Yes! The Smiths are taking a Paris Family Adventure!

I am super excited to announce that my family and I are headed to Paris France! It has been a goal of mine for a long long time and next month it will finally come true! This week long adventure is proof that dreams do come true. I hope it will inspire you to go after your dreams! I know you have lots of questions. I did/do too. After all, it’s been almost 20 years since I went to Paris for the first time.

Last time I was in Paris I was in my 20’s!

The Smiths Paris Family Adventure

As a wonderful Christmas gift my husband bought airline tickets for our family of six to Paris, France. I was surprised, to say the least, when he gave me that gift on Christmas morning. I honestly wasn’t sure if we would ever get to Europe as a family. But my husband made it happen by going hard on his airline ticket research and making unselfish financial choices. He found an awesome deal on Delta flights out of Orlando and snapped them up! (Yes we do have to drive 7 hours south, but it’s worth it.)

Once I knew the tickets were booked, I used my PR skills and pitched a family friendly France story idea to my editor at Lifestyle Publications. And she liked it! I was officially “on assignment”. (Look for it later this year!) I then was able to contact companies who offered services that would work well in the articles I’m writing. And voila…our “working” Paris family adventure was born! It wasn’t magic and it wasn’t a winning lottery ticket. Our family is going to Paris based on my husband’s shrewd money management  and my ability to sell my writing. We make a good team!

8 Questions I Asked when Preparing for our Paris Family Adventure

I am lucky enough to have friends who have traveled to Paris with their families before and are experts in family travel generally. I asked them LOTS of questions. Why reinvent the wheel? I decided it was best to follow their advice as much as I could.

1. Where does a family of 6 stay in Paris?

The apartment we chose looks so charmingly Parisian. Photo credit: Stéphane Courtois via Homeaway

Kristen at KidsAreATrip.com loved staying at a real Parisian apartment and gave me some fantastic tips on where to stay in Paris with kids. Lyn from MillionMileSecrets.com had a fantastic review of her apartment rented from HomeAway. It was exactly what I was looking for! I ended up working with HomeAway.com and found a super cute apartment home that I hope will be as sublimely Parisian as it seems online. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath apartment in the middle of the 2nd arrondissment in central Paris. I expect to feel like a real Parisian after a few days! It was MUCH less expensive than the hotel rooms we would need for our size of a family, and we get way more room! We are staying in a hotel for our last two nights and OUCH…the cost is going to hurt.

2. Should we do a Paris museum tour with kids?

Photo credit: Context Travel

Kristen from KidsAreATrip.com says YES. She highly recommended a kid friendly tour of the Louvre. And she said that Context Tours in Paris, a company that offers “Private Guides and (Very) Small Group Tours for the Intellectually Curious Traveler” was spectacular for her family. Amber at GlobalMunchkins.com concurred, saying that the family tour helped her family see everything they wanted to see in only a few hours. That was good enough for me so we arranged for their family friendly tour of the Louvre. My family of six qualifies as our own small group! Honestly I love the idea because it takes the pressure off me. I can just enjoy the famous museum and not have to try to entertain my kids!

3. What is something memorable and unique we can do as a family?

Photo credit: Fat Tire Tours

Amber from GlobalMunchkins.com let me know a family bike tour of Paris is one of the most fun things she did. She said kids of all ages can participate! She wrote, “Hands down the absolute BEST tour to take with kids in Paris is the Fat Tire Bike Tour.” Good enough for me! We booked the Fat Tire daytime family bike tour of Paris. Our youngest two will ride tandem bikes with my husband and I, and our older two will ride bikes appropriate to their size. I’m nervous about this, as maybe all moms would be, but I’m up for it. I am not calling this a Paris family adventure for nothing!

Lyn from GoToTravelGirl.com said the Eiffel Tower is so iconic, it’s a must, even though it’s touristy. She let me know that my plan to walk up the nearly 700 steps to the first level will be VERY memorable. I did it in my twenties. It didn’t seem that bad…

4. Is the Paris Pass worth it?

Kristen from KidsAreATrip.com wrote about the value of the Paris Pass for Travelocity. (She’s kind of a big deal.) After reading her article I knew it was the pass for us. I received two for free and bought four for the kids. We will also be visiting some of Paris’s top tourist attractions with the Paris Pass including the Louvre and the Muse d’Orsay. (Lynn wrote on GoToTravelGirl.com about how she and her family spent a whole afternoon wandering through this opulent museum!)

