In a past life as a Beauty Director, I took the Eurostar twice a month. I was a full-blown Paris Princess - hosted by beauty brands, staying in beautiful hotels (only recently did I Google the prices and feel slightly faint), shuttled between fancy restaurants you needed to book months in advance. Paris, back then, was effortless.

Paris with two boys aged 8 and 10, however, is a very different city. And planning is required for that.

These are children who consider a sprinkling of parmesan on plain pasta “fancy”, so my old haunts were never going to cut it. I turned to the internet for itineraries and inspiration - practical, realistic advice for seeing Paris with kids like mine.

And I found… almost nothing. Everything was geared towards much younger kids, or girls. And without being gender biased, imagine taking two puppies to Paris. Yeah, that. My boys aren’t ones for lingering over prettiness or browsing shops. They want to move, to touch things, to be fed regularly, and to know - at all times - how long until the next snack. Paris, it turns out, needs a slightly different lens when you’re travelling with kids like these.

So consider this your essential three day guide to taking tweens to Paris. This is what worked, what didn’t, and what we’d do again…

Where we stayed: We booked this trip a week before, and we turned to Booking.com eventually landing on Maison Albar Le Diamond, because it was the only hotel left with a family room. It turned out to be absolute perfection. Clean, roomy, an incredible steam shower, bath and Japanese toilet (much to the kids delight). It’s nestled between a Carrefour City (great for snacks) and a Starbucks (usefully open at 7am pre-Disney) We booked room only so can’t vouch for the food, but the location was incredible, and because of this we would 100% book here again. We could walk pretty much everywhere.

Day 1: We arrived off the Eurostar on New Years Day around 11am and took a taxi to our hotel where we immediately dropped the bags and set off exploring. We walked from the hotel to Place Vendome (15 mins), then down Rue Castiglioni to Rue de Rivoli. We bypassed the que’s at Angelina and instead sat outside Happy Caffe for a much needed coffee (me), crepe and hot chocolate (them). It was the perfect casual spot with the kids; good food, great views and inexpensive right opposite the Tuileries, for a good run around. We had until 2pm when we needed to be at Hotel de Crillon (across the road, next to the FIFA HQ) where our Tuk Tuk driver, Noé, was due to pick us up. This was one of the best things I booked. During the two hours, Noé took us up close to all of the famous landmarks while being comfortably driven round, explaining lots of stories & historical facts, taking some gorgeous family photos and even stopped to pick up some fresh croissants for us. After dropping us back off at the starting point, we made our way back to the hotel where we started flagging, so nipped out for a quick dinner at a bistro down the road, before an early night.

What I Wore in Paris: Day 1

Day 2: Disneyland Day. We got the kids up & out for 7.30am, via caffeine at the Starbucks next door, and walked seven minutes to the Auber station. It cost about 20euro for four return tickets. The train took just under an hour, and dropped us out literally outside the gate, as it was opening. I just don’t even know how to describe how special the day was. It really is a magical place as despite walking 25,000 steps, being outside from 9am until 10.30pm and surviving on junk food - NO ONE ARGUED.

Ok, so for Disney, the app is essential. You can ‘favourite’ the rides you want to go on and the shows that you want to see, so you can see instantly the wait times. I removed each ride after we did it, so I could focus on my list more easily. It also directs you around the park.

Ride-wise, we did everything we wanted to do, and our favourites twice. If you are only there for a day like us, and there are rides you are desperate to do, I’d suggest doing an on-the-spot Fast Track via the app. Each ride costs a different amount (from 5 euros) depending on how busy it is. For the thrill-seekers, my boys loved Hyper Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain and Indiana Jones & The Temple of Peril. Our family favourite was Pirates of The Caribbean. We loved it so much we did it twice. There had been 2+ hour queue’s for the Peter Pan ride all day, so at 7pm we booked Fast Track tickets, thinking how incredible it must be. It was not. It was the shortest ride, and not worth the queue or the cost of Fast Track so I’d personally give that a miss. The kids may moan about watching the Lion King and 3d Disney shows, but trust me, they’ll be glad you made them because they are lovely little sit down sessions. Leo even had a snooze in the Lion King (while I was sobbing at it)

Food wise; Mickey pizza, Mickey cookies, Mickey sandwiches. It’s fun at first, but actually pretty gross. All fine and fun when you’re there for a day, but if you’re staying longer, pack an apple or two.

