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Posted
34 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

In Paris, there is a lot of English.  I always say, "Bonjour! Je parle francais, mais je parle tres mal. Parlez-vous anglais?" and that usually smooths the way. The Uber/taxi drivers usually do not speak much English, but restaurants, bars, shops, etc. all good. Once you are out of Paris, a lot less English spoken.

That's the impression I got.  I'd try to muddle through something in French and they'd start speaking English.  After a day or so, I'd just speak English and everyone seemed fine with that.

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Posted
4 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

Have you gone yet?  

We did, went in August.  We had a great time.  After 2 days, our 5 year old told my wife, "I thought they were talking weird, but now I know that's just the way they talk here."  To see his world open in that moment was very cool and about 99% of the reason to bring the kids.  If you're going with family, let me know and I can throw a couple of things your way.

As far as the language, pretty much everyone you interact with speaks good English.  Whenever we went anywhere, out of respect, we would always great them in French and try to ask what we needed in French as well ("quatre pains au chocolat, s'il vous plaît", etc), but as soon as there was a mispronunciation or wrong inflection, they would switch to English.  It's just a generational thing for younger French people.  They don't care.

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Posted
5 hours ago, Stringer said:

We did, went in August.  We had a great time.  After 2 days, our 5 year old told my wife, "I thought they were talking weird, but now I know that's just the way they talk here."  To see his world open in that moment was very cool and about 99% of the reason to bring the kids.  If you're going with family, let me know and I can throw a couple of things your way.

As far as the language, pretty much everyone you interact with speaks good English.  Whenever we went anywhere, out of respect, we would always great them in French and try to ask what we needed in French as well ("quatre pains au chocolat, s'il vous plaît", etc), but as soon as there was a mispronunciation or wrong inflection, they would switch to English.  It's just a generational thing for younger French people.  They don't care.

Sounds like you had a good time. What did the kids enjoy? We asked ours to research and pick one thing each.  They all ended up with the Eiffel tower as their first choice 😂 but we made them come up with other things so the other three said Olympics, Notre Dame, and I forgot what the last kid chose.  

 

Yes you're right about the younger generation not caring as much. The older generation are quite impressed with Americans speaking French (even poorly) though I find.  Especially Texans.  

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Posted
On 10/1/2025 at 9:52 PM, gsoda3 said:

Yes you're right about the younger generation not caring as much. The older generation are quite impressed with Americans speaking French (even poorly) though I find.  Especially Texans.  

I did 5 weeks in Paris "school" through the accounting program in 2004 and there has been a shift for sure.  Probably some of it was also some of my friends not giving a shit and acting like they were in East Texas that got us looks.

I kept trying, but was unable to get reservations to Notre Dame, so we missed out on that.  We did eat dinner one night on Ile St Louis, so we were able to see the outside.  I think the viewing areas up top are back open now, but they were still closed when we went.

The kids really liked:

- We did a private tour in the Louvre which was useful.  We went in the side door and hit the high points pretty quickly.  It was expensive (possibly not worth it), but we said Fuck It and it worked out well.  The 8 year old liked it.  Probably a little heady for the 5 year old

- The Pastries

- The L'Orangerie Museum and Musee D'Orsay both had great kid rooms where they could do crafts and games.  It was a great place for us to reset and have them do something creative in the museums.  

- The macarons

- I had a friend of ours use AI to put together a scavenger hunt at the Louvre, L'Orangerie, Orsay and Rodin.  That kept them somewhat engaged and they enjoyed that

- the crepes

- My 5 year old is super into dinosaurs, so we went to the Galerie de Paleontologie, next to the Natural History museum.  It's an old place (and in Europe), so it is tight, but they have some great stuff and the kids enjoyed it.

- As much of a pain as the Eiffel can be (especially with the new barriers around it), it was probably their favorite location.  We just went to the first level and had a pizza up there for dinner.  They loved it

- The pastries

- In Luxembourg Gardens, there is a big fountain where they could rent boats and push them around the fountain.  There were a lot of people there and they really enjoyed it.  Sometimes, it's the little things.

- Their favorite activity in Paris was a family cooking class my friend recommended.  It was a lot of fun for all of us and a really cool experience.  It's hosted by an Italian grandmother and she has a translator.  We made some tarts and madeleines.  Just a delightful experience all around.  

- Oh, and the pastries

Through some friends, we had some connections at Fat Tire Bike Tours and they were able to find someone to watch the kids one night, so my wife and I could go out.  That was my favorite part.

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Posted
6 hours ago, Stringer said:

I did 5 weeks in Paris "school" through the accounting program in 2004 and there has been a shift for sure.  Probably some of it was also some of my friends not giving a shit and acting like they were in East Texas that got us looks.

