Traveling to Paris with a Baby: 12 Things to Keep in Mind
We had the special opportunity to give birth to our daughter in Paris, and all of the advice in this post is from 8 months of personal experience living in Paris with a baby (and two visits back since, once in June when our baby was 12-months old and once in September when our baby was 16-months old).
If you are currently planning to visit Paris with a baby, there are some helpful things to know in advance before doing so.
Although many Parisians live in Paris with babies, it is not really a baby-friendly city. Paris is pretty outdated when it comes to accessibility, and this can make it incredibly challenging when your daily life requires a stroller.
Nonetheless, Paris with a baby is not impossible (again many people live there with babies), but it can be frustrating at times. If you’re planning to visit Paris with your baby, below are some things that should help your travels and assist with the challenges you might face when traveling to Paris with your baby.
Photo by Ksenia Photography
1) The metro is not stroller friendly
The first thing to keep in mind when traveling to Paris with a baby is that the metro is not stroller friendly. Paris’ metro system unfortunately is not accessible in any way and the majority of the metro lines require multiple flights of stairs without an escalator or elevator available.
That being said, it’s not impossible to take the metro in Paris with a stroller, however, it is better and more achievable if you have more than one person to help you get up and down the metro steps.
Ironically, there is often a large stroller gate that you have to request to open at most metro stops, but once through you will still be met with stairs.
Popular lines or stops with elevator options are the RER lines, the Cité metro stop on line 4 (near Notre Dame) and the Abbesses stop in Montmartre. On our most recent trip we also discovered an elevator at the Pyramides metro stop which accesses line 7 and line 14.
2) you’ll want a compact travel stroller
There are a lot of small doorways, entrances, narrow staircases, tiny elevators and the like in Paris, so if you’re planning to travel to Paris with a baby, I recommend bringing a compact stroller.
The brand Stokke created a Paris-friendly stroller with the YoYo, and it is especially compact and narrow (and supposedly fits in the overhead bins on airplane).
We personally used the light and sleek Cybex Melio Carbon stroller, but this compact travel stroller by Cybex or any compact travel stroller would also work great.
You’ll thank yourself for having a lighter stroller if you do choose to take the metro, or for those moments when you come across stairs in Paris (which is inevitable)!
3) Book an Airbnb or Hotel in paris with an Elevator
Another huge thing to keep in mind when planning a trip to Paris with a baby is the accessibility of the hotel or Airbnb you book. There are many Parisian buildings that still don’t have elevators to access upper floors, and it would be a shock if you arrived and realized you had to drag your stroller up long narrow flights of stairs.
The good news is I think most Parisian hotels at this point have elevators available (even if small). However, when traveling with a baby, an Airbnb can often be more convenient, and this is where I would triple check your Airbnb has an elevator, or what floor the apartment is on, as the apartment rentals are less likely to have an elevator.
We recently booked an Airbnb style apartment near the Louvre that was located on the first floor (no elevator). It was doable to take our 16-month old and the stroller up the stairs by myself, but it was still extra work, and the stairs and entry to the apartment were tight.
4) you will likely pay extra for a larger hotel room
If you’re traveling to Paris with a baby, and struggling to find an affordable hotel rate to accommodate your baby, its due to the small room size of most Parisian hotels.
Parisian hotel rooms can be laughably small, which is a complaint of many international travelers when visiting the city. This being the case, when you’re booking a hotel in Paris that has a crib available for your baby, you will likely have to pay extra, not necessarily because you have a baby, but because the room will need to be larger in order to accommodate your crib.
If you book travel through a site like Booking.com, it might automatically suggest a larger more expensive room as a default. When we’ve had to stay in a hotel in Paris with our baby, we’ve always called the hotel to see which room size can fit the crib.
5) you don’t see that many babies in restaurants
That’s not to say you can’t go out to eat with your baby in Paris, but it might be helpful to know in advance that it isn’t that common to see babies all over Parisian restaurants.
