The Little Bookroom Guide to Paris with Children: Play, Eat, Shop, Stay

The publishers of PARIS WITH CHILDREN didn't add a question mark to the title, though they easily could have: any parent who's ever wondered about bringing children there has wondered, really?

My wife and I have had the great good fortune to do so several times, and my answer is: yes. It's also the answer of this guidebook-but-that's-too-belittling-a-name-for-it book. Thoughtful, thorough, and above all, well-written, it's a book that doesn't talk down to parents--or children. It's also incredibly smart. Those first jet-lagged days in Paris? Spend some time in the museums--but in the evenings (many have special evening hours). Your children's circadian rhythms will leave them livelier at that hour and the museums themselves will be comparatively empty.

I confess that our own first trip to Paris we did not have this book--we, um, used children's books instead, an experiment that led to an article and later a book (see liamcallanan.com). But we've used this book ever since, even now that our children are grown. (Because even grown children need to know where to find a bathroom in any given arondissement tout suite.)

It's also beautifully illustrated and perfectly packable.

I know: I sound giddy about this book, and that's hard to square with the more serious tone of some of the other posts in my series here. But I believe in a Paris that mixes fun and serious--and I believe in exposing kids to that kind of Paris too, as early as you're able.