I’ve always loved travelling to Europe. In fact, I loved the idea of travelling to Europe even before my actual, first trip there. There’s something about the experience that is so different than going to other parts of the world.
Why Europe?
Europe is the birthplace of the Renaissance, for crying out loud! There’s nowhere else to learn about art, history and the birth of the age of exploration than visiting this continent that spans 44 countries. Our kids love exploring medieval castles, museums, zoos and all the attractions that we managed to visit.
On our last trip to Europe, we chose Paris because my husband and I wanted to bring the kids to Euro Disney, or Disneyland Paris as it’s now called. Our son has been to the one in Hong Kong, but it’s our little girl’s first Disneyland trip, so we wanted to make sure the trip is smooth and hassle-free.
A magical experience for the kids doesn’t mean there’s a magic wand to help me prepare for the journey, so here are some helpful tips for parents travelling to a European city.
Be Sure Of Your Travel Plans
When making my travel plans, sometimes I can get carried away and include too many activities that it seems impossible to do it all. You have to really narrow down and plan meticulously like a battle-hardened strategist so you can get the most out of your vacation with your kids.
Make A Detailed Itinerary And Follow It To The Letter
If you’re in your 20’s and travelling with friends, you can be spontaneous and forgo planning your daily activities. But when you’re a parent with two young kids, you have to be somewhat strict with the plans for visiting the museums, parks, and various tourist attractions.
Paris has around 130 museums alone, and that doesn’t include some of the other things to do in this beautiful city. So don’t expect to visit all of them, especially when hauling two young kids.
Before we even came to Paris, we made a day to day to-visit list of places that we would go to.
For example, below would be our itinerary for a day.
- Bus Details: Bus 26 to Maraichers, then bus 57 to Gare d’Austerlitz
- Leaving From: Parc des Buttes-Chaumont
- Arriving at: Galerie de Paléontologie et d’Anatomie comparée
- Miscellaneous Details: Museum is free for kids. There’s a botanical garden next to it called Jardin des Plantes
- Bus Details: Bus 61 to Gambetta – Mairie Du 20e, then bus 26 to Botzaris – Buttes Chaumont
- Leaving From: Galerie de Paléontologie et d’Anatomie comparée
- Arriving at: Parc des Buttes-Chaumont
- Miscellaneous Details: Back to the apartment before visiting the local supermarket.
- Things to Buy: Groceries and T+ tickets
- Where to Buy: Buttes Chaumont (Paris Métro) and Franprix
- How much it costs: Estimate €70
- Miscellaneous Details: Buy some fruits, bread and cheese
Pick A Place To Stay That Is Close To The Attractions You Want To Visit
Accommodation wise, it’s good if you can stay in an area where it’s easy to walk around without having to take too many public transportations frequently. Going on the bus and subway can be fun at first for the kids, but after a long day of visiting the attractions, having to take two or three buses to get back home can seem like a daunting task, especially if you need to push around a stroller or carry your kids if they fall asleep.
Preparing For The Cold Weather
Most people talk about going to travel destinations that has nice weather. And for most, that would mean travelling to warm tropical climate on paradise islands like the Maldives, or a place like Sydney, Australia that is known for mild winters and not too warm summers.
But for us, we’re the exact opposite! Coming from a warm-weather country like Malaysia, it gets pretty monotonous when the change of seasons means it’s either hot and humid or being drenched in the rain. So whenever we get a chance to experience cold, even freezing weather, we’re definitely game!
Every year, we would make our travel plans in the winter, or at least in the autumn seasons when travelling to Europe. So we must pack the right clothes, especially for our youngest one who is only three years old. She might not be able to adjust to the frigid temperature as well as her older brother – who is nine years old and look forward to the winter cold.
I always take packing seriously. I want my kids to be able to enjoy the holiday comfortably. The key to packing for winter in Europe is the layer. Jackets, gloves, wool socks and some thermal innerwear are essential clothing to pack. As for the material, I always go for fleece-lined pants and jackets. Be sure your kids are wearing proper shoes too. I also bring kids’ moisturiser and sunblock, VapoRub and an outdoor blanket. If you want to save space, pack your kids clothes in a plastic Ziploc to maximise storage.
Plan Some Downtime
No matter how much you wish you have all the time in the world to visit every single one of your bucket list when you travel, the fact is you and your kids would probably get too exhausted.
On some days, we didn’t plan much with the kids except visiting some of the parks in Paris like Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, or just staying in at our resort until the late afternoon and just walking around the surrounding area when it’s snowing.
Also, you should take into account that for the first few days of arriving, your kids and yourself would need time to adjust to the jetlag. So don’t be making solid plans for the first few days – take it nice and slow instead.
How To Avoid Long Queues
Paris is always full of tourists since it’s one of the most famous places to visit in the world. In 2018, 40 million people visited the city alone. With that many tourists, you would expect long queues to many of the attractions.
You can avoid this by purchasing your tickets before you arrive in Paris. We managed to avoid long queues most of the time by purchasing tickets to all the attractions before we left home.
Another idea is to choose less touristy places to explore. Our kids had an excellent time exploring the old fortress Château de Vincennes and the large collection of prehistoric bones at Galeries d’Anatomie Comparee et de Paleontologie. Both are within the heart of the city of Paris and are not as crowded as the Musée du Louvre or the Eiffel Tower.
When in theme parks like Disneyland, a fast pass can be a lifesaver since you probably need to feed your kids or change your little one’s diapers regularly. So you can’t be lining up in queues all the time.
Europe is a great destination for a family holiday. On our last day the four of us, (well actually three since our daughter is too young to understand) felt sad to bid farewell to the wonderful city of Paris. But as they say, ‘all good things must come to an end’. We look forward to returning because we believe our kids learn the most by travelling, it’s the greatest adventure of their young lives. I hope by reading this article you’re inspired to take that first dive and travel to Europe with your kids; you definitely won’t regret it!
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