The parades were incredible, and I can’t believe that my kids lasted until 10pm for the fireworks. These are not just any fireworks. The music! We got on the 10.45pm train smiling so hard, and the kids immediately fell asleep. We had done 25k steps!

Disney in a day is totally do-able, but note that we only did the Disneyland Park. We didn’t do the Walt Disney Studio Park. I think my kids would have loved that park, and the Marvel side of it, but we only paid for one park, and I think trying to do both in one day would have been quite stressful.

What I Wore in Paris: Day 2

Day 3: Are you tired yet?! Up and out for a 10am PSG Stadium Tour. As a Football Mom, this was something I was just going along for the ride for, I wasn’t expecting to really enjoy it. It’s a self-guided tour so you can take it in your own time, there’s lots of photo ops and BTS access from the sidelines to the subs bench, from the VIP boxes to the locker room and the Presidential Box. Surprisingly, it doesn’t take you via a gift shop, although there is one across the road and it’s not actually too spenny (depending on where you steer them of course)

We finished around 12 and took an Uber to Place du Trocadéro for a hot chocolate at Carette. This is the current hot spot, and each of the three locations you’ll see lines of dressed up people waiting for their insta moment at a table outside. Tip: skip the que and just get a takeaway drink. Hot chocolate is exceptional. Coffee is not great. Once we had ours we crossed the road and took in the most incredible views. Place du Trocadéro offers arguably Paris's most iconic, sweeping, and panoramic views of the Eiffel Tower, full of people happy to take your family photo if you’ll take theirs. If you walk down the stairs, towards the River Seine and across the bridge - on the other side you’ll find Francette, a restaurant on a river boat directly underneath the Eiffel Tower. I had lunch reservations for us there, and the food was delicious. The kids menu had only one option (chicken and chips) which my kids declared delicious.

Next on our agenda was a 3pm Kids River Boat Tour of the Seine (12 euros each) which was brilliant. While most cruises are designed with grownups in mind, this option is family-friendly; we passed by the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre and many more sights, with the tour guide quizzing the kids and told lots of family-friendly facts, such as pointing out the restaurant that the film Ratatouille was based on. Not going to lie, it was a lovely sit down too. At the end of the hour tour, the kids received a certificate for completing the journey.

We actually decided to head back to our hotel at this point as we were quite frankly knackered after three full days on the go. We all needed a little re-charge and a warm up (it was minus temps) before heading out for a really nice dinner. I took inspo from my past Paris life and booked us a 7.30pm (early for Paris) table at Cafe Ruc. On previous visits, tables were packed with models, celebs and fashion press so I was slightly concerned that it wasn’t the most kiddie friendly place, but they could not have been more welcoming and when dining at this time, there were a few tables with families. They were more than happy to make Alfie plain pasta (with cheese), Leo’s burger plain and Nick and I enjoyed a large glass of delicious red wine with the nicest meal we’d had all trip.

What I Wore in Paris: Day 3

Day 4: After a much-needed lie in, we rolled out of bed and checked out, leaving our bags at reception while we wandered the street to find a breakfast spot. We had most of the day, but with so much sight-seeing already under our belts, we decided to stay local today and wander around the hotel area. Galeries Lafayette is a ten minute walk from the hotel - the most STUNNING department store, and we attempted a wander but with kids, not ideal. Must come back.

Instead we walked fifteen minutes to the 2nd arrondissement which has more of a bohemian vibe, lined with bistros, bars and boutiques. This is where Big Mamma Group has opened Pizzeria Popolare, which was recommended as a dinner spot to us, Junk Burgers (which is recommended on Instagram) but we walked into Cafe Pere and Fils and had a very lovely lunch, before heading around the corner to Madame Madame for their insta-famous Eiffel Tower croissant waffles. DE-LICIOUS. Tip: share one. They are very rich. And skip the coffee; awful.

After all of that food, we strolled back to the hotel, proclaiming it’s location amazing, to pick up the bags and head back to the Eurostar.

You know in the film Inside Out, where core memories are stored as glowing yellow, marble-like orbs, we discussed on the walk back to the hotel how this trip had been one of those marbles. And I nearly sobbed. We managed to pack so much into the 3.5 days we were there, and so many incredible memories made, but also feel like we barely skimmed the surface. We’ll just have to come back soon.