Will be traveling to Paris for a 7 to 10 day stay with my 14 and 16 yr old daughters. This will be their first trip to Europe. I studied abroad in college and spent a few days in Paris. 16 yr old is very interested in music (current, not historical), and shopping. 14 yr old is very interested in dance, theater, shopping. I think there are some things we should see/do with a historical and literary context. They might not fully appreciate now but some day they will! I%26#39;m looking for ideas to balance my list of %26quot;shoulds%26quot; with pure teen fun. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
anne
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For teen-aged girls it%26#39;s spotting cute boys....and cool clothes.
For teen-aged boys, it%26#39;s spotting cute girls....and spotting more cute girls.
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The covered passages are historical and have so many different shops, cafes, etc. Passage des Panoramas (11 blvd Montmartre), Joffroy is right across the street. www.parisinconnu.com/passages/index.htm for the complete list.
La Defense, Aquaboulevard, Fat tire bike tour and Place des Vosges are interesting and are listed as teen activities in Paris for Dummies-my choice of guidebooks.
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We just returned from Paris last week also from the Twin Cities with our 13 and 18 year old. Their favorites while there were a Segway tour of Paris with Fat Bike tours, it really was alot of fun and something different. They also enjoyed Versaille, Napoleans Tomb, the view from the Arc de Triomphe and strolling around the Place de la Concorde area.
The shopping with my 13 year old daughter was a bit disappointing as the stores are either very high end or souvenier shops. We did have some luck but it wasn%26#39;t as easy as I thought! Have a great trip.
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Hi Anne
Your girls might enjoy Zara if they are in to fashion. If you put Zara Paris into Google it will show the various stores dotted around Paris
The sizes are cut *small* so don%26#39;t let them get despondant about that!
This company offers various guided shopping tours (including for teens) so that could also be an option if your budget allows
viator.com/Paris-tours/…d479-g10
and here
traveltoe.com/product_info.php/…4819
I%26#39;d take them for a good mooch around the Marais for a nice mix of shops and culture (Picasso Museum is in this area to name but one).
This is a good site about the Marais
http://www.parismarais.com/
If you scroll down this link there%26#39;s quite a good explanation of the various arrondisments and what they offer re: le shopping :o)
frommers.com/destinations/…0062023092.html
The Virgin Megastore on the Champs-Elysées might appeal?
You could look here for concert tickets - there may be someone your daughter/s like playing during your visit.
http://www.getmein.com/search.html
Le Zenith %26amp; Bercy are the two main big venues.
Quite a lot of useful links for dance in Paris here
…tripod.com/parisnightlife/id14.html
I think the culture part will work fine so long as it%26#39;s in bite size chunks around other things that interest them. Include them in the planning process so they%26#39;re helping to make the decisions.
ebabe
...Mum to two teens :o)
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It is easy to combine food with culture in France. You have to eat, so look for opportunities to combine the two. Lots of the museums have good places to eat and some of the older restaurants have their own culture - like the brasseries.
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Have an absolutely wonderful time with your girls in Paris. Attached are my recent trip reports from traveling with ten 14 year girls and their moms. I hope they help!
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k18059…
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k18063…
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k18075…
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k18075…
Moms
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Just back from Paris with our 14 year old daughter. We had an absolutely fabulous time. She enjoyed doing all the touristy things - Notre Dame (climb the tower), Eiffel Tower, etc. We went to the top of the Montparnasse Tower at night - it was wonderful - we saw the Eiffel Tower twinkling! We spent an afternoon shopping at Printemps and Galleries Lafayette. It was good to see the big stores and we got some good photos but came back with nothing as it was all too expensive. The following morning we went to the shopping centre at La Defense and it was wonderful - worth it to see the modern buildings too but also lots of affordable shops. Another thing we did was the magic show at the Double Fond cafe. It was brilliant but totally in French (they speak really fast!). However it was possible to work out most of what was going on and it is a lovely memory.
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We returned from our first trip to Paris with our 15 year old daughter. Strongly suggest newparistours.com. Excellent walking tours (free but please tip generously) given by young American expats. Our daughter is a real skeptic about walking tours but loved the general one so much we did the Montmarte one as well. They are given every day, you get a good dose of history and a great city overview. Strongly recommend.
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Prior to going to Paris with my (15 yr old) teen ami last year, I was stressing about whether I%26#39;d find enough interesting things to do with her. In hindsight, I needn%26#39;t have worried. Just being in Paris, and the different surroundings, customs and food, kept her enthralled all week. I do think ebabe%26#39;s recommendation of the Virgin record store on the Champs d%26#39;Elysees is a good one. You could combine it with a walk to the top of the Arc de Triomphe.
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How about Le Musee Galliera= Musee de la Mode et du Costume de la Ville de Paris. This is a fashion museum. Be sure it is open before you go because, in order to protect the clothes, they only open when they have a temporary exhibit--about 3 times per year. Everytime I go in Sept they are closed. I am thinking of changing the time I visit Paris next time just so I can go to this museum. Located at 10 Ave. Pierre 1er de Serbie in the 16th arrondissement.
You could wander around Place de la Madeleine. Be sure to check out the free women%26#39;s bathroom (you walk down from street level). It has separate stalls each with stained glass windows in the stall doors, its own sink, etc. Worth seeing. Then visit the various shops and eat samples or buy little treats. There is Fouchon (deli/pastries), Hediard (small deluxe supermarche), Maille (mustard), Kaspia (caviar), Marquise de Sevigne (chocolate), La Maison de la Truffle (truffles).
