Paris has always been good to me — as a 15-year-old studying abroad, a college student, an expat journalist, while pregnant — but this was my very first trip with children. Mon dieu!
The concept was daunting — Kaitlin is 9 and Braden is 10. The kids study French in school and had been dreaming about seeing the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. So we did our homework to ensure that seeing the best of the City of Lights would go as smoothly as possible.
The elegant three-bedroom apartment at La Reserve.Photo: Courtesy of La Réserve
Photo: Courtesy of La Réserve
Photo: Courtesy of La Réserve
The trip began about one month before departure with a call from Daniel, our Exclusive Resorts concierge. He asked about my kids and their interests. I told him our absolute musts — such as the Louvre, Eiffel Tower and Centre Pompidou — and he came up with an itinerary. He also offered to stock up the kitchen with supplies. I requested lots of fruit and vegetables and some of French kids' favorite treats. He nailed it — even down to the sticky sweet cherry syrup local children mix with their water. There were even thoughtful toys and activities laid out on their beds when we arrived.
We stayed in a modern, elegant three-bedroom apartment at La Reserve, a centrally located luxury hotel at 10 Place du Trocadéro, in the très chi-chi 16th arrondissement.
The apartment came with a housekeeper, laundry, a chef's kitchen, terraces and dramatic views of the Eiffel Tower. ("Mommy, can we stay for a year?" my son asked with a straight face.)
The next morning, we slept in (bonjour, jet lag!) while the housekeeper stealthily prepared a French breakfast for us, with fresh-squeezed orange juice, croissants, hot chocolate, café crème and other delights.
At the Louvre, Daniel arranged for a guide to whisk us through with a VIP pass. (If your time is limited, this extra luxury is priceless.) My kids were awestruck by the museum, walking through its dungeon, circling its Greek and Roman statues, checking out the paintings and photographing whatever inspired them.
The kids take in story at the famed Shakespeare & Co. bookstore in Paris.
Shakespeare & Co.
From the Louvre, we walked across the Seine. Some Left Bank window-shopping, while pointing out the Café Flores and other sights, ensued. With kids, some things in Paris are just must-sees, like Notre Dame Cathedral (too long a line to get in), and others are must-dos, like the Centre Pompidou. The kids loved the colorful, magical building and the interactive children's floor, where they worked with their hands, creating their own model art with other kids from various countries and cultures.
I also took them to some of my old haunts, as well. We walked by Rue Maître-Albert, where I often stayed in the '90s, and was surprised at how touristy it had become. We dined at a creperie — skipping our intended, more formal lunch destination. (I knew the kids weren't up for it and have learned, especially while traveling, how to pick my battles.) We found a used bookstore and the kids got a kick out of buying their favorite series — "Rainbow Fairy Books" and "Goosebumps"— in French, for about 20 cents each.
The kids take in the Eiffel Tower.
Whenever we returned to the hotel, after full touring days, there'd be plates of pastries and French cheeses, laid out beautifully.
Next: touring Saint-Sulpice and then lining up for "the world's best ice cream," according to the stylish Parisians in front of Pierre Hermé (72 rue Bonaparte, pierreherme.com), a macaron maestro dubbed "the Picasso of pastry" by French Vogue. We walked with our ice creams (filled with marvelous, mushed-up macarons) into the Luxembourg Gardens to the pay-to-play playground. The fee was small but the elitism of it gravely offended my children. "Playgrounds should be for every child, not just the ones who can pay!" they said. I had to agree, especially in the country of liberté, égalité, fraternité and all that.Still, the kids loved the playground so much that at dusk they were the very last to leave (it gets shut down by a whistle blowing staff).
Also on the list was Shakespeare & Co., the English bookstore by the Seine. My kids found a little nook where they could read some English books, and I found old and new author discoveries there as I have since I was a teenager.
