This 5-star luxury Paris hotel within its white facade offers Le Spa as also the fitness centre, wrought iron balconies, limestone saunas, whirlpool bath, Turkish bath, two French restaurants of silver dome and glass ceiling, and 4 treatment rooms along with the business center and deluxe rooms as well as park suites.

Rooms

At the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome, there are some 167 guest rooms and 11 suites all of which are nicely tucked on the six out of seven floors featuring floor-to-ceiling windows for some mesmerizing vistas of the streets as well as the courtyard. Within each of the, the decor is adorned with the blend of modern design and classic furnishings of French in form of gold-leaf cornices, designer fittings, wood and bronze minutiae, and special French figurines.

Among the common amenities, expect high-speed Internet access, DVD player, pay movies, CD player, hypo-allergenic bedding, premium bedding, curtains, complimentary newspaper, air conditioning, multi-line phone, Internet access (surcharge), direct-dial phone, voice mail, complimentary bottled water, mini bar, wake-up calls, housekeeping, turndown service, designer toiletries, private bathroom, bathrobes, hair dryer, bathroom phone, makeup/shaving mirror, in-room massage, slippers, separate bathtub and shower, bathroom scale, extra towels/bedding in room, in-room childcare (surcharge), electronic/magnetic keys, satellite television service, welcome amenities, iron/ironing board (on request), desk, opening window, in-room safe, and cribs. Further, the French limestone bathrooms offer stone-closed rain showers as well as under-floor heating.

Amenities

• Airport transportation (surcharge)  • Limo or Town Car service  • Parking (free)  • Parking (secure)  • Parking garage  • Elevator/lift  • Fireplace in lobby  • Complimentary newspapers in lobby  • Air-conditioned public areas  • 24-hour front desk  • Safe-deposit box – front desk  • Concierge desk  • Breakfast available (surcharge)  • Restaurant(s) in hotel  • Room service (24 hours)  • Lounge  • Ballroom(s)  • Audio-visual equipment  • Business center  • Multiple conference/meeting rooms  • Multiple small meeting rooms

• Multilingual staff  • Internet access in public areas – surcharge  • Internet access – wireless  • Secretarial services  • Banquet facilities  • Computer rental  • Event catering  • Exhibit space  • Translation services  • Laundry facilities  • Dry cleaning/laundry service  • Currency exchange  • Technology helpdesk  • Tour assistance  • Doorman/doorwoman  • Express check-in and check-out  • Medical aid  • Patio  • Security guard  • Babysitting or child care

Recreation

• Full-service health spa  • Massage – spa treatment room(s)  • Sauna  • Spa tub  • Steam room  • Beauty services  • Fitness facilities  • Health club

Restaurants

At the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome, there are two options for you to satisfy for appetite. At the Les Orchidées where everything is quite elegant as well as modern in form of glass ceiling, colonnades, art works of Sideo Fromboluti and Christiane Durand; you can enjoy the contemporary bistro cuisine at all three meals of the day.

La Terrasse is the terraced zone in the middle of the patio where the shade is offered by the olive tree. During summer, it is open for lunch.

National Rating

4 Star De Luxe.

Rates

From $755 per night.

The interior of the mythical Hotel de Crillon is done following the style of Louis XV. It houses as much as 147 suites and guest rooms. There are Presidential apartments along with specially appointed Leonard Bernstein and Louis XV suites. The Leonard Bernstein suit covers a total area of 250sq.m. and has a terrace area of 100sq.m. The suite dedicated to the name of Louis XV on the other hand has an area of 200sq.m. and has 40sq.m. of terrace area.

Each of the suites and guest rooms of this hotel are adorned with tall windows that allow natural light to enter the rooms abundantly. Majority of the guest rooms and suites of Hotel de Crillon offer mesmerizing views of the city of Paris. The two celebrated suites of this hotel will even allow you to enjoy the wonderful view of the famous Eiffel tower while indulging yourself in the lavish bubble bath.

This Paris based luxury hotel has also made sure that the people staying here get the best food that they can have in Paris. It houses a gourmet restaurant called Les Ambassadeurs. The area housing this restaurant used to be the ballroom of Dukes of this palace. If you want to have food in a typical Parisian atmosphere, you can also have your dinner at the L’Obe restaurant of Hotel de Crillon Paris.

But wait a minute, before calling your travel agent for an airline ticket, make sure you are well-prepared, to make sure you will have a great time and portrait a memorable experience in Paris.

