What to Eat in Paris: 15 Foods Your Kids will Love
The best things to eat in Paris when traveling with your kids on a family vacation budget. This amazing culinary city has so much to offer, but here are the top picks for families with kids.
If you search for the best foods to eat in Paris, you’re bound to find lists of delicacies that include things like escargot, fine cheeses, and oysters–all things Paris does so very well.
But when you’re traveling as a family on a budget, you need kid-friendly delicious fare that can be found easily and those things don’t necessarily fit the bill.
Yet: You’re in Paris! Eating well is basically the entire point.
Good news: You and your kids can eat amazingly well in Paris and love every single bite! Here’s what my family ate during our day trip from London to Paris. If only we’d had more than just one day!
Plan Your Meals
One day in Paris is simply not enough time to enjoy all that the city has to offer at the table. As a professional food blogger, it nearly killed me that I couldn’t sample more things.
We tried to squeeze in as much dining as we could during our trip but despite walking nearly 30,000 steps that day, I could only eat so much!
We planned a light pastry and coffee breakfast, a slightly heartier lunch, afternoon dessert, and then it was time to head back to the Eurostar train to London. It’s a tragedy we never made it to dinner.
The food in Paris is quite rich with lots and lots of butter, the best pastries and bread EVER, and delicate sauces.
My biggest piece of advice is to pace yourself. If you want to sample more, buy things to share with the kids!
My Tasting Companions
I spent the day in Paris with my two teenage daughters and my husband. We are the family behind The Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook.
So with 3 ladies and a husband who is obsessed with sourdough, we spent the months ahead of our trip daydreaming about all the breads, chocolate, and pastries we could try in Paris.
This list reflects that goal!
Croissants
The #1 thing I couldn’t wait to taste was a fresh, buttery, super-flaky Parisian croissant. You’ll spot them practically everywhere but try to find a local boulangerie or bakery rather than a patisserie which specializes in sweet desserts.
Pain au Chocolat
While I enjoyed my croissant, my girls headed straight for the chocolate the moment the day started.
A pain au chocolat is the best of both worlds — a croissant filled with chocolate. You seriously can’t go wrong.
That photo is of a chocolate croissant we enjoyed at Sky Garden in London, I didn’t have a picture of one from Paris because we inhaled our breakfast so quickly that morning!
Baguette
I teased my kids for weeks that I was going to buy the first baguette I saw in Paris and carry it around the city with me all day
In the end, I was too practical (and busy enjoying my croissant) and those lovely baguettes were left behind in the boulangerie. I should have kept my word and saved it for our train ride home.
Jambon-Beurre
If you don’t want to eat just a plain baguette with butter, you could upgrade your menu option to enjoy a jambon-beurre, or a basic ham and butter sandwich on a baguette.
This simple street food is one of the most popular items in Paris and proves that you don’t need to have a lot of ingredients to have huge flavor.
Croque Monsieur or a Croque Madame
When we finally sat down for our lunch, we were physically depleted from a long morning of walking.
This croque madame was nothing short of life giving in that moment.
Normally my family all tries to order something different so we can sample and review as many dishes as possible. But I couldn’t even argue when all four of us ordered exactly the same thing.
A croque monsieur is a warm ham and cheese sandwich that has bechamel sauce over the top, a croque madame is exactly the same but with a fried egg on top.
Pommes Frites
Our sandwiches came with a small green salad with a delicious Dijon mustard dressing that my mustard-obsessed daughter raved about.
I also ordered a container of pommes frites for us to share at the table. Can you go to France and not order “french fries”??
The more traditional way to enjoy them would be to find a steak frites on a dinner menu — a large steak served over a bed of fries.
Onion Soup
While we were all busy ordering our croque madames, I couldn’t stop eyeing up the French onion soup on the menu. I was so desperate to try it but I knew we would already have more than enough food for our lunch.
You can’t see it all, or eat it all as in this case, I guess I just have to go back. I’ll just have to be content making my own French onion soup in the meantime.
Chocolate Mousse
We finished our lunch and went back out to explore for a couple more hours.
Once near to complete exhaustion, we stopped in at another cafe for dessert and drinks.
One peek at their menu and the chocolate mousse was immediately my order.
I was floored when the waiter delivered this giant dish of chocolate mousse with whipped cream on top. I’ve never had a serving this generous. It was ahMAZing.
Macarons
We have a French bakery near our house back in the states and my youngest is absolutely obsessed with French macaron cookies.
We are used to the cookies being more bite-sized in shape and she was tickled pink to discover the GIANT ones all over Paris.
Our afternoon cafe had a bright red raspberry macaron cookie filled with vanilla cream and fresh raspberries. She didn’t even let me try one bite. Normally she’s a generous sharer, it had to have been that good.
Chocolate Eclair
My other daughter chose the chocolate eclair for her treat. We’ve had them back home but absolutely nothing beats the fresh baked one in Paris served on a plate of whipped cream.
Creme Brulee
I’ve been making my homemade Grand Marnier creme brulee for nearly 20 years but dang if I’d had room for even one more bite I would have snapped up one of these stunning dishes of creme brulee at a local patisserie.
Hot Chocolate
To wash down our sweet treats, we needed some very special beverages to end our day in Paris.
The girls both ordered mugs of hot chocolate to go with their pastries, because why not?
They nearly swooned at how thick and rich and decadent this treat was. It could stand in for dessert all by itself.
Champagne
For my husband and I, the obvious choice was a pair of glasses of Champagne. The bubbly paired just perfectly with my mousse but would be delicious enjoyed all by itself while sitting at a sidewalk cafe people watching before the day is through.
