No, I’m not talking about a public garden, but about the family-friendly cafe-restaurant that is (almost) facing it : the Square Gardette.

In the 11th arrondissement, this café and restaurant welcomes a lot of local families, especially on week-ends.
A large room, tables and chairs of course, but also a “living room” with a couch. And in the “living room”, a box of toys ready for kids to enjoy them.

The place is decorated like an old appartment, with books and all kind of objects here and there (don’t miss the “storage room” …the toilets…worse the visit).

A high chair is available (but no changing facilities).

English spoken

Le Square Gardette
24 rue St Ambroise
75011 Paris
Tel 01 83 76 04 70

Are you taking the kids with you on your next trip to Paris? Are you secretly dreading it? Don’t sweat it,Localers has a range of family tours led by experts available for the kids and the grown-ups too.

Looking for something really fun to do with the kids? Our “Chase the Space Invader Street Art Tour”is the perfect opportunity to explore the city and entertain the kids at the same time.  Your expert tour guide will arm the kids with crayons and paper on which they will draw the tiled space invader graffiti art, which they will spot concealed in the most unlikely spots – often plastered to buildings all around town. While the kids take time to draw the space invaders, the parents will be given time to appreciate the architecture of charming and elegant areas such as Etienne-Marcel, Beaubourg, and the Marais. They will also be given a run-through on Paris’s fascinating history each step of the way.

“The Bastille Family Adventure” is another opportunity to see Paris with the kids. Your expert tour guide has created an itinerary, which takes in the historic Bastille neighbourhood, famous for being a hotbed of revolutionary activity during the French Revolution. It was here that the storming of the Bastille prison took place. The kids will learn about this famous episode in French history and have a chance to explore the charming Faubourg-Saint-Antoine with its narrow, hidden streets, and impressive architecture. The furniture workshops dotted along the Faubourg-Saint-Antoine and the people who worked in them will form a particular focus of the tour.

After your revolutionary amble, the kids and parents will be ready to discover one of the jewels of local life, the famous Marché d’Aligre− a fabulous covered market. With a tour of the market, your guide will introduce you to the art of French living with tips on how to navigate the market and a visit to your guide’s favourite cheese stand. After a few small tastings, there will be a visit to a traditional boulangerie to sample the delicious pastries on offer. Your guide will teach the kids to order in French giving them a real experience of local life.

Visit Localers.com for more information on tours for kids. Looking for something in particular?  Get in touch. Private, tailor-made tours can be created on request by Localers’ team of local experts.

Wherever they come from,  – USA, UK, Hong-Kong, Australia, Roumania, …- some families choose to travel light with baby. Renting a stroller in Paris is then an appropriate solution. Here are some testimonials some of these families left us:

Kenji from New-Zealand: “Was much more user friendly than the competing company. Delivery times were very flexible which sealed the deal for me.” (Kenji rented a double stroller for his close-aged children).

Stacey – USA: “Great service and very nice stroller. We were very pleased with your company and will definitely use you again if we are back in Paris.”

Jason – USA : “Great service! Extremely easy to deal with and very accomodating. Would recommend to anyone needing baby gear while in Paris.”

Stuart – Paris: “I was renting baby things for a visit by my brother and his family This was singularly the easiest transaction Ive done for a long time. Nothing was too much trouble and when I added other items at a later stage they were added seamlessly.”

Mircea from Romania: “For anyone who has childrens, baby’tems makes the journey confortable in Paris!
100% professional!!!
Thank you again”

Verity – USA: “What an amazing service – all was so efficient and easy which was such a help to me travelling on my own with my baby daughter. Thank you!”

Mark – Australia: “Stroller lost at airport, unhappy wife and child. Internet search – organised stroller rental online first thing in the morning – stroller delivered to hotel before 11am same day. Very happy with the service – highly recommend.”

Carla – UK: “Brilliant service and such a wonderful idea!
I arrived at my Paris hotel to find my stroller ready for me and was collected late afternoon on my last day!
I will definitely use this service again and I have already recommended to my friends who are also travelling to Paris with baby!
Thank you ”

Chetana – USA: “The equipment was clean and in excellent condition and so was the service. I initially ordered stroller and a cot, once we got to the apartment, they had a cot so i emailed babytems to see if we could cancel the reservation on the cot without much notice. Camille was accomodating and we were able to rent only the stroller. She was on time to deliver and pick up the equipment. The stroller was very handy to walk everywhere in paris. Overall excellent service.”

Lauren – Hong-Kong : “The pram (which looked brand new) was easily booked online and delivered directly to our hotel in central Paris with all components including rain shield and apron bag. We travelled around France with the pram and it was picked up directly from our hotel the day we checked out- the perfect service.”

Want to read more of these? Visit our baby equipment rental in Paris testimonials page here.

In the 11th arrondissement, we discovered this pretty shop created by Sophie and Sophie.
You’ll find there a nice collection of products such as : decoration items for children’s room, daily usefull products, toys, “gourmet” kits and much more.
The shop also offers on Saturdays a cooking workshop for children aged 5 to 12 (suitable even with limited or no French).

La dinette de Sophie
11 rue de la Fontaine au Roi
75011 Paris

While visiting le Marais (3rd arrondissement), go up to the Swedish Institute. Beside the cultural center program, you’ll find in this beautiful hotel particulier a child-friendly café. On sunny days you’ll also enjoy its terrace in the courtyard.

You prefer the Champs-Elysées? so well-known by anyone that each of us is walking on one day or the other. At the bottom of it, enter PointWC, the luxury public toilets. Have a look to the shop and enter one of the cabin, each one is decorated differently. And there’s there, of course, parent-child cabin for changing baby.

