Here they are — ten kid-friendly things you can do in and around the Louvre:

1. Enjoy a grand view of Paris from the Place de la Concorde Ferris wheel through February, or jump on the trampolines near the Concorde entrance anytime of year.

2. Ease into the museum mind-set at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs for the latest rotating toy exhibit (over 400 vintage Star Wars toys, costumes, and video games through March).

3. Break for a homemade croque monsieur — France’s grilled cheese — at A Jean Nicot bistro on Rue Saint-Honoré.

Outside the Louvre. (Photograph by Kavita Ranade, My Shot)

4. Grab a bench in the Palais Royal courtyard while the kids clamber around the maze of 260 black-and-white columns by artist Daniel Buren.

5. Snag a Ladurée bubble-gum-flavored macaron and a shorter line into the Louvre at the Carrousel du Louvre underground shopping mall entrance.

6. Ditch the day crowds by taking advantage of the Louvre’s evening hours on Wednesdays and Fridays until 9:45 p.m.

7. Instead of heading straight for the “Mona Lisa,” follow one of the museum’s thematic tours like “Outsize!” featuring colossal works of art, including a pharaoh’s granite sarcophagus.

8. On fair-weather days, stop at a Tuileries Garden pond to launch a model sailboat.

9. Refuel at Angelina on Rue de Rivoli, where generations of Parisian kids have slurped the city’s thickest hot chocolate.

10. Rest tired feet with a boat ride to the Eiffel Tower on the Batobus water shuttle (from the Louvre stop under the Pont du Carrousel).

This article, written by Ceil Miller-Bouchet, appeared in the December/January issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Related:

• Subscribe to Traveler and see everything we have to offer.
• National Geographic Travel’s City Guide to Paris
• Paris Travel Basics from National Geographic