Traveling to Paris and South of France with two minis was more perfect then anything Shawn and I could have imagined. It was difficult but so worth it. We debated a lot whether we should take the kids or if we even should take a trip but in the end I’m glad we did it exactly the way we did. I remember all the trips I took with my parents and I wanted to create that experience for my kids too. We were lucky enough that we were able to find a lot of kid friendly hotels and activities but also do the things that were on our bucket list. I wanted to share our itinerary as well as some tips and tricks to traveling internationally with minis, especially to France.

1. Pack light – besides the important baby and kid things that are essential, Paris has plenty of pharmacies and stores where you can buy things like diapers, wipes, etc so don’t waste your baggage space on this stuff. Also, elevators and doorways and cars are incredibly small in France so the less you have the easier it will be to get around. Kids need to change clothes a lot but we packed pretty light for them too and just ended up finding a laundromat there and did the kids laundry one time there. It beat overpacking and paying 6 euros at the hotel for them to launder a single onesie.

2. Encourage walking and baby wearing instead of strollers- we took our double Bugaboo Donkey stroller and we had a very hard time getting into restaurants, Ubers, elevators and even walking around because everything is so compact. Eventually we just ditched the stroller and had Zubair walk and wore Aliza. If a stroller needs to be taken then opt for a small single stroller. We used our Baby Bjorn baby carrier and it was perfect and sturdy. It also helped Aliza fall asleep quickly when we were on the go.

3. Spend a day in Versailles- the gardens leading up to the palace are just so gorgeous. It’s a perfect place for the kids to run around and be free and it’s absolutely beautiful. We stayed at the Waldorf Astoria in Versailles and it was walking distance from the Palace.

4. Eiffel Tower- plan to spend a day near the Eiffel Tower grounds. There are multiple open parks, playgrounds, carousels and kids activities, and delicious crepe stands to check out. It is a lot of walking and can get pretty busy so plan accordingly. Also if you want to go to the top, book your tickets in advance it’s much smoother the day of. We took the Seine river cruise (board near the carousel). Don’t need to purchase tickets in advance for this though. We purchased tickets same day for a boat that was leaving 20 mins later. The ride is about an hour. Luckily both kiddos fell asleep since we took the boat around sunset (around 9 pm that day). But if one wakes up there is plenty of room to walk around. You can bring your stroller on the boat and store it if needed. After sunset, at the top of the hour there’s the Eiffel lights show which is just mesmerizing. We stuck around after the river cruise so we could catch it before we went home.

5. Take the fast train to South of France – the train ride to South of France from Paris is absolutely gorgeous. It goes through and stops by all the coastal cities (Marseilles, Toulon, Nice) so the ride is absolutely breathtaking. From Paris to Nice is a 6-hr ride but we ended up getting off at Marseilles and renting a car because we felt more comfortable in our own car with two kiddos and also wanted to spend more time in Saint Tropez and Nice and drive along the coast at our own pace. The rental cars again are super tiny and the space for baggage on the trains is also very tiny so pack as light as possible.

6. Stay near the attractions. We did not stay in one hotel the entire trip. We actually ended up staying in 4 different hotels during our one week trip. This allowed us to see different parts of Paris and be able to walk to the attractions we wanted to see. The Waldorf Astoria in Versailles was incredibly kid friendly and provided a lot of amenities and so did the Grand Hotel Lévêque which was walking distance from the Eiffel Tower in a super cute area with lots of cafes and small shops.

7. Leave expectations and have fun- we definitely had an itinerary but I can’t stress enough how important it is to be flexible especially with little kiddos. We weren’t able to do everything on our list because everything took longer. There were meltdowns and blow outs and lots of stops at the the hotel but we were able to really enjoy our time together as a family in a beautiful place and that was truly magical.

8. Give yourself enough time – everything takes longer with kids. Plan for it. Don’t try to pack so many activities in one day.

I hope this helped. If you are planning a trip anytime soon with your kids and you’re on the fence, I say do it. In our incredibly busy and fragmented lives where we work, kids go to school and daycare, everyone’s always on the go, it’s truly a miracle to be able to get good quality time together and if you are able to afford that luxury of time, take it. If you have any questions or planning a trip of your own, I’d love to hear about it! 🫶🏽