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If you come with children

We adapt visits to kids by...
  • Choosing what will interest them. For example, at the Louvre...
Details from "Virgil and Dante", Delacroix's frist important work, 1822

 

"This the best part of my painting!"

exclaimed the 22-year-old artist

 as he finished the glowering figure that children spot immediately.

 

 

  • Suggesting visits that parents may not have considered

 


At Saint-Denis, the martyrdom of the saint who brought Christianity to France. He holds his (huge) head in his hands...

 

The tombs of France's kings at Saint-Denis

(a former pilgrilmage site a half-day's march from central Paris,

 now a 40-minute metro ride) fascinate kids.

They love the exuberant outdoor market too -- please CLICK and scroll down.  

 

 

  • Telling stories, to make a point memborable (which interests parents) 


"I like all the storys you have told, especially the gory storys". - Tasha, age 9 (spelling hers)
Martyrdom of the missionaries who Christianized Gaul, from a illuminated manuscript

 

We  illustrate the stories with first-rate works 

to help children feel that they can relate to great art.

 

 
Introduction to an early 20th-century history for children, by Michel Leloir (celebrated illustrator of the time)

 

Or else, we use illustrations of famous incidents of French history.

They come from early 20th-century albums for children,

 that one rarely finds today.

 (They come from Catherine's French family.)

 

 

  • Stopping while we're ahead  


Pastry-and-chocolate shop at Easter, Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Bio pastries next to a garden a few steps from the Louvre

 

If parents agree, we  follow up high culture with "goûter" 

in a place that kids will love.

 

 

 

  • Personal memories lie behind these suggestions

 

My mother, who was French, brought my brother to Paris twice when we children. She wanted us to love the city and culture as a whole. For that to work, she was careful to stop before our attention span ran out.

 

She succeeded so well that we both chose to live in French cultures as adults. As well, we  used her methods with our own kids. Our memories inspire these proposals.- C.A.

 

 

 

Photos / Catherine Aubin

 

 

Unexpected Paris private tours