Musee D%26#39;Eventail is a beautiful fan museum. They have fans from around the world. It is a lovely place to spend an hour or so. I highly recommend it.
Dans La Noir is a great idea for dinner. You eat in total darkness and the food is quite good. It is very unique. They are very successful and there are Dans La Noir restaurants in London and Moscow too. You must have an advance reservation and can do in on the internet.
fashion show at Galeries Lafayette on Fridays at 3pm. You must make your reservation in advance online. It always fills up in advance. The show lasts about 30 minutes. The models are about18-20 years old. The fashions are for the younger crowd--and nice.
I love La Musee des Arts Decoratif on Rue de Rivoli next to the Louvre. Check out what the temporary exhibit (fashion?) will be while you are there. I usually get my ticket in advance from fnac.com and then I pick my ticket up from the fnac office on the lower level of Les Halles nearby. (You must get it at a fnac store.) I think it might not be a problem to just get your tickets at the Musee. I just usually don%26#39;t chance it.
Musee Fragonard behind the Opera Garnier is a perfume museum where you can see how perfume is made (if they are finished remodeling) and can sample perfumes at their attached store.
My favorite building in Paris is Opera Garnier. Don%26#39;t miss it. Magnificent. You can take a self-tour of the inside (including the Marc Chagall ceiling) or, if there is a ballet playing while you are there, perhaps you could attend a performance. The best way to get tickets is on line. The prices usually have a wide range. I saw an opera for 30E. There were also tickets for 160E. You could check on line and see what you find. Be sure it is Opera Garnier and not Opera Bastille (newer and not pretty I hear).
Go to Angelinas on Rue de Rivoli across from the Tuilleries and have lunch or their famous L%26#39;Africain which is hot chocolate with whipped cream (chantilly) or their famous Mont Blanc-a delicious rich chocolate dessert.
Check on fnac.com (click on spectacles) to see what musical concerts will be in Paris while you are there. Everyone wants to perform in Paris!
Have lunch at Le Train Bleu in the Gare de Lyon train station. It is a gorgeous art nouveau building where the food is delicious and the decor makes you feel like royalty. (If you don%26#39;t eat here, at least peak in.)
Visit Musee Jacquemart-Andre. It is a small mansion/museum which doesn%26#39;t take long to see and is very beautiful. It also has a lovely art nouveau restaurant where you can eat lunch or have tea and dessert. If you go here, be sure to use the audio guide. It makes the tour more interesting.
Go on a walking tour with paris-walks.com. When you go on their site you can see what tours they are giving for the time you will be there. Almost all of the tours are 10E per person. They have a chocolate tour which costs a little more.
Go to Laduree for an elegant snack or any of the other gourmet dessert/chocolate houses.
Be sure to climb L%26#39;Arc de Triomphe. The view from the top is fantastic (better than from the top of the Eiffel Tower because you can actually see the Eiffel Tower, the 12 roads coming together, the architecture which is the same on all of the buildings completely surrounding the Arc de Triomphe.
Check out temporary exhibits which will be there while you are there. I went to a %26quot;Rock-n-Roll%26quot; temporary exhibit at the Fondation Cartier Pour L%26#39;Art Contemporain in Sept %26#39;07. It was great and even had a video running of some of the old great rock-n-roll stars.
If either daughter is into dolls, Musee de la Poupee (near the Pompidou modern museum) is great. Check out their temporary exhibit. They also have a permanent exhibit of dolls from around the world. I saw a Barbie exhibit in Sept %26#39;07 which I enjoyed for 1.5 hours.
Stravinsky fountains near the Pompidou Museum. Very whimsical, colorful, lots of moving parts and simply delightful.
If you don%26#39;t go in the Pompidou Museum (modern art)(my son and I mostly hated it and laughed our way through it because of some of the things they call art), you have to at least see the outside of this building. It is so unusual, colorful and unique. It is also fun to see all of the artists working and the people hanging out in front of that Musee. Also apparently they have a good view from the top. There is also a cool escalator which takes you up to the museum.
Walk through Chanel or some other designer store(s) and check the fashions and the price tags!
I definitely recommend an evening segway tour. It is a blast and the lights of the city are spectacular (especially the Tour Eiffel twinkling on the hour). Contact Fat Bike Tours on line to reserve space. It is so worth it! It%26#39;s not hard to balance on the segways (and I am uncoordinated and old!)
Musee Pierre Cardin is a quite near museum in a northern suburb of Paris called Saint-Ouen. It is easy to get to and a fabulous large museum of Cardin%26#39;s fashions through the years.
Pierre Cardin also owns Maxims and upstairs of Maxims is a magnificent apartment museum which is to die for gorgeous.
Musee de la Contrafacon is a museum of couterfeit items which run the gap from clothes to tires. It is fascinating for kids to guess which are the authentic items and which are the counterfeit. French school children take trips here. The building itself is beautiful too.
Musee des Arts Forains in Bercy Village is the best! It is antique fairground arts. You absolutely must have reservations in advance. contact diane@pavillons-de-bercy.com. The tour is very inexpensive (15E?) and all in French but it doesn%26#39;t matter. You understand it. You get to ride some rides, play a game and view really cool stuff. It is one of the greats in Paris. I don%26#39;t know if they do tours days other than Saturdays but it is definitely worth finding out.
Have a great trip.
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