Ellen - well I guess serendipity has its pluses. Just don't over-schedule. Happy New Year.!

Karen, no concrete plans yet. I'll start reading this winter/spring. Our daughter tends to be a last-minute planner, so I probably won't even get dates for quite a while :)

Ellen -- how are you plans progressing?? Are you unearthing any musts do to with your granddaughter??

Good idea, Karen. She goes to a French school (not a word of English spoken in the classrooms), so they will probably have lots of information, too. I don't think she knows much if anything about it now, other than the Eiffel Tower, so I imagine it would be lots of fun for her. I'll look for books for her on Amazon - good Christmas idea.

Ellen ... Ask your daughter to take your granddaughter to the library and take out some books about Paris. Have her do some of the planning. The more involved she is, the more meaningful the trip will be. (Not that you won't have final say ;-) )
Also -- there are some travel programs you might be able to order.
????

I'll order the book, Karen, plus one for my daughter. Can't wait to read it.

Ellen - how exciting. Your trip will be ever so different but will give you an entirely new perspective on the City of Light:

I have not read this book but it's received good reviews. I can't imagine it isn't worth the money and your granddaughter can be involved in the planning.

http://www.amazon.com/Fodors-Around-Paris-Kids-3rd/dp/1400019192/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t

sign me jealous. All I want for my grandchildren to cross the pond.

Hi Stacy,

Thanks for the suggestions; can't wait to explore them! To me, the obvious are the usual tourist sights; Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, etc. She's been asking about the Eiffel Tower, so that will be on the must see list, too. I've never done kids' activities in Paris, so I'm pretty clueless.

What a great trip that will be! First, what is she interested in, and what do you consider "the obvious"?

The guignols at the Jardin de Luxembourg? Saling the little boats in the parks? Parc de la Villette? The Bois de Vincennes with its zoo, boat rides, and nearby château? Hot chocolate at La Charlotte de l'Isle? Museum-wise she might enjoy the Cluny Museum--it has a wide variety of displays and isn't so big as to be overwhelming (and if she's read Harry Potter, she may notice Nicholas Flamel's tombstone there). There's the Café Zoïde which promotes itself as the first cultural children's café (0-16 years, parents of course being welcome too): http://www.cafezoide.asso.fr . Finally, here's a French site that lists lots of things for children: http://www.occuper-ses-enfants.com/. The Ferme Pédagogique de Paris looks interesting... along with seeing sites, would she enjoy interacting with other children?

Next summer my daughter and her husband will take our eight year-old granddaughter to Paris for the first time and I'm going to tag along. She goes to a French school in the US, so she speaks French fluently and now wants to visit everything she's heard about in school. Other than the obvious, does anyone have suggestions for things that would be fun for her to see and do?