First thing first is accommodation.  The choice is apartment or hotel.  Hotel is ideal place if you plan to have a short time trip. If you go to Paris for business travel, hotel provides many facilities that will make your business activities much easier. It’s also ideal to having a meeting with your client or colleagues. However, if you travel with your partner and or family, apartment is a perfect solution.  Fully furnished apartment Paris will be great for short term-mid term family vacation. So make sure to find apartment that meets your budget and needs. There is always a decent cost for quality.

Well, are you looking for another challenge? Why don’t you try to stay in a wooden lodge construction, check cout construction maison en bois for exotic wooden house stay in Paris.

The last, vacation would not be perfect without a great culinary experience.  Be sure to sip the exotic wine of Paris while enjoying a delicious delicacies from Paris’s top restaurant. You can find your favorite restaurant at restaurant Paris 8. There will be a great restaurant for everyone and for every budget.

Anyway, it’s better if you do a few clicks on the net  to have more details about Paris. Have a nice trip and  unforgettable experience in Paris.

It is surely a contemporary resort made by keeping in mind the comfort of the families. From this hotel, you can easily walk up to the famous parks, Disneyland Resort Paris by a free shuttle, and Disney Village. For the convenience of the guests, a free shuttle runs up to the Disneyland resort within eight minutes, which is available every 20 minutes right from early morning 6 am until midnight.

Rooms

At the Kyriad Disneyland Paris, there are some 300 guest rooms all of which are scattered nicely in two buildings of three floors. Among the room types, expect Standard Rooms for up to 4 people, Twin Rooms, and Double Rooms. In case of amenities, all of them  offer common ones: air conditioning, desks, hair dryers, cable television, international as well as French channels, direct-dial phones, complimentary wireless Internet, safe, storage space, hypo-allergenic bedding, curtains, coffee/tea maker, wake-up calls, housekeeping, shower/tub combination, extra towels/bedding, electronic/magnetic keys, opening window, cribs, private bathroom, flat-panel television, high-definition television, and welcome tray with biscuits.

Amenities

• Airport transportation (surcharge)  • Complimentary shuttle to the Disneyland Resort and the stations: TGV, RER, Eurostar, and Thalys  • Parking (free)  • Air-conditioned public areas  • Elevator/lift  • Television in lobby  • Restaurant(s) in hotel • Breakfast available (surcharge)  • Lounge • 24-hour front desk • Safe-deposit box – front desk  • Audio-visual equipment  • Banquet facilities  • 3 conference/meeting rooms  • Multiple small meeting rooms  • Multilingual staff  • Wireless (high-speed) Internet access – complimentary  • Tours/ticket assistance  • Half board rates available  • Gift shops or newsstand  • Shopping on site  • Suitable for children  • Umbrella  • Wheelchair accessible

Recreation

• Arcade/game room  • Patio  • Garden  • Playground in reception as well as restaurant  • Lake • Merry-go-round • Two petanque courts  • Free activities for Halloween such as decorations in hotel and face painting from 9 am in the later half of October 2011  • Free activities for Christmas such as decorations and children’s face painting  • Free activities for Easter such as hotel decoration and face painting in April  • Golfing, ice skating, boating, and horse riding/rental nearby

Restaurants

There is only option for you at Kyriad Disneyland Paris. At Le Marche Gourmand, you can enjoy an international menu amidst the bare beams as well as wood floors. Expect continental buffet breakfasts as well as dinner buffet along with the menu for kids. Available for 24 hours, there is also a food and drink vending machine that offers snacks such as sandwiches and drinks.

Rates

From $130 per night.

Egyptian Antiquities

This is the home of more than 50,000 items kept in over 20 rooms, which are naturally of the Nile settlements dating back from 4,000 BC up to 4th century A.D. This exhibition is regarded as one of the largest in the world providing an insight in the life of the ancient Egypt including the new as well as the middle kingdoms and the Ptolemaic, Roman, and Byzantine era. Check out for the big Sphinx as the guard, mummies, papyrus scrolls, jewelry, clothing, tools, musical instruments, games, and weapons. Specifically, spot the Gebel-el Arak knife, the Head of King Djedefre, The Seated Scribe, the statue of Amenemhatankhm, the statue of the goddess Nephthys, and the goddess Hathor’s limestone depiction.

