Travel Guide: The Best Parks, Playgrounds and Carousels in Paris
When traveling with a toddler or younger child, finding places to let them get out of the stroller, get some energy out, run, explore, and interact with other kids in a familiar (and relatively contained) environment is key to the sanity of everyone involved. On our recent trip to Paris with our daughter (just over 2 years old), we made a point to stop at one or two playgrounds or parks each day to give her plenty of time to run without having to hold our hand or be super mindful of walking in crowded areas.
Paris is a fairly green city with lots of beautifully maintained public parks. Some are quite small, neighborhood spots, and some, of course, are very large and boast an array of features.
Regardless of size, most parks in Paris have at least one playground structure, if not more, for children of different age ranges. There are also plenty of shady benches for parents, trash and recycling receptacles (somehow there are always things to dispose of when traveling with littles!).
There are also quite a number of beautiful carousels or merry-go-rounds that can be found across the city, These Manège, as they are known in French, are often antique, and interestingly, they turn the opposite way from those in the U.S. (the carousels in Paris mostly turn counter-clockwise).
This map notes parks in central Paris with play structures with purple stars and carousels with green icons. Happy playtime! A few additional notes are below.
All of the play structures that we visited were fenced in, so unless your child has figured out the gates or is prone to running off you can rest your feet in relative peace for a few minutes as they explore.
We found that the parks were very quiet in the mornings and around mid-day, but once school was out in the late afternoon the parks became very busy and full of energetic children running every which way. Both made for fun, but very different experiences.
Some of the larger and more famous parks and playgrounds do charge a nominal fee (Luxembourg gardens) to use the playground structures, though this also comes with access to well-maintained restrooms, and all of the carousels of course require tickets.
A special note on the Jardin da Acclimatation in the 16th arrondissement. This amusement park is truly wonderful for children of all ages It is not at all like amusement parks in the U.S. and even if the thought of fairs and carnivals and amusement parks usually sends you running I promise you won’t mind spending some time here. Note: it is free to walk through the park, and honestly that is sensory overload as it is, but you will need tickets for the various rides.
Given their central location the Tuileries is one of the most popular parks in Paris, but also one of the most crowded. There is a play structure just behind the carousel in the Tuileries, however, it is geared toward older children and in the afternoons it is quite crowded and raucous.