For a different neighborhood atmosphere and whether you were playing with kids in Jardin Villemin or walking along the Canal St Martin (10the arrondissement), go few steps aside and push the door of Poule Mouillette, a 100% family-friendly tea-room – shop – workshops place.

In the 18th arrondissement, an artistic place is also organized to welcome families with baby: Halle St Pierre, ideally located at bottom of Sacré Coeur. In this museum, you can visit Naive Art exhibitions, enjoy the library with great selection of books and have a coffee or tea and cakes break in its café.

And last of the selection, a store dedicated to cloth diapering: ApiNapi is located in the 12th arrondissement . Beside a full range of cloth diapers, you can shop there a full set of useful baby products.

Want to see all changing baby addresses of the blog? Click here.

Even if this café is not specifically a “baby-friendly” place, it pleased us particularly by its tranquillity and its location…a pretty good address for a break while walking between la Concorde and les Champs-Elysées.

Petit Palais is the Art Museum of city of Paris. In a superb building, it hosts collections from Antiquity till begining of 20th century…and as (almost) all museums managed by the City of Paris, its entrance to permanent collections is free (entrance fees for temporary exhibitions and workshops).

Located in the heart of the building, the café Le Jardin du Petit Palais offers a large room soberly decorated. Its menu shows drinks, light meals and snacks all day long. And, depending on the weather, you’ll be able to enjoy a table in the garden.

The café does not have high chairs (but there is room enough to install the stroller next to you). No baby changing facilities neither in the museum (only a “large table” with no changing mat in the Ladies restroom on floor 0…).  Too bad…

Have a look to the Petit Palais video presentation, you’ll see the café Jardin du Petit Palais:

PETIT PALAIS par Blanche_Jade

Le Petit Palais
Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris
Avenue Winston Churchill – 75008 Paris
Tel : 01 53 43 40 00
Open Tuesday – Sunday, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

When Sandrine Sananès, the founder of L’Atelier de Charenton, a painting workshop for children, offered baby’tems to be partner for the exhibition “Tableaux d’enfants” (Children’s paintings) organized in the Espace Art et Liberté in Charenton-le-Pont between April 11th and 20th, 2013, I accepted with much pleasure.

You’ll discover there the singular and universal expression of children, through a hundred of paintings done by children aged 3 to 15 year-old attending L’Atelier de Charenton.

You’ll see there, photographs from Marie Spencer and Pierre-Emmanuel Weck and short-films by Gilles Porte (film maker of “Dessine-toi…”), sponsor of the exhibition.

On Saturday, April 13th, children will be able to practice ‘painting without subject or model, freely’ same way as in L’Atelier (advance registration needed) and their parents will be able to visit the exhibition with Sandrine guiding them (in French only).

Practical informations:
April 11th – 20th, 2013.
Espace Art et Liberté – 3 place des Marseillais – Charenton-le-Pont (94).
13h – 18h / Free entrance.

More details: (in French)
http://www.latelierdecharenton.com/category/exposition-tableaux-denfants/

Because we do deliver quite often grandparents living in France and receiving their grandchildren or who are visiting Paris for few days, because they always welcome us warmly when we deliver baby items, because they help us spread the word about our baby equipment rental service to their friends and relatives, because they often send us back a friendly “thank you” message after the grandchildren flew back home, I’d like to tell them thank you!

And I take the opportunity of this post to offer them all a 10% discount on our car seat, cot or stroller rentals valid…until december 31st, 2013*.

Simply insert promo code MERCIGP13 in the cart when booking online or share the code with us when booking by email or phone.

*Promo code valid on rental amount only (excluding any delivery and collection fees), for baby equipment rental delivered to grandparents, can not be used in conjunction with any other offer.

Like each year, Forum des Images organizes its Tout Petits Cinéma festival, from March 2nd till March 10th, a rare festival fully dedicated to 18 months – 4 year old children.

This year again, a nice programming with know (…and unknown) movies, animations, films with live music accompaniment…

For the youngest ones (from 18 months or 2 year old kids), among others:
La chenille qui fait des trous (the caterpillar that makes some wholes) (accompanied by musicians) or Shaun the sheep (by the Aardman Studio – I’m just a fan!), etc…

For the “older children” (3 year +), in addition to the movies, they’ll be able to participate to workshops such as “Petites créations sonores” (use of sound effects objects or musical instrument for creating a sound track) or “Petites images à animer”.

Onsite, and for all : animations, interactive installations, coloring-toys-reading corner, changing station, cafeteria with baby and kid-menus, strollers parking area…

Attention, this festival is a success, advance booking is mandatory.

  Festival is all in French but as movies / workshops are for young children, most may be enjoyable even for non-French speaking children.

Forum des Images – au Forum des Halles – 2 rue du Cinéma – 75001 Paris

Viens jouer à la maison is a concept-store-shop-children and mum to be workshops… well, this is said now!

Rue de Lévis in the 17th arrondissement (but also in the 9th, in Asnières-sur-Seine – the 1st shop created- ,in St Germain en Laye, Levallois-Perret and Boulogne-Billancourt), you’ll find a pretty shop with children dinnerware, toys, decoration, fancy dresses, soft toys…) and workshops for children and mums to be.

Even if most workshops are doable on yearly registration only, the 17th arrondissement shop plans an occasional “Atelier des petits” (toddler workshop) for 18 months – 3 year old children, every 2 weeks and for wich content changes each time (baby gym, masks, painting…).

For the “older ones” (3 year old and above), a “atelier surprise” (surprise workshop) every wednesday PM (creative worshop, science workshop, cooking…) to wich each one can participate occasionally.

A nice place for an indoor activity with kids while visiting Paris with toddlers or older children.

Advance booking is mandatory.
English spoken (call to make sure the workshop can be attended without speaking French).

Viens jouer à la maison
82 rue de Lévis
75017 Paris
Tel:09 81 46 08 34