Near Eastern Antiquities

Since 1881, this one gives a general ideal of the early civilization of the Near Eastern until the Islam conquest. Within its three geographic zones known as the Mesopotamia, the Levant, and Persia (present Iran), you will come across the displays from Sumer and Akkad cities along with the structures like the Prince of Lagash’s Stele of the Vultures as well as the stele made by the King of Akkad for commemorating the triumph over barbarians, huge Code of Hammurabi describing the Babylonian Laws, works of the archaic era such as the Archers of Darius I and the Funerary Head, and the rare Persepolis items.

Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities

In the Louvre Museum, this is where you can see the items of the Mediterranean Basin, which start from the Neolithic times until the 6th century AD. The main highlights here are the jewelry, limestone Lady of Auxerre, the cylindrical Hera of Samos, the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Venus de Milo, Roman portraits of Agrippa and Annius Verus, and Greek Apollo of Piombino.

Sculpture

In contrast to the previous department stated here, this department holds the works prior to 1850. There are two exhibitions namely, the French display in the Richelieu wing and the foreign collection in the Denon wing. In the former, there are Romanesque items like the Daniel in the Lions’ Den of the 11th century, the Virgin of Auvergne of the 12th century, bas reliefs of the Jean Goujon, Descent from the Cross as well as the Resurrection of Christ by Germain Pilon, Woman Bathing, and obelisks.

Islamic Art

This is the most latest collection of the Louvre Museum, which is related to 3 continents and 13 centuries. You will find many types of glasses, ceramics, wood, metal ware, carpets, ivory, miniatures, and textiles making up for over 5,000 pieces. Look for the 10th-century Pyxide d’al-Mughira that is an ivory box, Iran’s Shroud of Josse, the Baptistery of Saint-Louis, a carved basin of brass of the Mamluk era, three pages of the Persian epic book called the Shahnameh, and Barberini Vase of the Syrian style.

Decorative Arts

Including arts from the Middle era until the 19th century, this area houses the most valuable works such as bronzes, pietre dure vases, enamels, ceramics, stained glass, gold jewelry, and maiolicas. The collection is on the first floor of the Richelieu Wing as well as in the Apollo Gallery. Look for the coronation crown of Louis XIV, porphyry vase of the 12th century, Charles V’s scepter, bronze Nessus and Deianira, Maximillian’s Hunt (tapestry), Napoleon III’s apartments, Madame de Pompadour’s Sèvres vases, the Mona Lisa, oil on panel, and Chagoury’s tapestry collection wherein the six-part one in gold and silver threads is worth a look indicating the sea divinities.

Painting

Housing over 13th-century 6,000 works of French as well as Northern European artists, this department is worth a look. The Richelieu wing as well as the Cour Carree holds the French and Northern European works, while the first floor of the Denon wing houses the Spanish and Italian paintings. The main highlights here are Avignon Pieta of Enguerrand Quarton, Hyacinthe Rigaud’s Louis XIV, the painting of King Jean le Bon that is most ancient independent portrait to live since the postclassical time, The Coronation of Napoleon, The Lacemaker and Astronomer, the Tree of Crows, Bathsheba at Her Bath, Slaughtered Ox, The Supper at Emmaus, Italian Calvarys, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, St. John the Baptist, Virgin and Child with St. Anne, and Madonna of the Rocks.

Prints and drawings

This the zone of paper works and the display is split into three sections namely, the 14,000 royal copper printing-plates, core Cabinet du Roi, and the donations of Edmond de Rothschild. There are some 3000 drawings, 40,000 prints, and 5,000 books seen in the Pavillon de Flore.

The postcards of Toulouse Lautrec’s Moulin Rouge, which we’d see on stands as we walked through Montmartre every day, were partly the motivation. I was curious to see if there was any resemblance between the artist’s marvellous paintings and the modern show.

The “Red Mill”

On a stroll around Montmartre, local artist Marie Theres described the first cabarets held in tents Toulouse Lautrec had painted in the leafy gardens of the old mills that once dotted the hill of Montmartre – Moulin Rouge means ‘red mill’ – and this captured my imagination. The Moulin Rouge had played a pivotal role in the story of the neighbourhood, so it made sense to experience it. And, aren’t you curious too?

Opened in 1889 by Joseph Oller, the Moulin Rouge is known as the birthplace of the cancan, the exuberant dance where rows of healthy-looking girls in petticoats scream and shriek and vigorously kick their legs high into the air. One of my biggest disappointments with the current show, ‘Feerie’, was that the cancan made only a brief appearance and not until the very end.

For the most part, the show could be summarised as some kind of kitsch cross between French Cabaret, early Burlesque, a Vegas extravaganza, and a Eurovision contest, shifting between surprisingly brilliant (the juggler, the puppeteer, and the ventriloquist), astonishingly bad (the pirate dancers, snake woman, gay Musketeers, and ‘boogie woogie’ routine), a cute kind of weird (the Shetland ponies act), and just plain weird (the topless clowns, which were more eerie than Feerie. What is it about clowns?)

So, would I recommend it?

Well, it is expensive. But it’s definitely fun if you pretend you haven’t seen a musical since 1985. The women are gorgeous, their bodies are beautiful, and the costumes are fabulous (my favourite bit!), but the show is dated and desperately needs a revamp, and it’s still a show created for men – why else would there be scores of topless sexy women and a dozen gay men parading about all night?

If you’re completists like us, staying in the area, who are keen to fully discover Montmartre, then you will probably enjoy the experience, as there’s still plenty turn-of-the-century France in the kitsch décor, cabaret atmosphere, and nostalgia-value – after all, Édith Piaf, Josephine Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, Liza Minnelli, and Frank Sinatra all performed here at some stage.

If you loved Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film version of Moulin Rouge, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor you will probably be very disappointed as the real Moulin Rouge is nothing like that depicted in the film – but nor was it ever. Having said all that, each show runs for around ten to twelve years so they’re about due for a change. If they had any sense they’d be hiring Baz to produce the thing!

After all these flirtations, I decided that it was high time I got to know this river a little better. And perhaps discover what lurks beneath that camouflage. So I took a boat trip.

Rushing out of the Musee d’Orsay station, breakfast in hand, (a croissant naturellement – you have to love the fact that even the newspaper kiosks in the stations in Paris sell high quality croissants for the commuter crowd), I saw the canal boat company sign, obediently crossed the pedestrian bridge and hurtled down the spiral steps and then – where was the boat? And where were the other people? Had the croissant cost me my river trip? Luckily not, it’s just that the canal boat is low enough to get under all those bridges, and it was huddled behind a rather large black-barge houseboat where a man sat on deck with his coffee checking his emails in the sun; I want his life.

Anyway, boat found, I boarded and joined a few other tourists and a hoard of French schoolchildren. Clearly it was time they learnt about their river too.

We set off and headed east up the wide river, past the Musee d’Orsay, the imposing old train station which is now the best place to see Impressionist art. It must have been great to arrive there by train, stepping down from the carriage, out of the station and right on to the banks of the Seine. Although, saying ‘banks’ probably paints too romantic of a picture – the river is tightly held back by steep walls of stone and concrete. Up at street level, there is a busy road and promenade lined by the second-hand booksellers with their iconic green stalls, below there is the tree and stone river walk where Parisian dogs chase balls and tourists take a rest from sightseeing. But you’re still well above water level – except at times of extreme flooding, such as in 1910 when the river rose 20 feet (6 metres) above normal.

Soon we were heading below the Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge which was finished in 1607. It connects the Rive Gauche, the left bank, with the Rive Droite, the right bank. The two sides of the river have quite distinct characters – the left or south side is the area of writers and artists, the Latin Quarter, home to bohemians. By contrast, the right or north side is elegant, sophisticated, expensive side. There is the Champs Elysees, the Rue de Rivoli, and the Louvre, which we were currently gliding past.

As I pulled out my light, flaky croissant, there were people already sitting in the sunshine on the banks of the river, coffees in hand, enjoying the first of the summer warmth. The kids on the boat ran from side to side excitedly, and the tourists were seeing it all through the lens of their video cameras, one of them repeating the guide’s words in hushed tones, for the tiny microphone’s ears only. As we passed under yet another bridge and were caught in its low stone echo-chamber, I wondered how it would sound played back on a huge plasma screen bringing Paris to some-town USA.

Then the piece-de-resistance of any trip to the Seine loomed up before us: the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Magnificent in its dark gothic splendour of towers and gargoyles, it’s even more awe-inspiring from down at river-level. I was by now almost overwhelmed by envy of the people living on the houseboats moored along that stretch of the river – just imagine waking up to that sight each day!