Whenever we returned to the hotel, after full touring days, there'd be plates of pastries and French cheeses laid out beautifully. And that view of the Eiffel Tower, beckoning us to visit, lit up so gorgeously at night. Trust, it's a must. Order tickets online — adults are around $20 and kids are around $14 — or return at sunset and wait in the non-elevator line (it moves surprisingly fast). We walked up the tower and stayed there close to midnight, with a hot cocoa break mid-way. It was an adventure the kids will never forget.
Three Right Bank hotels that get it right
Mandarin Oriental Paris
Photo: Handout
Fashionistas will adore the 1st arrondissement location, on rue Saint-Honoré in the shadow of luxe boutiques like Dior, Boucheron,and the Chloé flagship. Foodies will savor the sublime two-Michelin-star Sur Mesure par Thierry Marx, right on the lobby level. And architecture aficionados will swoon over the modern glass-walled design, slyly tucked behind an Art Deco façade.
Its 38 suites and 99 rooms are outfitted in the brand's typically understated style — sharp-lined furnishings, neutral tones, noble materials, subtle pops of magenta and orange — but the main thing you'll notice is their generous size: even the smallest measures 410 square feet. Suites are downright huge (700 square feet up to the whopping 3,767-square-foot Suite Royale Mandarin) and many have outdoor space with iconic views of the city.
A must: Enjoying a breath of early evening Parisian air — cocktail in hand — amid an effortlessly chic crowd in the lushly planted inner courtyard. It's good way to brace yourself for the sticker shock upon the morrow's checkout. (From $1,611; mandarinoriental.com/paris)
Sofitel Paris Arc de Triomphe
Photo: Handout
Sofitel's 124-key flagship recently underwent as dramatic a renovation as its ornate Haussmannian building did in the mid 1800s — transforming creaky, antique-heavy guestrooms and dark, stodgy common areas into a refreshingly airy contemporary spaces.
In the rooms, that means a color scheme of soft grays, taupe and chrome; high-tech amenities (some useful: iPod docks; some silly: luminotherapy); and some seriously comfortable beds. All of which almost make up for the rooms' petite size. Many average a scant 250 square feet, so it's worth upgrading to one of the 31 suites.
Though its 8th arrondissement surrounds aren't particularly vibrant — a blessing for a restful night's sleep — you're a five-minute walk to the Arc de Triomphe and all the shopping along the Champs-Élysées. A must: Hit up the phenomenal concierge staff for directions and suggestions. They're super-helpful, sans the 'tude. (From $500; sofitel.com)
Saint James Paris
You know there's something different about this hotel the moment its black iron gates swing open, revealing an expanse of green lawn, a circular stone driveway and a spouting fountain surrounded by flowerbeds.
Pulling up to the stately neo-classical manse, you wonder if your taxi has mistakenly dropped you at a countryside chateau instead of a Paris hotel. But a hotel it is — and a fabulous one at that — with a magnificently eccentric interior imagined by the self-taught designer Bambi Sloan. The lobby – with its intricately patterned marble floors, sweeping staircase, deep-red-velvet upholstered chairs and enormous chandelier – merely hints at the flamboyance you'll find in its 48 rooms.
Each is unique both in layout and décor: Magritte-inspired touches (hats and canes on the wall); cheetah-print wallpaper; or a jumble of toile, stripes and polka-dots that somehow manage to come together beautifully. If it sounds like too much, not to worry, many are decorated with far more restraint. The smallest room is 269 square feet; suites go up to 645 square feet.
The Relais & Chateaux property (the only one in the city, set in the 16th arrondissement) is also home to the private Saint James Club, which means only hotel guests and nattily dressed members are allowed to enjoy the wood-paneled library/bar, dreamy back garden and the sublime single-Michelin-star restaurant until 7 p.m., when this magical place opens up to the rest of the world. (From $607; saint-james-paris.com)
-Jennifer Ceaser
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
AU-M-G! How to do Paris with kids
Dengan url
http://bahayaprostat.blogspot.com/2014/05/au-m-g-how-to-do-paris-with-kids.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
AU-M-G! How to do Paris with kids
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
AU-M-G! How to do Paris with kids
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar