We went to three Christmas markets on three consecutive days in three different cities in France,…read moreand the one at the Tuileries Garden was my children's favorite. It was less quaint and packed with tiny vendors than the markets in Colmar and Strasbourg, but it was basically an amusement park set up in the middle of Paris, a slam dunk for my boys, aged five and three. For my part, I enjoyed that it was in the Tuileries Garden, and that it was dramatically less crowded than the markets we'd visited over the weekend, as we went to this one on a Monday. My mother and sons and I were also joined by my dear friend Ava B., who lives in Paris and suggested this excursion for our one full day in Paris, when we requested to see Christmasy Parisy things. She'd already been once this season and knew her way around. We arrived hungry and started with lunch, hitting one of the many food stalls set up for the market. We picked a place that did cheesy sandwiches so we could get a grilled cheese for the kids, and I got a pretty decent ham and cheese. I also enjoyed some of Ava's sausage roll and a couple glasses of hot red wine. There was a tight seating area packed with picnic tables, where we were able to sit and eat. Unfortunately, we had a bad experience with the guy making the sandwiches, who seemed annoyed by our existence, sullenly taking our order, which was not in the least bit complicated. Our interactions were brief and uneventful, so I was surprised when he spoke loudly to the French people he helped after us about the "Chinos." I don't speak French, but I do understand racist asshole. Honestly, that guy kind of tainted the afternoon, and was, not for nothing, a terrible, embarrassing representative of Paris and France. My kids were none the wiser, though, and the rest of our afternoon was easy and fun. The highlight was definitely the ferris wheel, with its beautiful views of the city. My five-year-old was thrilled to see the Eiffel Tower and the Notre-Dame, which he recognized from the Lego set "we" built. The boys went on a carousel and a kiddie train ride, and I accompanied the older one on a cool vertical obstacle course, which was great except for the part where he ran face-first into a glass wall (the confusion was part of the design). We also had a blast going down a giant slide, where we picked up speed on these fabric sleds and flew with every bump. My three-year-old was disappointed to learn he was too small for the bumper cars, but assuaged by the miniature "roller coaster," a slow, roller coaster-shaped ride for small children. His brother was too scared to go on it at first, but ended up riding it three times and getting sad when we had to leave. We paid for everything a la carte, including bathroom access, but admission to the market was free. It was a nice way to spend three-and-a-half hours with kids, a festive Parisian carnival afternoon.

Stopped by before our evening reservation at the Louvre, and boy was this market crowded! This is…read moreby far the largest market we went to in Paris, and the most kid-friendly, with plenty of rides and activities. We arrived at around 6pm, and it was so crowded that it was difficult to walk in some areas. Prepare to wait in line if you're ordering food. Similar to most of the other Parisian Christmas markets, there seems to be 5-10 unique food options, and plenty of vendors selling the same food items around the market. We ordered the raclette sandwich, which is delicious as always. Love that they scrape off the melted cheese in front of you, always a fun thing to watch. One stand that we saw here that I hadn't seen in the other markets is the ribs stand - the scent was wafting throughout the air around the stand! The meat was super tender, and the bbq sauce was honestly really good. Beware that your hair and clothes may smell like smoke afterward though, but well worth it! Would definitely visit again, maybe just during the daytime when there's more space to move around :)

Crazy, crazy. I was…read moreexpecting more of a Christmas market- craft vendors and seasonal food. It was more like an American carnival midway. Lots of rides and tons of people. Salmon don't work that hard to move. This was really crowded. But I was there on a Friday evening, and I believe the trees were being lit on The Champs d'Elyse. The carnival rides were funny. All the ones we have seen in the states, but dressed up with Santa's, tinsel, and red fabric. There were several large and small food and drink booths. You could get hot wine, hot chocolate, raclette, sausages and even funnel cakes. The other venders has Christmas cheese, scarves, wooden toys, jewelry and candies. The jardin grounds were covered with large plastic tiles so you weren't walking in mud or uneven ground. I wished it had been spread out a little better.

