Family Travel Guide to Paris and Amsterdam

Ah.. writing this blog is making me relive my Paris and Amsterdam trip and I have to thank you guys for it! This trip with 2 kids ( 8 and 2 ) was one of my best trips so far. I have always wanted to see Paris and Amsterdam and I thought maybe seeing Europe without kids would have been a better idea but I can’t tell you how wrong I was. They made this even more fun and exciting for us. Creating beautiful memories together as a family which I know my son will remember and my daughter will always have photographs to see.

So jumping right into it, this is a small travel guide on where to eat, stay, explore and wear in the two cities at a child friendly pace, keeping budget and convenience in mind.

Travel guide to Paris :

Paris was definitely on top of my list to see. The beauty of the city lies in its architecture. The Eiffel tower and the Lourve are the biggest attractions but really every corner has ornate huge structure to stop and stare at. The other beauty of the city is its love for fashion and food! When I mean food I mean anything sweet is food there. 🙂

We booked a 1 stop flight to Paris and a non-stop from Paris to Charlotte. My idea behind that was going to your destination is always exciting so a stop over doesn’t really bother you as much and while you come back you really want your bed so that time a stopover may not be the best thing to put you in a happy mood. So this way doing a stop over we saved some money on the flight tickets and my son got to check-of Dublin as a city he visited …lol ! The airport for him is technically a part of the city. We did all our hotel bookings from booking.com.

• Where to stay: So we lived 10 mins walking distance from the Louvre at the Novotel Hotel , Les Halles area. This is a gorgeous hotel with the best location. Everything was walking distance from this hotel. The high street shopping, restaurants, Notre Dame, Louvre etc. everything was nothing more than 20 mins of walking. Also a quick tip living close to the Louvre is definitely cheaper than living around the Eiffel tower. Yes I couldn’t see the Eiffel tower from my window like most bloggers but I could definitely save some money there. However if you want to be on a stricter budget I think Airbnb have some great options that I saw.

• Where to eat: So the other perks of living next to the Lourve is the restuarants were less fancier and cheaper than the restaurants near Eiffel tower and Champ Elyssees. We ate at both areas but really found restaurants near Louvrve more budget friendly. Our iterinary started with a good breakfast at the hotel (kids eat free) and then just a more casual lunch of pizza/pasta or croissants and then a good dinner at trip advisor rated restaurant. On the way we would enjoy on-the-go foods such as Nutella banana crepes, cravate (my favorite) and carried lots of banana’s handy for the kids. For kids the best part about Paris is that every corner there are small restaurants that always have pizza and pasta on their menu so I think both my kids loved that!

Must try places to eat (I am a dessert girl)

• Angelina’s – Loved the tea room concept with the ornate design and best of all was their hot chocolate.
• Laduree – The best macarons I have had. You must specially visit the shop at the Champ Elysse area.

• What to book in advance: So we definitely took it easy with our 3 days in Paris. I didn’t want a crazy itinenary just running from one place to another. I wanted to explore the city. So what I think is a must book is the Lourve tickets and the Eiffel tower tickets . I used Isango to book my tickets. I booked the louvre ,Eiffel tower and sienna river cruise package together! Other areas of the city we explored walking! PS- The Seinne river cruise plan it around 8:30 – 9 pm so you can see the Eiffel tower light up and sparkle after 10 pm.  It was the best river cruise I enjoyed just for that reason.

• How to explore the city: There is a lot to do in Paris and a lot to see, but with 3 and half days on hand we really choose the above three activities and the rest we just visited and walked. The best pictures of the Eiffel tower are from Place de Trovedro so we definitely visited that and the Notre Dame was a must see for me! Around the Louvre itself was so much of walking and exploring the city !  I think with kids its key to keep the trip less hectic so everyone can have a good time.Paris is well connected through trains and taxis so don’t be afraid to explore that.  The train system is awesome and we had literally a train station 10 steps away from our hotel. We mostly took taxi right back to the hotel when the kids got too exhausted or walked to most places.

• What I missed: I definitely would loved to have some more days on hand to really see the city but I think 3 and half days is good with kids so that they don’t reach a point of boredom. Also I would have loved to try some French restaurant but everything I looked at didn’t have a kid’s menu or food that was more catered to kids. So we skipped that.

• What to wear: So this I really missed the memo! Yes right Fashion blogger missed the memo. I think one needs a trench coat at all times in Paris. It rains anytime of the day so you need umbrellas and trench coats (to look extra chic). It’s never too hot in paris so yes you definitely need to carry jeans, a light jacket for yourself and the kids. I carried like 3 shorts and never wore them as it was chilly most days.

Travel Guide to Amsterdam :

So we booked our train tickets to Amsterdam from Paris at seat61.com. This is great site to book any train tickets in Europe. You can choose the class, seats and timinigs. The seats are very comfortable with huge windows! We loved the train ride. It was the first for both my kids.

Tip: Carry snacks with you on the train as their snack bar didn’t have many options.

• Where to stay :So we lived more in the outer areas of Amsterdam. Living in the main area near Dam Square was exorbitantly expensive. We loved our stay at the concierge apartments at Yays . They were such cute apartments with a loft style feel to it ! It has a fully functional kitchen, with a dishwasher, electric stove, refrigerator and microwave. The front desk staff was so so friendly and helpful. They would google and provide us directions to everything. The grocery store was like a 3 min walk from the apartment hotel and restaurants were again a 5 min walk away.

• Where to eat: Potatoes and Dutch pancakes… that’s what I really heard from the people there. That’s what Amsterdam food is known for. Jacketz was awesome, a big slow baked potato with  stuffing of your choice. I went with the green curry stuffing and my husband had the Dutch fish stuffing. Both were delicious. From a kids perspective there are tons of restaurant’s serving pasta/ pizza or burgers. Where we stayed, one night we just had pizza delivered as the kids were too tired to step out. Now to the best thing I ate in Amsterdam – The Dutch Pancakes. They were thin, soft and comes with a topping of your choice. Pancake Amsterdam was top on the list of Trip Advisor so we went there. Also another must visit restaurant is Cafe George.  Definitely a little pricier, but it had a very NY vibe to it. P.S: The best cappuccinos I would say are in Amsterdam.

• What to book in advance: So, we really took it easy in Amsterdam. Walked the streets, took river boats through the city and enjoyed the city and its vibe. I didn’t book anything in advance. In hindsight, the only thing I probably should have booked is the Anne Frank House tickets. They were sold out when we reached. It’s the most popular tourist place in Amsterdam. Other than that I really don’t regret not doing any museums. With two kids what I loved biking, going to parks, walking the streets and doing river boat rides!

• How to explore the city: This city is very well connected by bus and trams. If I lived there, I would never drive. It’s firstly not a big city and the public transport is so on time that we got to places very easily. We got the daily pass and just felt like the locals there. So don’t worry about car rentals or taxis there , public transport is the best I have seen in Amsterdam. Very efficient. You can get your daily pass from the Central station or even when you hop on to a tram you can purchase it onboard.

• What I missed – I would have loved to do the tulip gardens but they only bloom from March to Mid May so if that’s a must for you, plan accordingly. And I’m definitely going back to Amsterdam for the Anne Frank house. Did I tell you I love history!

• What to wear: So new fact for me, the homes in Amsterdam don’t have an air conditioner. It never gets very hot in Holland apparently. It was sunny and bright most days but definitely need a light jacket to keep you warm when it’s a little chilly at night.