As we left Notre Dame and its perch on the Ile de la Cite behind – the most expensive real estate in Paris – I looked back and realised that the best view was from here, looking downstream at the tip of the island and the beautiful flying buttresses at this curved end of the cathedral. The canal boat trip has a morning sailing from the Musee d’Orsay and an afternoon trip back the other way – for this approach to Notre Dame alone I was wishing I’d taken the afternoon option.

A boat full of French firemen soon distracted me from the grand architecture – I never claimed to be deep – and then we were turning off the Seine River and into the canal Saint-Martin.

Built between 1805 and 1825 to bring fresh drinking water to the citizens of Paris, the canal is 2.8 miles (4.5 km) long and rises 82 feet (25metres) in altitude from the Seine to its end at Bassin de la Villette. It has five locks – one single and four double, and we were about to pass through every one of them. For me, there’s something wonderful about locks, a staircase made of water. I was excited.

We went through the first lock, the single lock, where the canal and the Seine meet. Trains rattled heavily above us and the schoolkids ran to the sides excitedly to watch the water rushing in to lift our boat. (Actually, we all did that.) Then we were amongst lots of lovely houseboats, and many extremely expensive ones. The boat-owners pay an annual fee of between 3000 and 10,000 euro to live there, very cheap considering the part of Paris they are in. The only catch is the ten-year waiting list for a place.

And then we were into the tunnel. Built in 1860 to enable Haussmann’s plan of boulevards for the city, it’s a lovely low vault of brick with regular air holes bringing in light and tendrils of ivy. It runs for 1.2 miles (2 km), nearly half the length of the canal. Although I enjoyed the mystery of the tunnel, I was quite pleased to see the light at the end of it because I was getting a little cold.

And then we were into all those locks. My excitement lasted for the first few anyway. Then I was just a little colder. Excited by the sudden advent of summer weather after months of cold, damp London winter, I had ventured onto the streets of Paris that morning with all the optimism of a born fool. Although the sun was warm, and the day was getting warmer all the time, the wind off the water was cool, and the canal was lined with leafy, overhanging trees. In mid-summer I would have been grateful for their generous shade. Even if I’d had a jacket I would have enjoyed their dappled play of light. But at that moment, all I felt was cold. And with each lock, I got a little bit colder.

The major excitement came when a family of ducklings got caught in the chaos of the rushing water. Screaming with urgency, the schoolkids raced to the side to supervise as the birds bobbed around and their panicked mother left them to their fate and headed for the sanctuary of the bank where she paced and quacked madly. I’m happy to say they all made it through the experience and swiftly headed off to calmer waters.

Luckily there was plenty more to take my mind off the fact that I had lost all feeling in my toes around the time we entered the third lock. There were bridges and trains, buses and sirens screaming past in that way Paris has of making everything seem urgent. There was the clanging close of the gates behind us and the water rushing in to lift us up, there were people bringing their children to watch the boat rise up in the flooding waters of the locks, and there was the life going on along the sides of the canal. Shops and cafes, a tiny mechanics yard with a man drinking coffee in a chair outside while a vintage Porsche awaited his attention inside, men with huge shoulders working out on series of outdoor gym equipment, boys playing table tennis on a permanent concrete table, and lots of lovely footbridges dating from the second half of the nineteenth century. I especially liked the swinging bridge – a road bridge which literally pivots to swing out of the way of the canal boats – and the rising bridge – which just goes up to get out of way, the only rising bridge in Paris.

Finally, we emerged into the wide, ex-docks and warehouse area of Bassin de la Villette. And the sunshine. Warmth. Lovely. Our two and a half hour voyage had taken us from historical, central Paris to the newly developed, spacious Parc de la Villette which around ten million people a year visit – both Parisians and tourists – for its gardens, science and industry exhibits and omnimax domed theatre. Its modernity was quite a contrast to where we’d just traveled and I felt quite the adventurer as I walked through on my way to the metro station.

By the time I headed underground I could feel my toes again. But I am still no wiser as to what lurks beneath the surface of the Seine. Which is probably a good thing.

Planning our South of France campaign

For this trip, a group of friends and I rented a house and a car. Part of our group arrived by air into the Marseille airport, and the other part arrived by train in Avignon (via Paris). We picked up a car at the Marseille airport, and here’s a little tip: If you want a car that seats more than your standard sedan (say, 6 passengers) pre-pay for your reservation to guarantee the bigger car.

