Throughout the year, numerous events offer the chance to enjoy Paris in a different and new way.
© Justine Oury
In autumn, the days are still lovely enough to take a stroll in the fresh air and enjoy the natural environment before winter sets in. Paris has more than 500 public gardens, parks and woods, ideal for family walks. Some offer fun activities for children.
Classic places like the Tuileries Gardens and Luxembourg Gardens have many activities for children to enjoy like pony rides, model boats to sail, merry-go-rounds and trampolines. Little adventurers will love the Jardin des Plantes. In this park, they can discover remarkable trees such as the true pistachio tree - planted around the year 1700 - visit the Grandes Serres (hothouses) filled with luxuriant plants, and walk through a maze of plants.
© Marie-Sophie Leturcq
The Parc de la Villette is full of places for kids right up to the age of 12 to play and be entertained: there is the Jardin des Dunes with its holiday feel, the Jardin des Frayeurs enfantines and its mysterious musical forest, the Jardin du Dragon with its enormous slide.
Finally, the Jardin d'Acclimatation is perfect for a bucolic family outing! At this huge 18-hectare leisure park, you can enjoy exploring outdoors and have lots of fun; there are more than forty rides and attractions from a little train to the rafting adventure, flying boats and the Speed Rockets.
Alongside these large parks, Malowe Nature offers an immersive experience in the countryside, with its free-roaming animals, varied play areas and fun activities for all the family, providing a great escape into nature.
Walk, cycle, skate or ride an electric scooter in a car-free Paris!
J.B. Gurliat
To enjoy an outdoor game with the kids, head to ‘Rue’Golotte’: the nickname given to Rue des Coutures-Saint-Gervais in the 3rd arrondissement, which is closed to traffic from 4.30pm to 6pm every Friday. Children take over the entire street and turn it into one giant playground. Then there is the ‘Rues aux Enfants’ initiative, which blocks off some streets on given days and times to install mazes, play areas, circus equipment and building games for children.
The world’s most beautiful avenue is car-free the first Sunday of every month!
J.B. Gurliat
Since 2016, people have been able to enjoy a stroll on the Champs-Élysées with no traffic at all on the first Sunday of each month. These Sundays, when the length of the avenue from Place de la Concorde to the Etoile roundabout is reserved for pedestrians and cyclists, are the perfect time to explore the Champs-Élysées in an alternative way. And for children, it’s an opportunity to ride a cycle or electric scooter or to skate along the world’s most beautiful avenue!
Paris City Council's app, Paris Eco Walks, enables you to discover districts that are green and which have lots of charm and character, on foot and in total freedom.
© Ville de Paris
This free app, available in French and English on the App Store and on Google Play, presents itineraries to visit lively neighbourhoods, new urban developments, and wild or cultivated green areas. You will even be able to observe rare or more common animals and plants! Explore Paris on these urban walks. You can get a preview in images of each walk, visualize the itinerary on a map, read illustrated content and listen to the audio guide. You can enjoy the walks at your own rhythm, save your favourites, share different sections, post photos, etc.
The City of Paris also offers a free nature programme every month: tours, talks, themed workshops… Dozens of activities open to all, organised by the city’s departments and focusing on biodiversity, gardening, urban agriculture, animal welfare and sustainable food.
