Visiting Paris and staying at Camping Les Rives de Paris

On our journey north through France, we reserved three nights at Camping Les Rives de Paris - Neuilly-sur-Ma, a site nestled in a peaceful wooded area between the River Marne and the adjacent canal, in Ile-de-France (Seine-Saint-Denis). The campsite offers 111 pitches, each secluded by greenery, along with areas of small rental cabins.This location proved to be ideal, perfectly situated halfway between Disneyland Paris—just a half-hour drive away—and the French capital, reachable by a 30-minute walk along the river followed by a quick 20-minute train ride on RER A. Onsite facilities include a well-equipped playground, and just beyond the campsite, there is another large public playground. Throughout the grounds, we also noticed numerous spaces dedicated to pétanque and volleyball, as well as an outdoor gym.

We arrived in the late afternoon, having taken the time to stock up on some French essentials to bring home from the supermarkets. We were allocated a pitch at the very back of the site, the furthest from the facilities, but it overlooked the volleyball areas, which was ideal for the kids to keep entertained. We headed out on the bikes, across the bridge and alongside the river, working out the location of the train station for our visit to Paris. About halfway through our leisurely ride, we came across a charming little spot called Bar de la Marine. This lively dancing bar featured accordion players, creating a great atmosphere. In addition to its musical offerings, the bar served a lunch menu and opened for dining from 4pm onwards. We made a mental note to stop for a drink the the next day.

We headed off early in the morning and walked to the train line, which took us around 30 minutes at Sam’s pace. Esme was on Steve’s shoulders the majority of the time. Although we were advised not to leave our bikes at the station, the locking facilities appeared to be quite secure, so we felt confident they would have been fine. We managed to buy our tickets fairly quickly without any hassle and arrived in Paris just after 10am. Our first plan was to see the Arc de Triomphe, situated at the top of the famous Champs-Élysées, right in the center of the bustling Place de l'Étoile. Conveniently, the RER A line's Charles-de-Gaulle-Étoile station is located directly at the Arc de Triomphe, making it an ideal and practical starting point.

We made the conscious decision this year to not pay for entry into the Arc de Triomphe or the Eiffel Tower. Instead, we decided to save those visits for a few years down the line when the kids are a bit older and we can plan a longer, more relaxed trip focused on the landmarks and museums. For now, our plan was simply to take a pleasant walk to the Eiffel Tower, enjoy some time in the beautiful gardens, and then explore a few nearby shops. Most of all, this option was free! Afterward, we intended to find a nice cafe to recharge the kids and rest our feet.

We made our way slowly down the Champs-Élysées en route to the Eiffel Tower. The leisurely walk took us around 30 minutes, with a few brief stops here and there to capture some photos along the way. The kids were thrilled when we finally turned a corner to cross the Seine; their excitement grew as they caught their very first full glimpse of the tower.

The area around the tower was packed with tourists. Sam suddenly decided he desperately needed to find a loo, and fortunately we managed to find a urinal and toilet close to the tower. Paris can be quite difficult when it comes to finding public toilets, so we made sure to remind the kids to give us plenty of notice whenever they needed to go! After that, we strolled through the Jardin de la Tour Eiffel, bought the kids a few small souvenirs, and then set off together to find a cafe for lunch.

Not far from the Eiffel Tower, we discovered a restaurant called Le Coucou Troca. We were promptly seated at a table outside and our food arrived swiftly, within just 20 minutes. Steve and I decided to share a 50cl bottle of Côtes de Provence Rosé wine, a delicious truffle pizza and a goats cheese salad. The food was absolutely amazing, bursting with flavour and beautifully presented. The kids shared a full portion of carbonara, and they quickly demolished every last bite. We did convince Esme that her food had been made by Remy and his team of rat chefs…

France is still our number one country for good food.

We made our way back across the Seine and took some time to explore a few shops, picking up a few items that were too expensive to be shipped back to the UK! Steve often likes to remind us all that we’re travelling in a small van, so we can only carry a limited amount of things with us. The dream of bringing back an armoire is still a dream.

To get back to our campsite, we took the RER A train and then hopped on a bus that followed the route along the river. We got off at Neuilly-sur-Marne and made our way back down to the riverside, where we enjoyed a drink in the bar we had discovered the day before. We enjoyed our drinks to the sound of the accordian and watched the dancing.