The Pool at Neuilly (Centre Aquatique)
27/31, boulevard d'InkermannTél : 01.41.92.02.20
Fantastic!! Perhaps the best pool I've ever been to. Clean, huge, perfect water temperature. Less crowded in the mornings. Just 5 minutes over the western Paris border. Men and boys have to wear racing suits (speedo or trunks that are tight to the skin). No more time to write, but if you are here in the summer and need to cool off this is the place

Pompidou with Kids
Both Sedi and Jake got a surprisingly huge kick out of our Pompidou expedition. We started off with baguettes and jam at a cafe next to the endlessly entertaining Nikki de St Phalle fountain. Then Once inside the museum the escalators to the top were, naturally, the first big thrill. The fact that the kids spent a good hour charging around the current exhibit of contemporary art, enthralled with the installations and video exhibits was an extra bonus. The children's exhibit space was also a big hit!

Cine Aqua (the new aquarium at Trocadero)
To escape the tres brutal heat in July we descended into the new underground aquarium at Trocadero. It was a wonderful place to stay cool, and Jake especially loved it, but I have to say it is rather odd and very overpriced (25 euros per adult and 12 for kids!!). The fish exhibits are fine, although nothing like the amazing Sydney aquarium and the Cine part is that throughout the space there are screens with sea/fish related anime-ish animations going on, which gives the whole palce a sort of bizarro, avant-garde vibe.

Bois de Bologne Lake Walk
What a lovely day! We took a leisurely walk around the main lake in the Bois de Bologne, stopping to feed ducks and cute baby ducks, play at a playground, have a picnic and take a boat ride across to a truly wonderful island. The boat costs 1.50 euros per person. There is a beautiful restaurant, Le Chalet des Iles (www.leschaletdesiles.net) which was full of families lunching with kids dressed in Sunday best. There are no dogs or picnics allowed on the island itself, which means no poop or trash (!). Laying in the grass you could easily be 100 miles from the city but for the view of the Eiffel Tower peeking above the trees. The kids explored, played soccer, and climbed on Dad. We saw a bunny rabbit and a gorgeous peacock preening and squawking. Later we had hot chocolates on the restaurants’ terrace before taking the boat back to the main path and completing our circumnavigation of the lake. Highly recommended for a sunny spring day outing.

Jardin des Plants & Natural history Museum
Metro Austerlitz or Jussieu
http://www.mnhn.fr/museum/foffice/transverse/transverse/accueil.xsp

A rainy holiday Monday. What to do? We first headed to the air and space museum, but it was closed, (Oh, yeah, it said perfectly clearly “sauf lundi” but, as Steve Martin would say, III Forgot!). Take 2 was to the natural history museum in the Jardin des Plantes. A wonderful museum with lots of models of sea life, animals and 2 full scale whale skeletons, one with real baleen. A nice cafeteria overlooking the main exhibit space too. We didn’t make it to the hall of evolution, that will have to be for the next trip, as will the minerology museum right next door. The jardin itself was also lovely and there is a topiary maze as well as a zoo and a carousel with models of extinct animals.

Tuileries Gardens
Riding a carousel, sailing boats on the pond, watching jugglers, kicking a soccer ball and running around like maniacs while your parents sit at the cafe sipping a coffee looking on and thinking about how cute you are. What more could a kid want!?

Parc Zoologique
Bois de Vincennes
We had a wonderful time at the Paris zoo. It's not too big and it's easy to see lots of animals, but I'd say it's a good outing for those living here or here for a long time. It's not a must for those just visiting and I wouldn't put it on any "top ten amazing zoos" lists.

Jardin d'Acclimatation
www.jardindacclimatation.fr

I just wrote a long, detailed and, I must say, very good post about this park, telling cute stories about Jake and Sedi and expressing why the Jardin is so wonderful. But when I clicked to spell check it, the whole thing disappeared! I'm now too distraught to rewrite it, so suffice it to say that this is a place is perhaps Burningman for kids. It's not a real tourist attraction, so if it's your first trip you probably have other things higher on the list. But if you've been here before and are traveling with young kids, this park is not to be missed.

Cafe del Homme
At the Musee del Homme, Trocadero

A wonderful cafe, both for a grown-up lunch or on the patio with the kids. It looks directly out onto the Eiffel Tower. After a snack or drinks you can walk down to the playground, the carousel or the fabulous Tower.

Versailles

Sunday was a beautiful day and we decided to take the kids to Versailles. When we arrived, a short ride later, we realized we'd been fooled (silly west-coasters that we've become) by the clear blue-sky. It was frickin' F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G. So afer fueling up with chocolat chauds we braved the windy Palace plaza and got in line for our tickets. Wandering through the amazingly elaborte rooms, the kids got nearly dizzy starting up at the painted ceilings. In Marie Antoinette's bedroom, Sedi kept asking incredulously: "But where is the queen? The queen is NOT here! Where is she??" The highlight for Jake was finding and picking up a large sheet of ice from one of the many frozen puddles in the gardens where the kids enjoyed stomping and splashing while we silly grown-ups just shivered nearby. We will return--in the true Spring!