France - Help with 3 Day Paris Itinerary - With 3yo Son

I was wondering if the FlyerTalk folks could help me out with my tentative Paris itinerary. I saw another thread where initial expectations were way off, and I want to make sure I'm not the same boat.
Background: traveling to the UK for a wedding mid July, then taking Eurostar to Paris for three nights. My wife, 3yo son, and Mum and Dad are traveling with (they're in Biz, we're in the back of the bus). Everyone mobile, no issues getting around. Dad and I speak rusty high school French.

Itinerary: (nothing set in stone, go with the flow/attitude of 3yo)
1st day: arrv ~3PM (Mon)
Taxi Gare du Nord - Hyatt Vendôme (a dual transfer on the metro seems excessive considering the distance I'm assuming well need to take two taxis? Any 5 pax options outside the station?)
That evening/night: stroll around the Marais, Notre Dame, Centre George Pompidou (fountains for the kid), Seine cruise.
2nd Day:
Jardin Luxembourg (boats/other kid distractions), Jardin Tuileries, Champs Élysées (Laduree - probably the only must-do', other Macaron recommendations I'll take), Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower
3rd Day: Versailles in morning, shopping/strolling, parents taxi to Hyatt CDG end of evening for 10AM AA flight next morning. (should I spring extra 3K for club room, or will there be some breakfast at the AA lounge?)
4th Day: taxi me, wife, kid to CDG (the RoissyBus at 30€ seems not enough savings for the extra hassle). I figure 40-50€ taxi in the morning out of the city? Dep 8AM for 11:30AM flight (TN).

As far as meals, ugh. Our 3yo is in the worst stage. We can't do long meals, he gets bored and squirmy and loud. Our biggest parenting fail. This is my biggest fear. I know this is not the french way, but are there any bistro or blackboard type places that might work? Will people gasp in horror if we give him an iPhone to play with?

As far as packing, I'm a 99% flip flops and shorts guy on vacation/non-work, but will bring my khakis and dress shirts and enjoy pretending I have some class. Will do my best to get everyone to pack light, but we will have to bring semi-formal wear for a wedding. I figure one proper suitcase <50lb, two rollaboards, plus a backpack/purse. Kid backpack. We should be able to hold kid on one arm, and still manage all bags for a stretch. I think.

Would love to hear what you think/suggest. I figured the France forum would be better than Travel with Children.

Your posting is loaded and since I have no children I will comment only a couple of things.
1. Flip flops are ok during the day but I think that at night, when you go to a restaurant you will feel a little out of place with them; I would do long trousers and polo shirt or collar shirt; even T-shirts at night are not the routine - at least not in a family restaurant.
2. DO NOT sweat about your 3 year old; the idea that all french children are like little Madeline is out and the new tech savvy 3 year old dominating child is in;
3. iPhone and iPad are totally in these days; nobody will give you a funny look if your child plays on the screen or watches something; I would recommend bringing earphones or a headset so the music/noise does not bother the rest of the crowd.
4. I find that most french restaurants are extremely accommodating to family needs including children, older members and dogs. Many places have children menu or choices for children and push comes to shove 4 days of french fries (or as the french call them - fries) with ketchup and maybe a fried egg on the side is not going to damage your child. Most places have chicken on the menu and there are always salads.
5. I like your choice of Luxembourg gardens (awesome place for any age) and there are also some children activities around the Tour Eiffel. The large department stores has children sections with toys and stuff that your kid may like.
6. There are plenty of McDonald's and other burger and sandwich places.
7. You can either ask to seat outside - so your kids noise blends in with other noises - or ask to seat way at the end of the restaurant so you can "trap" him in that area.
8. Most definitely take a taxi from Gare Nord and back to CDG; you do not want to travel with your child and the suitcases on train, metro etc.... I have seen mini van taxis but I think they seat 3 in the back and one in the front so you may need to do 2 cabs from Gare du Nord.
9. LAST note: Versailles may be boring for your child but you can always do it quickly; the outside gardens will be great to run around and let out steam.

Many thanks, very useful, reassuring.

Have you pre-booked your Tour Eiffel tickets? Standing on a hot day in a 3-4hour long line-up with a child of any age won't be fun so would recommend planning around that by going online to the Eiffel Tower website and buying a ticket for a specific time. The only catch is that has to be done quite far in advance and if you haven't done it already it's likely too late to do so.

I know as I also left it too late but luckily found an organized tour offered by a reputable local firm called Cultival that has created a "behind the scenes" tour (http://www.cultival.fr/en/visites/les-coulisses-de-la-tour-eiffel) of the tower which includes admission and special entry with a bypass of the line up. Whether they have availability for your dates is something to check out as you don't have lots of lead time.

Enjoy the city regardless of what you wind up doing. :)

I think we're giving the Eiffel Tower elevator a pass. No one in the groups seems interested (we've heard too many negative experiences with the lines).

Looks like a good plan. I will say that Luxembourg Gardens are a must for anyone. I was surprise how much I enjoyed it when I went.

I think we're giving the Eiffel Tower elevator a pass. No one in the groups seems interested (we've heard too many negative experiences with the lines).

Oh as you'd mentioned it in day #2 wasn't sure if you meant just visit it or go up it so assumed the latter. A walk around the Champ De Mars will be plesant enough on a warm summer day. :)

Oh as you'd mentioned it in day #2 wasn't sure if you meant just visit it or go up it so assumed the latter. A walk around the Champ De Mars will be plesant enough on a warm summer day. :)
I absolutely loved walking up as far as they'd let you, when I visited as a student. Barely broke a sweat. That would not be the case today....Thanks for the tip about the tour provider.

Not sure if you were looking for specific restaurants, but I asked a similar question in another thread and was given these two local "chains" (used loosely) that cater to families:

http://www.chezclement.com/index.html
http://www.bistroromain.fr/index.htm <---Some of the locations have pizza

Cheers.

I think we're giving the Eiffel Tower elevator a pass. No one in the groups seems interested (we've heard too many negative experiences with the lines).
Well, that's ok! You can go up L'arc de triomphe, and you'll get a fantastic view of the city! I'm sure you can carry the 3 year old up for the climb :)

If you're climbing up l'arc, no need to also climb Notre Dame. The height is fairly similar, and your view at Notre dame is constrained, whereas you can see 360 around L'arc de triomphe.

I have seen van taxis at Gare du Nord. Just get in queue and they'll, hopefully, be able to accommodate you all. It's just like at CDG. Hope you get lucky and are able to get one.

Bobette

Thanks for the tips. On our way to London tonight, praying for sleep on the plane.

As far as meals, ugh. Our 3yo is in the worst stage. We can't do long meals, he gets bored and squirmy and loud. Our biggest parenting fail. This is my biggest fear.

This is not a parenting fail, I raised two boys and they were both exactly as you describe at restaurants when they each were 3. Four was much better as they both settled down when dining out.