Les Baux at sunset

Having, a) been in the area before, and b) been the one to convince my friends to come on the trip, there was some pressure on me to ensure each day was not only fun, but also providing a window into Provence’s culture and top attractions. Luckily I thrive under pressure.

We rented a house from a ‘luxury’ rental agency in the Haut Vaucluse (High Vaucluse – which includes many of Provence’s famous wine regions – Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Chateauneuf du Pape, Rasteau, Beaumes de Venise). Another tip: If everyone chips in, the cost of even a ‘luxury’ house is reasonable.

Our plan for the week was to eat most of our meals at home, cooking with fresh local ingredients purchased at the markets. During the day we would venture off on day trips; the evenings would be spent cooking, eating and sampling what the local vineyards had to offer. My final planning tip: memorize the word vin (wine). It comes in handy in Provence.

Day Trip 1: Morning markets, afternoon wine tastings

Provence is littered with open-air markets full of the finest local offerings: produce, cheeses, meats, spices, fresh pastas, olives and olive oil, lavender oil, you name it. (Francemag.com lists the daily markets, or stop by the tourist office in Avignon or Aix en Provence for info on regional markets.)

At the Bedoin market we began what became a daily ritual of devouring pain chocolat (chocolate crossaints) at a boulangerie (bakery) right off the main market. We also regularly stocked up on fresh bread, cheese and saussicon (dry sausage) – the perfect picnic ingredients.

And please don’t forget the wine. The Southern Rhone Valley has an exceptional selection: Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Cote du Rhone, Gigondas, Vacqueryas, Beaumes de Venise, Rasteau. There are plenty of well-marked, small wineries along the roads in Beaumes de Venise, Vacqueryas and Gigondas (one of my favorites is Domaine la Fourmone). Most of these places do not charge for wine tastings – just as you would not buy a pair of pants without first trying them on, these wineries offer a sampling before you buy.

Believe it or not, you can buy even the most delicate regional wine in 5- or 10-liter “bag-in-box” containers (yes, it is the English term “bag-in-box”). Most of the local vintners have adopted this very American packaging concept. Yet unlike their American counterparts, the so-called box wines contain the over-runs of high-quality bottled varieties. Quality and economy, what more could you ask for.

Day Trip 2: Cassis & hiking the Calanques

You can’t visit Provence without taking a day trip to the Mediterranean port town of Cassis. This town does not receive the publicity of Nice or Cannes, yet it is absolutely stunning. If you’re a sun worshiper or appreciate views of the aqua-marine Mediterannean, then Cassis is for you. It’s also a good base for hiking the Calanques.

Swimming the Calanques in December – brrrrrr

Prep for your hike with lunch in Cassis. The restaurants on the water are pricey, as you are paying for the view. If you are on a budget wander the side streets instead. (You get spectacular views on the hike, don’t worry.)

After lunch it’s time for a hike. The Calanques are a series of deeply inset, narrow water inlets (like small versions of the fjords of Norway). Walk through town following the signs to the Calanques entrance (a nice thing about this region, both walking and driving, is that things are well marked with signs).

The first three Calanques are doable in a half-day, if you have good walking shoes and water. Doing this hike with first-timers is really exciting, as each Calanque is more spectacular than the last. The deep blue water is set against steep cliffs, with stunning beaches tucked into the inlets. This time around the girls in the group, myself included, were so mesmerized by the water that we swam. In December. In the cold freezing water.

The verdict? December is not a great month for swimming.

Day Trip 3: Catedral d’Images & Les Baux

Les Baux is a medieval village overlooking olive fields and vineyards. Our first stop was right outside the walls of Les Baux, where there are several limestone quarries converted into a museum, of sorts.

In the mid-1970s, Albert Plecy came up with the concept of Image Totale (Total Image), in which the spectator is included in a work of art. A Picasso exhibit was running the day we visited. It was a thrill walking through the cool, dark quarry hear music playing, with images moving across the huge walls matched to the tempo. It’s an ingenious way to display Picasso’s works. I admit I was completely enthralled by the experience. Plecy’s goal of engaging the spectator is met with flying colors… literally and figuratively.

Picasso on display at Catedral d’Images

Next it was up and over the walls of Les Baux for some lunch. A highlight here is the crêpes shop. I am of the school of thought that you can’t visit France without having at least one crêpe… so I had two. An order of crêpes galettes (savory crêpes) for the main course, followed by a plate of crêpes sucrées (sweet crêpes) for desert.

