Children in Paris

Having just returned from a 30-day European trip with my grandsons, ages 15 months and 4 1/2 years, and their parents, I loved reading “Paris for the Petite” (Aug. 6). We found that our little boys enjoyed Bercy Park near the train station. Because our stay included a lot of rain, the Georges Pompidou Center was welcome. A ceiling-high sponge-like structure there welcomed children to climb and jump; their imaginations ran wild. This was such a child-friendly museum.

PEGGY ROTHRING

Thousand Oaks

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We visited Paris this past spring with our children, ages 8 and 11, and did many of the same activities that writers Helen Bartlett and Rita Ciolli described. It is surprising that neither mentioned the biggest drawback to visiting Paris, especially with children: the constant presence of smoking.

From the moment you step off the plane, the acrid odor of cigarette smoke assaults you. People smoke in shops, on the subway and even in elevators. The “no-smoking” sections in restaurants are a joke where even cigar smokers puff away. The only relief we got was in museums and on our one trip to a McDonald’s.

MAURA and STEVE MALLOY

Irvine

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What a delightful two articles about visiting Paris. However, $250, $330 and $520 per night for rooms and a duplex at the recommended hotels will discourage many people. We have visited Paris many times and have paid from $5 to $20 to park our RV in the Paris-Ouest Bois de Boulogne campsite. In 1995 they had small manufactured homes for about $80 to $90 a night.

JAMES T. HUMBERD

La Quinta