I'm sorry, how does this Christmas market not get every star in the universe? It's honestly the…read moretackiest thing I've seen in a long while and I loved it with all my heart. They have EVERYTHING. Crappy, made in China gifts? Check. Delicious candy everywhere? Definitely. Vin chaud every 5 feet, served in delightful collector cups? Oh yeah, they have it. I have a full set of those cups too, BTW. Very, very, very odd animatronic animal tableaux for some reason? Yep. A plastic dinosaur in the middle of it all? What the hell, why not! Tons of tempting food stalls too - selling everything from racelette to choucroute garni to saucisson. They even have Fried Christmas (IDK). You won't go hungry or thirsty. I especially enjoyed the sketchy carnival rides clearly repurposed in a "Christmas" theme. If you don't dig a Thriller zombie roller coaster with all the zombies (on all levels, the sign gleefully promises!) dressed in Santa suits, there's just no help for you And can we talk about the very interesting Santa decorations? For 2018, the Marche is in the Tuleries gardens. It's everything I wanted it to be, and that's not just a gallon of vin chaud talking.w

Grande Roue De Paris - Ferris Wheel - one of the best spots to see Paris from the sky. 360 panorama…read moreview in 60-metre (200 ft) height.

I've been to Musée d'Orsay twice over the years and have left both times feeling awed by what I saw…read moreand rueful of all I'd so obviously missed. You can't even speed run the place in two or three hours, and you probably need days or a lifetime to appreciate it in full. My more recent visit was earlier this month, with my husband and kids and other sundry family members, who spread out and explored the museum on their own. The d'Orsay opens at 9:30 in the morning and we booked tickets in advance for 10:00 entry. Getting in was quick and easy, and the crowd was pretty reasonable for the first hour or so, which we spent on the fifth floor. By the time we got to the special exhibit on the ground level, around noon, every room was thronged. We didn't make it to the second floor at all. The museum is a global treasure, a beautiful place with a staggering collection of French art, including the world's largest trove of Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings. The d'Orsay was once the Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. It would be worth visiting for the architecture and use of space and light alone. The art, of course, is genuinely amazing. If you have even a passing familiarity with paintings as a genre, you will walk around the d'Orsay going, "Oh, THAT's here?" I saw multiple paintings I'd encountered in jigsaw puzzles, or on the covers of Debussy piano books. Manet, Cezánne, Gauguin, Degas; a whole room of Van Gogh, including one of his most recognizable self-portraits and his "Bedroom in Arles" (a very enjoyable 2,000-piece puzzle). Monet everywhere--I guess the d'Orsay owns 86 of his paintings. I loved the mini-exhibit of five paintings of the Rouen Cathedral, and even my six-year-old appreciated, if purely for subject matter, "The Saint-Lazare Station." Our kids, it turns out, do not yet appreciate art, and were in ragged form for much of our visit. Our three-year-old demanded to be carried at all times and kept insisting he didn't like "these pictures." (He also objected to his first nude, "The Bathers" by Renoir: "Why aren't they wearing any clothes, even? They can wear pants. They can cover themselves.") We had to take a breather in the underground cafe, with water and snacks, and this gave us enough steam to make it back out to the main floor. We managed to zip through a few of the many rooms lining the main corridor on our way up to the Renoir exhibit at the front of the museum. This part of our visit could not have been more cursory, and yet we stumbled upon Courbet's self-portrait, "The Desperate Man"--a cool painting I'd never seen before--and Millet's "The Angelus," a painting I'd learned about at the d'Orsay many years earlier. The Renoir exhibit (Renoir and Love: A Joyful Modernity, apparently just ended) was spectacular, an expansive collection of iconic paintings displayed for maximum impact. It was also jam packed and slightly unpleasant to navigate with two children on the verge of meltdown. I'd love to go back to Paris and explore the d'Orsay at my leisure. I'm sure it'd also be worthwhile to go with a guide, and perhaps two older, well-behaved children who might get something out of the experience. In the meantime, I'm grateful I've been able to see the place at all. It's a marvelous museum, one of the greatest in the world.

One visit is not enough…read more When you learn to swim. One lesson is never enough. The more you dive into the depths and emerge for a breath of air, the more you enjoy. The more rapturous moments are grasped. Ah, so is the Musee d'Orsay. It is not a museum to plunge to once. One must visit multiple times. Otherwise, it is impossible to swim between exhibits, paddle through the intentions of artists. Be sure, you don't need to swim to enjoy the galleries. Even dog paddling between famous works is enjoyable. However, to truly move through exhibits with ease takes practice. You will thank yourself.