Paris in August Which Area Best with Children

Visiting Paris in August, arriving by eurostar for 4 nights. visiting with husband and 2 daughters aged 8 and 11.

Am thinking of booking an apartment but am unsure which would be the best area to consider.

Any advice much appreciated.

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For a first time visitor, I would suggest central (1, 2, 5, 6- neighborhood and last digit of the postal code) All areas should be pretty well open. August is the month of %26#39;vacances%26#39; where the Parisians leave for the family vacaion. Expect lots of stores and museums to be closed. You will have fun though!

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Flashby, are you a real Parisien??/I find your advice hard to believe.

%26quot;lots of musueums %26quot; will NOT be closed in August, in fact I doubt ANY will.

Neither will %26quot;lots%26quot; of shops.

I have gone in August many times, and there are less closing every year in August. Tourists are least effected by closures as almost ALL tourist sites stay open( in fact I don%26#39;t recall ANY being closed )

Some restuarants do close, especially smaller family run type places, and of course a few of the really nice places. Same with a few small shops. None of this actually effects most tourists , other then they miss having dinner at a fave spot, but with thousands of cafes and restaurants remaining open , they can usaully find somewhere to eat, LOL

August can be hot( last year it was cool and rainy though for my whole visit) so if you can swing a/c it is nice after a long day of touring.

Arrondissmonts 1-7 are popular with most first timers, I particularily like the 4th 5th or 6th as being very central, walk out your door and there you are sort of thing.

Look at Hotel Du College De France or Hotel Des Ecoles , Or Hotel Des Grands Hommes.

Read a page or two of posts here, there are many of our long time posters who have kindly posted links to many good budget and centrally located hotels.

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I would recommend staying near the Jardin de Luxembourg on the border of the 5th and 6th arrondissements. I love this area it%26#39;s pretty centrally located. Your daughters should enjoy the park.

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I second mopsydog%26#39;s suggestion to find a place near the Luxembourg Gardens. Your daughters will love the playground, the carrousel, and more, and it will also be a delightful respite for you and your husband to sit and watch them play. You%26#39;ll find the garden a wonderful retreat from the tourist crush; the Luxembourg Gardens are really the playground of local French families and provide a nice glimpse of Parisian city life. There are many wonderful apartments for rent in this area, either in the 5th arrondissement on the east side or the 6th more to the north and west, and they are very well situated to give you easy access to the other sites of Paris, as well as wonderful restaurants, markets, etc.

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I have found a number of shops closed with signs on the door saying the owner is gone on vacation and will return at such and such date in September. I have even found that in early September which is why I don%26#39;t go under around September 10th now. Even the Druout Auction House is closed until about the second week in September--which was very disappointing to me two years ago. I made it there this past year%26#39;s visit. Many interesting shops which peaked my interest would then end up being closed. I hated that. I don%26#39;t think I would go back in August again--even though I love hot weather.

However, I don%26#39;t that this is the point of jjmetcalfe%26#39;s post. They are going in August. There is plenty open to have a fabulous time. I just don%26#39;t want the impression given that pretty much everything is open--most are and for most people that is sufficient. For me it wasn%26#39;t.

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