WOW what a vacation!  Mauritius was admittedly not on my radar until we were searching for a warm and sunny February vacation spot, and noticed there was a direct flight (11 hours) from Paris. SO GLAD this gorgeous tropical island made the cut! We all agreed this was one of the best family vacations ever. With calm lagoons, gorgeous beaches, wildlife like dolphins and sea turtles, colorful culture, and incredibly welcoming locals, family travel in Mauritius  was both easy and

The other day, I decided to do a little morning out with just my daughter, Lucie. Weekends are always so jam-packed, it is hard to get some quality one on one time in! SO a girls' morning was seeming like a priority, and I really tried to find a selection of activities that felt special and I knew she would love! I knew I wanted to take her shopping for a unique piece of clothing at L'Ile aux Fées - an adorable shop specializing in very high quality and handmade children's

Guys, what a little paradise… for 10 days we pretty much lived in swimsuits, hopping from beach to pool to hike. With a generous dose of juicy red tomatoes, feta and Greek yogurt on the side. No surprise here, but Crete as a family vacation seriously delivered. Even more than the gorgeous scenery and delicious cuisine though, it was the locals who really made the trip. From the baker in a lost little town who snuck us some of the catered meal he was preparing (roasted goat an

Look at this cute little Tuk Tuk! The other week we tested a lovely new way to explore the city of light - a Tuk Tuk ride !  Tuk Tuks are the cute little open air vehicules, almost like golf carts, that are usually associated with Thailand. We are big fans of this mode of transport, and were excited to try out a ride in Paris! We met our guide Raphael in the heart of Paris, and were promptly ushered into the tuk tuk. Raphael gave us blankets to bundle up against the chilly we

Did you guys know that France has some incredible tropical islands in its territory? For instance, there is Tahiti in French Polynesia, and then Reunion islands in the Indian Ocean, and then there are a couple islands in the Caribbean like Martinique, Saint Barts (or Saint Barthélemy if you want to say the full name), and Guadeloupe! These islands are extensions of France, with the French language and euro currency, and then the same radio stations, post office, police and fi

I am excited to share this list of FAMILY FRIENDLY PARIS ACCOMMODATIONS, crowd sourced from tons of other families visiting Paris! These are all places that either come up fairly often with other families who I have worked with OR were recommended by families online.  All of these can accommodate families and some larger groups, and I included the comments from the person who recommended them! If you have a place you discover and end up loving, feel free to share with me to h

Sharing our itinerary for Porto, Portugal today! Guys. Porto is magic .  Everything about it was just wonderful - gorgeous colorful architecture, easy but delicious dining, and a laid back vibe that is not overtly kid-friendly but totally works for families.  The city itself is pretty small, and cut in half by a river (boats - yay!).  My favorite part of this vacation was that it was just EASY.  There is plenty to do, but nothing seems to really book up in advance (note - we

I shared this over on the Tea Collection blog , but thought it might be useful here too! Sometimes you just need to get dressed up and have a fancy afternoon. This is our recipe for the sweetest afternoon in Paris, which happens to work even if it is chilly outside! Whether you are celebrating a special occasion or just looking for a fun activity, this fancy Parisian afternoon in the chic neighborhood Saint-Germain-des-Près will be a hit for all ages. Start by heading to the.

One of my favorite tips for families visiting Paris is to embrace the public transportation system. It’s in general the fastest, cheapest and safest (meaning for your physical bodies.. not necessarily for your belongings thanks to pickpockets... more on that later though :)) way to get from point A to point B in the city. Here is all the info you need to hopefully feel at ease tackling the Paris subway system. For starters, download the Citymapper app - I promise this is one

It's no surprise that Greece is a dreamy summer destination. It combines everything that makes for a summer paradise - stunning beaches, a little culture and a little physical activity, delicious food (maybe dare I say my FAVORITE food to eat when it's warm out?), and friendly locals. This is our second summer in a row with a trip to Greece - a resounding endorsement from us! Here’s our itinerary for this time around, including what we loved and tips! We flew from Paris to S

The other weekend, my daughter Lucie (5) and I took a trip to the Louvre. It was probably the highlight of my month - it’s was just SO FUN! I know what you’re thinking, and I thought this until very recently - the Louvre is just too monstrous and crowded to be enjoyable with a kid. But I swear, thanks to the ‘secret’ entrance (see this reel), and a little forethought, it was so enjoyable for both of us. Here are a couple tricks to making it fun: Use the free lockers off the

I am FINALLY getting around to sharing about our epic trip down to the southern coast of France to visit the quaint fishing town of Cassis – this city had been on my list forever! I am actually glad we waited to go until the kids were a bit older (5 and 7), as a BIG part of visiting Cassis is hiking. Cassis is snuggled up next to the Calanques National Park, which boasts a stunning coastline of gleaming white inlets plunging into turquoise water, and in my opinion the BEST wa

This is THE question I get asked the most frequently… and I cannot really help you with it! UPDATE! I just wrote a more thorough post on where to stay in Paris with kids over on the Kid&Coe blog - check it out for more detailed info! The amazing view from a family apartment at the Charles Floquet Residence Here’s why: Well… There are hundreds of hotels in Paris – it is one, if not THE, most visited city in the world. While there are tons of hotels, in general, they are mu

I LOVE museums (Art History major over here!), and have made it a point to bring my kids to museums on a pretty regular basis over the years. Some kids are naturally going to enjoy museums more than others (my daughter literally said that 'museums are her favorite' recently. Cue my heart melting!), while my son struggles a bit more with the constraints of visiting museums. Baby Lucie at the Orangerie Museum in Paris I think the reason my daughter loves museums, and that my

Today I am going to tackle one of the banes of travel - wether with kids or not - jet lag! Jet lag is no one’s friend, and can be...

Our highlights from the Puglia region in southern Italy ! Italy is just EASY with kids - mealtime is a no brainer (pizza. check. pasta. check.), gelaterias are abundant, and kids are treated well. We had never been to the Puglia region, and I was eager to explore the southern coast of the other European country I love so much (I studied abroad in Tuscany, and then went back to work there for a year post-college!). Here I’ll share our itinerary, and any activities, restaurants

We just wrapped up a long holiday weekend (thank you, Ascension Day!), in the southwest of France, and I learned some new tips that I...

We just got back from an amazing spring break trip to Croatia, and I wanted to share some of my best finds from our voyage. While trying to quickly research for this trip, I really struggled with finding any information on Split with kiddos. I hope this is helpful! I of course prefer that you come to Paris... BUT I just can't not share how amazing Croatia is! We spent a week in Croatia, and visited Split , Hvar , and Dubrovnik , with several day trips mixed in. The beauty of

In my experience, getting kids out and exploring for solid chunk of time requires a delicate balance of walking to treats. And the walk to treat ratio must be high! Treats abound in Paris, so working them into an outing is quite easy. Between crepe stands, parks, pastry shops and merry go rounds, I find Paris to be one of these easiest cities for kid-friendly walking, Of course, we can’t forget ice cream as perhaps the best motivation for powering through a long summer walk (

Guys, I am SO excited to share this awesome spot we visited yesterday. It is perhaps the consistently BEST kids’ expo in Paris. I’m...