Guide to France with kids

We saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time from a metro window, because line 6 crosses a bridge over the Seine just before Trocadéro. The next day at Disneyland, after the Indiana Jones roller coaster, all we heard from the older kids was: we're crazy! And at Parc Astérix a heavy downpour stopped the fun, so we left the park soaking wet but very happy. That was our France with kids.

We went there for the May holiday in 2019: 9 days, almost 3000 km by car from Poland and a week in a mobile home at a campsite near Paris. The day-by-day plan, with distances and places to stay, is in our post May holiday in France 2019 with kids, and you can watch the whole trip on our France 2019 playlist.

The area around Paris is a good choice for families who love theme parks and want to see a big city in small doses. Below you will find the most important practical tips and links to our posts.

France with kids at a glance

  • Our trips: the May holiday in 2019, from 27 April to 5 May, 9 days: Paris, Disneyland Paris and Parc Astérix.
  • Getting there: in our Ford Tourneo Custom from Poland through Germany, 1385 km in two days one way and about 2960 km in total.
  • Where we stayed: a week in a Eurocamp mobile home at the Le Chêne Gris campsite, about 50 km east of Paris, and two nights on the road in Germany.
  • Kids: we travelled with four kids, from the youngest, who climbed the stairs to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower step by step, to the older ones, who were brave enough for the Indiana Jones ride.
  • How much time: with kids, plan two days for Paris and a full day for each theme park, with a rest day in between.

Practical info

Documents for kids

EU citizens can travel to France with a valid passport or national ID card, and children must have their own passport or ID card (as of November 2026). If you come from outside the EU, check the entry rules for your country before the trip.

Driving from Poland and a stopover on the way

With four kids we did not want to drive 1400 km in one go, so on the first day we drove 832 km to Holzappel in Germany. The night at Bruchhäuser Mühle was meant to be just a stop, but it surprised us with ponies in the field, a playground and a forest path behind the house. Read more in our post Bruchhäuser Mühle in Holzappel. On the second day we only had 553 km left to the campsite, and on the way back we stayed in Glanbrücken.

Two things to keep in mind on the road (as of November 2026):

  • Germany: cars use the motorways for free, the toll is only for vehicles over 3.5 t.
  • Border checks: Germany checks traffic at its land borders, including those with Poland and France, until 15 March 2027, and France at all its internal borders until 30 April 2027. Keep the whole family's documents at hand.

Motorways in France

You pay for motorways in France. At the toll gates you can use a normal bank card, also contactless. On sections without barriers you have to pay online within 72 hours (as of November 2026).

Driving in Paris

The hardest part for us was finding a car park for our van, which is taller than 2 metres. Before the trip, check these things (as of November 2026):

  • Crit'Air: you need the sticker in the Greater Paris low emission zone, also with a foreign car. Order it only on the official website certificat-air.gouv.fr. It costs 5.11 EUR with delivery abroad and comes by post, so order it a few weeks in advance.
  • Vehicle height: most underground car parks in Paris only take vehicles up to about 1.90 m. At Gare Montparnasse, Maine Parking (50 avenue du Maine) takes vehicles up to 2.10 m.
  • Train instead of car: from our campsite, Transilien line P goes to Paris-Est station in about 50-55 minutes, roughly once an hour.

Currency

France uses the euro. You can pay by card almost everywhere, including at the motorway toll gates.

When to go

Early May has its pros and cons. The water in the campsite pools was so cold that only our family's winter swimmers went in, and on the long holiday weekend at Disneyland we queued for more than an hour for every big ride. Next time we would choose a day outside a long weekend.

What to check before you go (as of November 2026):

  • Disneyland Paris: ticket prices depend on the day, and an undated ticket has to be registered for a specific day in advance.
  • Parc Astérix: the park is mostly closed in winter, and the opening calendar is on the park's official website.
  • The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays.

The best places in France for kids

Paris

Trocadéro and the Eiffel Tower

From the Trocadéro terrace the whole tower fits in the frame, from its legs to the top, so it is the best place for a family photo. Then we crossed the Pont d'Iéna to the tower, climbed the stairs to the second floor together with the youngest kids and took the lift from there to the top terrace at 276 m.

Good to know:

  • at the top there is a copy of Gustave Eiffel's office, with wax figures of Eiffel, his daughter and Thomas Edison,
  • the lift ticket to the top costs 36.70 EUR for adults, 18.40 EUR for young people aged 12-24 and 9.20 EUR for kids aged 4-11, and younger kids go free but also need a ticket (as of November 2026),
  • the tower with the queue took us more than two hours.

The Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Élysées and the Louvre

From the tower, metro line 6 took us to the Arc de Triomphe in 10 minutes. You reach the arch in the middle of the roundabout through an underground passage. The Champs-Élysées and the Tuileries Garden make a walk of about 3 km to the glass pyramid of the Louvre.

There we ran out of energy and skipped the museum, even though kids and young people under 18 get into the Louvre for free. One day in Paris with kids turned out to be too short. The whole day is in our post Paris in one day with kids.

Theme parks near Paris

Disneyland Paris

We spent ten hours in the park, but getting there was already a test of patience: the 30 km from the campsite took us 2.5 hours and we only got in at 11:40. During the day we managed, among other things:

  • a boat ride past miniature scenes from fairy tales, which the kids knew from their books,
  • meeting Winnie the Pooh and Alice's Curious Labyrinth,
  • a riverboat around a rocky island, where the kids remembered the moose best,
  • Big Thunder Mountain (from 1.02 m) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril (from 1.40 m) for the older ones.

Kids under 3 go in without a ticket, and the child ticket is for ages 3 to 11 (as of November 2026). Read everything in our post Disneyland Paris with kids.

Parc Astérix

The smaller Astérix park in Plailly, about 35 km north of Paris, gave us much better memories than Disneyland. It was calmer and cheaper, and in one day we went on many more rides. What we remember best:

  • the walking show of Roman legionaries led by a female centurion, easy to follow even without French,
  • Discobélix, a big spinning disc on a curved track (from 1.20 m),
  • the wooden roller coaster Tonnerre 2 Zeus and the round raft ride.

Since 2023 the park has Toutatis, the tallest and fastest roller coaster in France, from 1.30 m. Read more in our post Parc Astérix with kids, and the other parks we have visited are in our guide to theme parks with kids.

Our base near Paris

Le Chêne Gris campsite in Pommeuse

A mobile home with a bathroom, a kitchen and separate bedrooms, about 25 km from Disneyland, with a train station to Paris right outside the gate. After Paris and Disneyland we stayed here for two days of rest: the kids danced with the entertainers on the wooden terrace, and between the activities there was time for drawing in the mobile home, playgrounds and simply doing nothing.

See in our video how the kids, map in hand, show you around the campsite, and read all about those days in our post Le Chêne Gris campsite near Paris.

All posts: France

Last updated: November 2026