Whether you are a backpacker looking to eat at the fanciest McDo in Paris, a couple of amoureux trying to walk hand in hand on one of the most romantic streets, a socialite looking to shop for the latest franco-trends, or a mom like me eager to let her toddler run around and get rid of some energy, the Champs-Élysées are a must see in Paris.

The best way to get there is by metro. If you are like me, and don’t fancy walking up the hill with a baby strapped to your chest your best bet is to start by the Arc de Triomphe (Charles de Gaulle-Etoile station) and work your way down. In olden days I would walk all around Paris and barely use the metro but this trip was full of diaper bags and heavy babies so we let the metro do the heavy towing for us.

We did not go up the Arc since the line to get tickets was quite long. Next time I will buy them in advance online. We did however take some pictures in front of it. We were lucky that a very nice family was nearby since they took some great pictures of the four of us.

Living in Jakarta, Evan is NOT used to walking on the sidewalks. There are barely any safe ones in our neighborhood. When we allowed him to roam freely on the Champs-Élysées he was ecstatic! He stopped every few seconds and looked at the cars driving by and just enjoying toddling around.

A few minutes into our parcours Evan mentioned he was hungry so we had to make a stop at the McDonald’s. After a brief snack pause we continued walking until Evan saw the Peugot showroom. I decided to wait outside with Joshua and after seeing that the two older boys in the family (my husband included) would not leave I had to go inside and see for myself what the big deal was. So yeah, it’s nice and it’s fancy, and it has a lot of beautiful cars.

Daddy made it his purpose and somewhat hobby to get Evan a car in every showroom they visited. I didn’t care much about shopping. After all, I had two little ones with very sticky hands with me and I was afraid they would rip some silk or stain some suede.

I did, however, make it a point to visit Laduree and was hoping to sit down sip an 8 euro cappuccino and eat a few 3 euro macarons. Lamentably it was under renovation and all I could see was a temporary store on the street. I did get my macarons but didn’t get to sit there and enjoy them. Next time…

Joshua enjoyed riding on the stroller or on the carrier. He started making some French acquaintances as he smiled at every lady he saw and made a few people stop and say hi to him. I had to change his diaper and was very happy to find several clean and public restrooms.

If you are lucky, you might get to see some amazing street performers. We saw a magician and an electric guitar player. The boys were tired so we didn’t stop to see their spectacle. If you go there a night you might be able to catch a glimpse of some celebrities going to a movie premiere at the Movie Theater.

After visiting Peugot, Ranault, Citroen and Mercedes-Benz the boys were ready to change scenery and so was I. It took us about two hours to walk down from the Arc de Triomphe to the next metro stop.

Oh Champs-Élysées just like the song says, à midi ou à minuit, il y a tout ce que vous voulez aux Champs-Élysées

(at noon, at midnight, everything you want is at Champs-Élysées).