Photo credit: ParisPass.com

This pass gives us admission to nearly all the museums and other attractions, even some tours! Lyn from MillionMileSecrets told me the Big Bus tours, that allow you to hop on and off, are a fantastic way to see a lot in a short time. We will also take a cruise on the Seine with Bateaux Parisiens. Kristen from KidsAreATrip.com took a dinner cruise with her family and she said it was magnificent! Both the bus and a one-hour sightseeing cruise are included in the price of the Paris Pass!

The Paris Pass will save me money, but Kristen pointed out that it will save us time as well. There’s a separate queue at a number of the venues to skip the long lines, which means we can see more and do more during our vacation!

5. Is Disneyland Paris a must?

Photo credit: Disneyland Paris

Amber from GlobalMunchkins.com says absolutely yes! (She has some great tips I’ve been consuming lately.) Disneyland Paris is a 45 minute train ride from central Paris and I found a pleothra of family-friendly hotels as well as HomeAway apartment rentals nearby. We are a thrilled to be able to take our kids to Disneyland Paris.

Our visit to Disneyland Paris will make our third Disney theme park visit as a family. I’m not sure who’s more excited, the kids or me! This year is the 25th anniversary of the park opening so it’s an extra special time to visit. I’ve heard so much about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril and Crush’s Coaster. I’m just hoping the lines aren’t too crazy! I’m so interested to see how Disneyland Paris is different than the other parks and how it is the same.

6. What is the best way to get around Paris?

Photo credit: en.parisinfo.com

Everyone I talked to says the train, or the Metro, in Paris, is the way to get around the city. It is safe, fast, and Parisians say you are never more than a 5 minute walk from any train station in Paris. Lyn from MillionMileSecrets.com listed the all-inclusive train pass, called the Carte Visite Paris, as one of the best ways to save money in Paris.

I’m very confident, bordering on cocky, about taking trains in major cities. I lived in Chicago and the ‘El’ was my second home. However, I admit to being more than a little nervous about taking the trains around Paris with 4 kids 11 and under. We did receive tw0 5-day transportation passes from the Paris Visitors and Convention Bureau to help us navigate around this wonderful city. We will buy the kids passes when we get there. Pray for me that my french kicks in, as well as my dormant train-riding skills, and we get around the city easily. Note: The Paris Pass also comes with a transportation pass so plan out your days accordingly so you don’t pay for extra passes you don’t need.

7. How can improve my french?

I like that I can learn french with Duolino on my computer or my phone.

French was my minor in college and was one of my favorite subjects since I started taking it in 7th grade. However, I haven’t used it much over the years and when you don’t use a language you lose it. I found an excellent (and FREE) app that has helped me reintroduce French to myself in short 10 minute time periods.  Duolingo fits well into my schedule, as I can do it when I have just a few minutes free. I like that it forces me to hear the language as well as read it. My written understanding of the language is way better than my verbal, but I really need both. I even started my daughter using it and she is now 37% fluent (ish). If you are thinking about a vacation in France (or any foreign country) this is a great app for learning (or relearning) a language.

8. What will I wear?

I love this wrap sun dress. It’s log enough!

I know I’m no fashionista, but I do try to look put together. And in Paris, the fashion capitol of the world, it seems like this is even more important. Luckily my friends at Long Tall Sally just sent me a few pieces that will go very well in Paris.

Long Tall Sally is a brand designed for women 5’9″ and taller. Their shortest inseam is 34″! They carry shoes up to size 15! In other words, it is a store designed perfectly for this 5’11”, size 13 shoe, woman. Hooray for clothes that fit and look good!

Our Paris Family Adventure is a Big F’ing Deal

I’m more excited about this trip than any other trip I’ve ever taken. This. Is. Huge.  Honestly though, it’s a little overwhelming for me. Yes, I travel a lot, but taking a family of six to Europe takes some major planning. As you can see I’ve been talking to friends who have been there and received so much information. It’s really amazing what you can get when you’re willing to ask for it! I’m making lists (and lists of my lists) and checking them twice. I pray I pull this off! If you have a minute, send me some prayers or good vibes. And follow along on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook with the hashtag #smithfamtravels for all the fun.