A visit to a museum is a great way to expose your children to the arts – especially in Paris, where museums have come up with a variety of inventive ways to make a visit fun for children. They use digital technology, apps and touch screen guides to make exhibits easy to understand.

The Louvre

A Paris institution, the Louvre provides an opportunity for kids to make their first foray into art appreciation. It houses a treasure trove of artworks, including artefacts from Ancient Egypt and canvases by great masters, such as the celebrated Mona Lisa. The museum also has entertaining children’s trails. La Petite Galerie, an educational section with digital equipment, gives families an interactive introduction to the arts.

The musée d'Orsay

Another Paris classic, the Musée d’Orsay, has a treasure hunt trail for families, and entertaining visits designed especially for children. A tablet app, The Musée d'Orsay for Families, offers themed tours of the museum. Visitors with a touch screen tablet can explore the rich diversity of the collections from different angles.

The musée Grévin

A visit to the Musée Grévin, with its waxworks of famous people, is fun for all the family. The discovery tour for children aged 7 to 12 shows how the wax figures on display are made, and includes lots of interesting historical details.

The musée de l'Homme

The Musée de l’Homme is offering a 15-minute entertainment, ‘A l’improviste’, on a key theme from the museum, as well as guided tours for families and workshops centred around prehistory, human evolution, world cultures, and more!

The gourmet chocolate museum Choco-Story

And for foodie families, the gourmet chocolate museum Choco-Story offers educational tours for childrenand a treasure hunt, as well as chocolate-making workshops alongside a chocolatier.

The musée des impressionnismes

In Giverny, near Paris, there is plenty to see at the house where the painter Claude Monet once lived. The water lily pond, the little bridge under the weeping willows and the ivy climbing the walls were among the master’s sources of inspiration. Children will enjoy exploring the gardens and learning more about the painter’s life during a visit to the Musée des Impressionnismes near the house.

Good to know: some Musée nationaux, like the Louvre, provide visitors with pushchairs, baby carriers and wheelchairs, as well as a cloakroom and a left luggage service.

Even more appealing: entry to all the national museums is free for under-18s.