la famille Croc vont a Paris

September 20, 2007 8:59 AM

Family holiday in Paris, 2 children (6 and nearly 3), staying near Rue de Passy (in the 16th). Can anyone recommend good neighbourhood restaurants, brasseries etc in that area?

For bonus points: non-obvious fun places to take the children - things I wouldn't easily find in tourist guides or google. My wife and I have both been to Paris before, but neither of us has been there with children. Thanks.

posted by crocomancer to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

Les marchés aux puces! Seriously, heaven for a six-year-old. Maybe not so much for the younger one though. Unless you follow it up with a kick-ass pizza and sundae supper.
posted by YamwotIam at 9:35 AM on September 20, 2007

Hippopotamus restaurants are scattered throughout Paris and have a kid-friendly atmosphere.
posted by desjardins at 9:58 AM on September 20, 2007

La famille va a Paris. Les membres de la famille vont a Paris.
posted by blue_beetle at 10:19 AM on September 20, 2007

blue_beetle - I thought that, but I wasn't sure and got Google to translate it. Should have trusted my memory.
posted by crocomancer at 12:48 PM on September 20, 2007

I lived off of Rue Passy in the early 80's, so a lot what I remember is probably gone. But Bois de Boulogne is very close, as is Trocadero (was great for skateboarding). I remember a market street near the post office, but not sure how exciting that would be for kids. The miniature Statue of Liberty is nearby as well.
posted by smcniven at 3:16 PM on September 20, 2007

Lived off Rue de Passy for 4 months earlier this year. The area is highly bourgeois and residential, so there are not too many restaurants (and even fewer that fit my student's budget!). Rue de Passy is quite commercial, but few of the establishments are restaurants--mostly it is lined with clothing boutiques. Rue de l'Annonciation, the market street, is closed to vehicle traffic and great for picnic supplies. There is also an expensive crêperie there.

My favorite boulangerie is La Flute Enchantée (corner of Ave. Mozart and Rue des Vignes). If the weather is good, you could get sandwiches and eat them in the park nearby. The park has donkey rides available and also a puppet show called "Guignol" (that is, if they haven't shut down for the winter by now). Take your kids to both! They can laugh at slapstick humor with French children their own age.

Musée Marmottan-Monet is right across the way for some lovely Impressionist paintings. Maybe read "Linnea in Monet's Garden" to your kids before you go?

And be sure to walk to Trocadéro--yes, all the tourists go there but it is a view that should not be missed. Also, ride Métro Line 6 a lot: the close-up view of the Eiffel Tower never gets old.

Bon voyage!
posted by clair-de-lune at 11:02 PM on September 20, 2007