our new favourite, the Cremerie Restaurant Polidor, a French restaurant still frequented by students and artists and once favoured by Andre Gide, James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway and Jack Kerouac. The straightforward food, bustling atmosphere and excellent prices make Polidor a great choice when dining with children. Lunch should run you about €20 per person. Be sure and bring cash as credit cards are not accepted.

It should be said that while I revelled in the historic atmosphere, imaging where Joyce or Hemingway would have sat and what they would have ordered, Eloise, of course, took no notice of it.

What she found memorable and quite shocking about Polidor was the plumbing, which probably hasn’t changed much since the restaurant’s inception in 1848. Upon her return from visiting the toilet, she regaled us, and the neighbouring tables, with news of her cultural adventures. And yes, when you look at it from a certain angle, even the plumbing at Polidor is an important part of the living history of Paris.

Cremerie Restaurant Polidor
41 rue Monsieur-le-Prince 6e
Tel: 0143-26-95-34
No credit cards

Aux Charpentiers
10 rue Mabillon 5e
Tel: 01-43-26-30-05

Take your Parents to Paris

To borrow a phrase from John F. Kennedy, we are the parents who accompanied Eloise to Paris and we have enjoyed it.

According to Eloise, Paris is Europe’s most parent-friendly city. She argues that parents are contented and easily distracted because the city is beautiful, the food is good and romance abounds. She goes on to say that contented, distracted parents make easy prey for the hidden agendas of children. Looking back on our recent visit, and the fact that we hardly ever disagree about what to do in Paris, I think she is on to something.

Take, for example, our visit to the Jardin des Tuileries. On the surface, this expanse of formal, neo-classical greenery smack dab in the centre of the city between Concorde and the Louvre feels like a place built for grownups. You might imagine that we strolled around enjoying the aesthetics, and we did. But we also ended up financing several carousel rides on a lovely belle époque “work of art” and several sessions of enthusiastic jumping on the in-ground trampolines. We did get to sit on the benches in the autumn sun while Eloise played in the action playground with all the children who were also on their school holidays and Jeff got to admire their mothers. Everyone was happy.

You can also take as an example our lunch at the Grand Colbert where we retreated after the morning in the Tuileries. Again, you might think the Grand Colbert, housed in a historic monument with a fabulous belle époque interior that was featured in the movie “Something’s Gotta Give” with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, is best for geriatric trysts, but, Eloise knows that a renowned and bustling brasserie is always a fine place to take your parents. While we were busy with our excellent lentil salads watching the midday show, Eloise was able to do unmentionable things to her plate of snails (one of which flew across the room) without invoking the attention or irritation of her parents or the maitre d’hotel who took rather a shine to her.

This was also the case the morning we devoted to shopping. “Mom, why don’t we go to Bon Marche?” (the most fabulous and exclusive department store in Paris). Of course, I’m a sucker for that approach. The fact that we spent most of our time in Bon Marche in the toy department buying these little animals known as Sylvanians (Calico Critters in the U.S. and “Sill van knee yan” in Bon Marche) is not surprising. The fact that later on we also managed to find a very chic and inexpensive Christmas dress down the road at Du Pareil au Meme also speaks to how well a girl can do when her mother is carried away by the elegant retail experience that is Paris.

In the Luxembourg Gardens, Eloise also managed to keep us busy. We got to watch her set a new record on the carousel where children collect rings on a stick as they go around. We got to enjoy a perfect Gallic display of pique as the British school children on holiday took over the action playground from the beautifully dressed pre-schoolers and even better dressed Mamans. Afterwards, when we suggested going to Polidor, (where a three course lunch during the week will only set you back €11), she conveniently reminded us to be sure and go to the bathroom before hand as “this is the place where you have to go standing up”. She also, conveniently, ate the desserts from our three course menu.

And finally, it was Eloise who suggested that we make a special visit after Polidor to see the Unicorns at the Cluny Museum of the Middle Ages. Unlike my not-so-brillant idea to try and get into the Branly ( the new museum of tribal art) where the line wound around the building and down the street, the Cluny was an oasis of calm, no lines, no crowds, just impressive architecture, a good gift shop and some very good unicorns.

So if you are looking for a city where it is easy to keep your parents contented and entertained, where they will be well treated in restaurants and where spending money in stores comes easily, Eloise strongly suggests you look no farther than the City of Light.


The Grand Colbert
2, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris
Tel: 01 42 86 87 88

Cremerie Restaurant Polidor
41 rue Monsieur-le-Prince 6e
Tel: 0143-26-95-34No credit cards

Le Bon Marche
24, rue de Sevres
Tel: 01 44 39 80 00

Du Pareil au Meme has branches throughout Paris

National Museum of the Middle Ages – the Baths and Hotel de Cluny
6, Place Paul Painleve
75005 Paris
Tel: 01 53 73 78 00