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| Christmas fun for kids in Paris |
| Puppets in the Parks... |
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Parisians will remember the year 2010 as the "Year of Many Winters". Even at the height of summer, some days had the feel of late autumn. Then Fall came with winter days and early December with below-zero temperatures and heavy snowfalls - a rare phenomenon in the French capital where air pollution usually transforms snow into rain.
Bringing children along to Paris could become an ordeal when the weather gods are in a bad mood and take the pleasure out of outdoor activities.
Santas in the Windows
Whether it snows or rains, however, it's a traditional Parisian Noël delight for kids and adults alike to trudge over to "Les Grands Magasins" (i.e.department stores like Les Galeries Lafayette and Printemps behind the Paris Opera) to admire their sumptuously decorated shop windows, complete with Santas, music and automated toys.
“Les Champs” in Christmas Get-Up
Likewise, the sparkling Avenue des Champs-Elysées is a "must" experience, especially at this time of year. It can best be admired after dark and from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. (Entrance through a tunnel on the right-hand sidewalk at the top of the avenue).Considered the world's most beautiful avenue, "Les Champs" is a feast of glitter on a December night, with its trees in scintillating party dress and the rows of white and red head and tail lights of cars cruising up and down the avenue. Between the Rond Point and Place de la Concorde, a “Christmas Village” has been set up with food stalls and all sorts of colorful items on sale.
Beyond Place de la Concorde, a huge illuminated Ferris Wheel lords over the festive scene.
Dinosaurs on Display
Le Jardin des Plantes, a big park on the Left Bank of the Seine river (see map), is a kiddy paradise hosting a small zoo, a greenhouse with exotic plants, playgrounds and various exhibition halls. The star attraction this year is the temporary Dinosaur show in the building next to the Rue Geoffroy St-Hilaire entrance. The permanent exhibition at the Grand Evolution Gallery (along Rue Buffon on the opposite end of the Jardin) is equally fascinating for young and older visitors and so are the Galleries of Paleontology and Comparative Anatomy, set up in a didactic manner suitable for young minds.
After a crammed learning-visit to Le Jardin des Plantes the children have earned a treat. Across the Rue Geoffroy St-Hilare, the cozy café at the Paris Mosque offers mint tea and scrumptious Oriental delicacies in an exotic setting.