After lunch it’s time for a walk around the medieval part of Les Baux, which offers a 360-degree view of the surrounding countryside. The view alone will could keep you mesmerized for hours.

Day Trip 4: Aix en Provence

After all that hiking and swimming and eating and drinking, it was time to unwind. We opted for a leisurely day strolling the streets and squares of Aix en Provence… stepping into several shops, slowly sipping a café, enjoying a long lunch, and visiting a museum or two. An added bonus was the Christmas Fair, it being late December (at other times of the year the streets transformed with large open-air markets).

The Post-Impressionist artist, Paul Cézanne, split his time between Paris and Aix en Provence. We visited Cézanne’s studio at Les Lauves, a short uphill walk from the city center. Walking into the studio is like stepping back in time – they’ve kept the studio as it was when he was working.

If you have more time to spend in Aix, check out La Fondation Vasarely – the Bauhaus building of the museum itself is worth the trip. The museum contains contemporary exhibits.

Day Trip 5: A morning in Avignon & an afternoon hike to Les Barroux

We split our last day trip between exploring Avignon and hiking through Les Dentelles du Montmirail to Les Barroux, and back through the vineyards.

Avignon is a walled city on the Rhone River, former home of the Catholic Papacy for a period during the 14th century. The Palace of the Popes (Palais des Papes) stands today, an impressive structure and a reminder of the wealth and strength of the Catholic Church.

Avignon’s Palace of the Popes, minus the popes

Remember the children’s song ‘Sur le pont d’Avignon’ (On the Bridge of Avignon)? The eponymous bridge stands half-way out into the Rhone, just outside the city walls. We bought double-entrance tickets for both the bridge and the palace (tip: architecture students get a discount). Included with the tickets are hand-held audio guides – history buffs will have no shortage of new information after listening to the audio tour.

The lunch hour nearing, we head back to the house to grab some lunch before heading out on our afternoon walk/hike to Les Barroux. Les Barroux is a spectacular walled medieval city, with a castle-like chateau at the top. There are a number of great walks to Les Barroux.

One of my favorites hikes meanders through a hilly, wooded area just southeast of Les Barroux. You’ll need a walking map to find the trail heads, and once you do there are plenty of yellow trail signposts to guide you.

#1 Paris with Kids: Ride the carousels

Kids in Paris? Take ‘em on a carousel rid

The carousels are gorgeous, old-style painted wooden horses and carriages, lavishly decorated with familiar music to swirl by around and around and around. These pop up unexpectedly all over the place, and will help turn your day into a spontaneous carnival, giving a sense of the city as a funfair.

They can be an enchanting moment of nostalgia for parents, climb on board too, and wave to the kids as you pass them!

If you don’t stumble across any in your travels, head for Luxembourg Gardens, the Jardin Des Tuileries, Parc du Champ de Mars, and down the hill from Sacre Coeur in Montmartre.

#2 Paris with Kids: Go underwater & visit the dinosaurs

CinéAqua – The Trocadéro Aquarium is a tropical water wonderland, filled with colourful fish and exotic underwater species, and a favourite with my 8-year-old friend, as it contains a crocodile pit. See if they live up to the promise of 9,000 fish and 26 sharks, go on, count them all! Intriguing list of activities include an underwater sound studio, the ‘green wall of incrustation’, underwater robots a film program, cartoon workshop and daddy day camp. Located in the historic Trocadero area, you can eat in the museum at Cafe Petit Jules Verne or for more experimental food, try the gastronomic Japanese restaurant Ozu.

Walk through the shark tunnel at the Trocadero Aquarium

The main building in the Jardin du Plantes houses the perennially enchanting dinosaur museum, the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle. Don’t let the description of “comparative anatomy, mineralogy and paleontology” put you off, this is where living reptiles can be seen in the reptiles gallery of the Ménagerie at the Jardin des Plantes. The fossil gallery contains objects that were part of the Cabinet of Curiosities of King Louis XIII. Explore their collection online with the kids before you leave home, and decide which exhibits they are most interested in seeing.

#3 Paris with Kids: Picnic in the park

Step back in time with a trip to Buttes Chaumont, built in the early 1900s, this park has an extraordinary landscape to explore, with panoramic views over Paris. The man-made river runs through mountains, into caves and down along waterfalls, and there are plenty of gorgeous picnic spots at the many grassy verges along its banks. It’s located in the 19th arrondissement at the Rue Botzaris, near two metro entrances: Botzaris and Buttes Chaumont.