Parisian restaurants can be incredibly small and not all that baby-friendly. In addition, you just don’t see babies out to dinner like you would in some other European countries, so you might be the odd ball out if you plan to do so.
In addition to babies not really being in restaurants, there are rarely high chairs available at whatever restaurant you’re planning to have a meal at. And the restaurant might not have space to accommodate your stroller if your baby is sleeping, and could turn you away (this happened to us more than once in Paris / France).
If you’re planning a dinner with your baby in Paris, I recommend asking the restaurant when making your reservation if they will have space for your baby / have a highchair available.
6) changing tables aren’t everywhere
If you’ve traveled to Paris before, then you’ll know that public restrooms aren’t a thing and you have to be strategic about when and where to go to the bathroom.
There’s no prejudice against age here, and finding a changing table in Paris can be just as challenging as figuring out where to use the bathroom as an adult.
Most restaurant bathrooms won’t have a changing table available, simply due to the small scale of the bathroom itself. You can of course scout out whatever bathroom is available and be delighted to find a changing table if there is one.
Changing tables can be found at the grand magasins or large department stores such as BHV and Galeries LaFayette. Most of the museums should also have changing tables available.
7) finding diapers,wipes and formula
If you’re traveling to Paris with a baby soon and wondering if you can get some baby essential items once in the city, you can find most baby essential items at a pharmacy or Monoprix within Paris. Pharmacies are probably the easiest spots to pop in for diapers and formula, however, Monoprix also has all of the baby essentials.
Monoprix is a great spot to stock up on baby food during your travels to Paris, and Monoprix is also a great spot to find some baby clothes if you need some in an emergency situation (or just want to shop for baby clothes in Paris).
8) most pharmacies are closed on sundays
If you need medicine for your baby during your time in Paris, you will likely get it from a pharmacy (pharmacie). If you need some item like baby Tylenol during your travels, be sure to grab some on a day other than a Sunday, just in case, as most pharmacies in Paris are closed on Sunday (apart from a few specific maternity locations).
9) you can book ubers for your car seat
If you traveled to Paris with your carseat, and you need to get from one part of the city to another part of the city, you can book any uber to accomodate your carseat. You don’t need to select anything special in the Uber app and they can’t reject you for having a carseat in tow.
10) Pack Layers for Your Baby
Even if you’re traveling to Paris with your baby in the height of Summer, I still recommend packing some light layers. The weather in Paris can fluctuate a lot, and you never know when you might get a cool or cold evening unexpectedly.
Our baby was born in Paris in May and she was wearing sweaters and knit pants as a newborn in May and June!
11) prepare for the weather
Speaking of weather, you’ll want to plan to have some items ready for traveling to Paris with your baby. There’s likely rain in the forecast anytime of year in Paris, so you’ll want to pack a rain cover for your stroller or bassinet.
If you’re traveling to Paris in the summer, I recommend bringing a stroller umbrella or sunshade and a stroller fan. If you’re traveling to Paris in the winter, be sure to bring a stroller footmuff.
12) Pack a Baby Carrier
If you’re visiting Paris with your baby as a tourist, you will want to pack a supportive baby carrier for your travels to the city. The baby carrier can help as you navigate the metro steps, or just be a backup option for when baby gets fussy in the stroller.
The baby carrier is especially helpful if you plan to do a lot of walking in the city, or if you want to take some more peaceful strolls close to your hotel sans stroller.
When our baby was a newborn, we used the BabyBjörn mini all over Paris, as well as a Solly Baby Wrap. Once she was bigger, we purchased a more supportive baby carrier (the one we have isn’t sold in the US) like this one.
STICK AROUND FOR A WHILE
Are you an expectant mom heading to Paris? Check out our maternity shoot with a local photographer in Luxembourg Gardens and book your own! Or discover all of our Paris travel guides in our Paris section.
If you’re looking for a photographer while in Paris, read this post to see why we loved booking Ksenia Paris Photo for our pregnancy announcement photoshoot in Paris’ Jardin du Luxembourg.