I kept trying, but was unable to get reservations to Notre Dame, so we missed out on that.  We did eat dinner one night on Ile St Louis, so we were able to see the outside.  I think the viewing areas up top are back open now, but they were still closed when we went.

The kids really liked:

- We did a private tour in the Louvre which was useful.  We went in the side door and hit the high points pretty quickly.  It was expensive (possibly not worth it), but we said Fuck It and it worked out well.  The 8 year old liked it.  Probably a little heady for the 5 year old

- The Pastries

- The L'Orangerie Museum and Musee D'Orsay both had great kid rooms where they could do crafts and games.  It was a great place for us to reset and have them do something creative in the museums.  

- The macarons

- I had a friend of ours use AI to put together a scavenger hunt at the Louvre, L'Orangerie, Orsay and Rodin.  That kept them somewhat engaged and they enjoyed that

- the crepes

- My 5 year old is super into dinosaurs, so we went to the Galerie de Paleontologie, next to the Natural History museum.  It's an old place (and in Europe), so it is tight, but they have some great stuff and the kids enjoyed it.

- As much of a pain as the Eiffel can be (especially with the new barriers around it), it was probably their favorite location.  We just went to the first level and had a pizza up there for dinner.  They loved it

- The pastries

- In Luxembourg Gardens, there is a big fountain where they could rent boats and push them around the fountain.  There were a lot of people there and they really enjoyed it.  Sometimes, it's the little things.

- Their favorite activity in Paris was a family cooking class my friend recommended.  It was a lot of fun for all of us and a really cool experience.  It's hosted by an Italian grandmother and she has a translator.  We made some tarts and madeleines.  Just a delightful experience all around.  

- Oh, and the pastries

Through some friends, we had some connections at Fat Tire Bike Tours and they were able to find someone to watch the kids one night, so my wife and I could go out.  That was my favorite part.

Fat Tire Bike Tours are the best.  I dunno how they find their guides but they always hit.  

 

My sister was in Paris also but in 2005 with McCombs PPA.  My parents couldn't reach her for 12 hours and called the embassy to get someone to track her down.  

 

Luxembourg Gardens and the boats on the lake - felt like a scene out of Madeleine no?

 

Brilliant idea about the AI scavenger hunt, we should've done that.  Our 7 yr old got bored at the museums quicker than the others. 

 

Other than the pastries and crepes, what meal did your kids like best?  I don't know that our kids had one specific meal they liked most but their must have item at every restaurant quickly became escargots. 

Posted

Kinda random but if you're in to weird architecture Place Georges Pompidou is like 5 minutes away from the Notre dame and very unique. It's designed "inside out" so all the stairs and mechanical piping and whatnot are on the outside. 

1600x1200-TINY-1600x1200.jpg

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Posted
1 hour ago, seven said:

Kinda random but if you're in to weird architecture Place Georges Pompidou is like 5 minutes away from the Notre dame and very unique. It's designed "inside out" so all the stairs and mechanical piping and whatnot are on the outside. 

 

We were there last December and it was great. But it's just closed for a full reno until 2030. Per their website they're reopening for two days (Oct 24 and 25) for a celebration. Tickets are required. 

Posted
On 10/1/2025 at 10:55 AM, Aqua Buddha said:

I took two years, too, but that was a long time ago and I haven't used it much since.  I can still kind of piece it together if I'm reading it but that's about it.  I was surprised at the extent of English while there, though.  The French didn't seem bothered by it at all and from what I understand, they used to be.  Is that accurate?

 

Yeah when we went a few years ago , I would start out in French with my drawl and they would quickly switch to English. Generally they seemed to appreciate the effort.

Outside of Paris they were a little more snobbish about it but not too bad.

Germans were a lot worse and I don't speak any German. 

 

Last bit of general advice to anybody going to France:Do NOT ride the TGV. 

Posted
23 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

Yeah when we went a few years ago , I would start out in French with my drawl and they would quickly switch to English. Generally they seemed to appreciate the effort.

Outside of Paris they were a little more snobbish about it but not too bad.

Germans were a lot worse and I don't speak any German. 

 

Last bit of general advice to anybody going to France:Do NOT ride the TGV. 

Why not on the TGV?

Posted
1 hour ago, Aqua Buddha said:

Why not on the TGV?

 

1 hour ago, gsoda3 said:

?

 

Just horribly crowded. A complete mosh pit getting on then having to fight your way through hot stinking crowds to get to your seat. People sitting in the stairwell blocking access, standing around in the drink car because they couldn't get to their seats, etc.

This was in the summer so it was the busy season I guess.

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