Parc de Belleville is perfect for a summer afternoon picnic, and with a little exploring, you can find a spot for swimming along the river. This former village and 18th-century gypsum quarry, has been transformed into a beautiful garden which opened in 1988. The Maison de l’Air located inside the park offers educational workshops for children with explanations and demonstrations on the theme of the air, the atmosphere, and pollution. Give the kids an environmental perspective to write up in their school report. Rue des Couronnes. Metro: Couronnes.

The famous Jardin de Tuileries is a favourite with French families, dating back to the 17th Century. The public garden has great entertainment for kids, including a puppet show, ferris wheel, carousel, playgrounds with trampolines and toy sailboats for sailing on the pond. Between the Louvres to the Place de La Concord, the garden houses the only remaining structures of the original Palais de Tuileries, Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume and the Musée de l’Orangerie, which displays Claude Monet’s water lily paintings, and will appeal to budding artists.

I highly recommend a trip to one of the markets for fresh bread, fruit and cheese, or you can stop into the many small grocery shops around for supplies. The kids will love to stop for authentic french crepes at one of the many stands selling them, and of course the perennial favourite ice cream is available everywhere. Berthillon, next to the bridge between Ile de la Cite and Ile St-Louis, has fabulous flavours of sorbet and ice-cream in raspberry, strawberry, lemon, pear, vanilla and chocolate, and offers a view of Notre Dame as you enjoy them.

#4 Paris with Kids: Science, industry, cinema

The Parc de la Villette houses the Cité des sciences & de l’industrie, a fascinating world of invention and technology, with a real submarine to explore, a satellite dish, and summer events including performances and music nights. There is a science museum designed for kids, the Cité des Enfants, you can also work on their language skills, as many of the explanations are in French, and it’s free with the Paris Pass.

The wide-open grass area is a perfect place to let the kids run around and expend some energy, especially on those hot summer days. Three of the gardens are built specifically for kids, the Jardin du Dragon with a wonderful playground and dragon-shaped slippery slide, the Jardin des Brouillards featuring water curtains and fountains, and a self-driven windmill in the Jardin des Dunes. A fun way to reach the Parc de la Villette is a boat trip along the canal, which also offers a chance to relax and enjoy the scenery. The 3 hour trip starts at Quai Anatole France and ends at the Parc de la Villette, bring your own food as there are no refreshments for sale on the boat.

In case you need to escape the rain, or as a relaxing alternative to another day of sightseeing, the Forum des Images offers film programs for a variety of ages from Touts-Petits Cinema to les scolaires. The button ‘Activities Enfants’ on the website has listings for all the films in the children’s programs at Cinema le Latina, 20, rue du Temple 75004. Métro Hôtel-de-Ville or Rambuteau.

#5 Paris with Kids: Theme parks & shopping tours

Sometimes, you have no choice but to give into your kids’ desire for Mickey and friends. Fortunately you can cover both the familiar options – namely, Disneyland Paris – and something entirely French, Parc Asterix, which is the 2nd-largest theme park in France with a distinct Gaulish theme to its rides and attractions.

Not your typical theme park: Parc Asterix, just outside Paris

If you have an older child, consider a Paris walking tour aimed specifically at kids, or Paris shopping tour aimed at teens.

If all else fails, consider a stroll along the Seine and let the kids decide. As a child, the Adventures of Madeline was one of my favourite books, the row of tiny yellow uniforms tramping up to the Eiffel Tower has always intrigued me, and I recently had the joy of visiting the Pont Neuf, where she falls in the water.

Entice your children’s imagination with their own French adventures before you head to the city of light, and they will walk around enchanted by being alive in this wonderful fairy tale city. You can buy them a Madeleine, and try some other authentic French treats, like Croque Monsieur, sure to appeal to a young palette. Strolling along the Seine from the Debilly Footbridge, which goes across to the Eiffel Tower is perfect for an afternoon walk, that will give you a new view of the city from the river, and allow you to experience the streets of Paris from another perspective as you wander.

City Walks with Kids: Paris is a wonderful book of cards with child-oriented maps, plenty of pictures and delights for young travellers. Let the kids take charge of the itinerary, giving you a break from making the decisions. Parents with teenagers might suggest a trip to the Pere Lachaise cemetery, to visit Jim Morrison’s grave, along with the many French artists, writers and musicians buried here.