Most people think of Paris as an ideal city for a romantic weekend, a quick gastronomic getaway or a ten day cultural odyssey. It’s not a destination that particularly screams “6 week family vacation”. However, last summer my husband, 4 and 6 year old daughters and I had the enviable opportunity to park it in Paris for most of July and August.

We exchanged homes with a French family and got to live like locals in a chi chi Parisian apartment on a quiet street a short stroll from the hustle and bustle of the Champs Elysées.

Developing a successful kid-friendly itinerary means thinking through all the logistics ahead of time. Some people thrive on web research and working out travel details …

I invited Catherine Forth from Have Kids Will Travel to do a guest post on her favorite activities with kids in Banff, Alberta in Canada. Reading the post reminded me how much we loved this area …