Traveling to Paris with a child can be a memorable and exhausting experience. Sometimes the city does not feel kid-friendly (the small cafe tables, the museums, and the long distance between places of interest).

If you are looking for one place to add to your Paris itinerary and are traveling with young children, then I recommend spending one morning in Luxembourg Gardens (in French- Jardin du Luxembourg). Your child can have a quintessential Parisian experience and the gardens offer a nice break for parents who want to escape the hustle and noise of the city.

How to get to Luxembourg Gardens

When we are in Paris, we often walk if we are traveling less than 1.5 miles (or 2.5 km). However, you can easily take public transportation to Luxembourg Gardens, which is located in the 6th arrondissement.

For public transport, use the following stops:

Jardin du Luxembourg RER B
Sénat bus 58
Musée du Luxembourg bus 84

Stop #1: Ludo Jardin

Ludo Jardin is a gated playground tucked away in a tree-lined section of Luxembourg Gardens. It boasts a sand pit (with lots of toys), see-saws, climbing features, slides, and a zip line. There was plenty for our 6-year-old daughter to play with, and we saw many younger (and older) children who were entertained.

Cost: There is an entry fee of 3€ for children and 1€ per adult.

Opening times: Do not go too early. The playground opened at 10am.

Tip: We had one adult go in, while the other walked around and explored. You can just pull up a chair to the outside the gate if you have a lot of adults with you and do not want them all inside.)

Stop #2: Carrousel

Across from the Ludo Jardin there is the very small and very lovely Carrousel du Luxembourg. This small, wooden carrousel is the oldest in Paris. Children can ride an elephant, giraffe, or a traditional pony. Children can also play the ring came where they are given a stick and try to collect rings. This made our competitive 6-year-old very excited and engaged. I would just plan for one ride here- so it’s a quick stop.

Cost: 2€ for children

Opening times: 10am

Ages: must be under 12

Height requirements: 90cm (35 inches)-1.4 meters (55 inches)

Stop #3: Boat Rental at Grand Bassin duck pond

For our final stop at Luxembourg gardens, we rented our daughter a small sail boat to push around the duck pond. This tradition goes back to the 1920s. All the wooden boats have different flags from countries around the world. You get a long stick to push your boat with, and watch it sail around the pond. Our daughter could have spent an hour chasing her boat around. She loved the experience and it was great to see children from all over so engaged with such a relaxing and simple activity.

Cost: 8€ for one boat (summer 2025 price)

Opening times: 10am

Opening Times: The cart with boats will roll up sometime around 10am, but, do not expect it to be right on time. We had to wait a bit, which is why we saved this for last.