Which city is best? Little Miss Adventures puts historic rivals London and Paris to the kiddie test.

The British and the French have never seen eye to eye and never more so than now following London’s claims that it toppled Paris as the number one city in 2013. But there’s no doubt that a successful Olympic Games the year before, July’s heatwave conditions, a home grown Wimbledon champion and a bonny royal baby all added to the English capital’s allure. Battling through the summer crowds in both cities that same year was our little family – my two daughters, their grandad and I – keen to see first-hand the famous landmarks written about in books and talked about on TV. It turned out that both cities made a big impression on the little ones.

London

London’s narrow streets, its quirky blend of old and new architecture, bright red double decker buses and post boxes drew eager attention as our train left Heathrow and eventually pulled into Paddington Station. Dragging our suitcases behind us we appeared as lost as a little bear from Peru as we searched for the exit which would take us to our nearby hotel. And it was here we actually came upon one of our favourite storybook (and now film) heroes, albeit his statue in bronze, sitting on his well-travelled suitcase beside an escalator which took us up to a shop with shelves overflowing with cuddlier versions of the marmalade-loving bear in his familiar red felt hat, blue duffle coat and Wellington boots.

After being cooped up for 18 hours on a plane, a walk through Kensington and Hyde Park gardens was the perfect way to stretch our legs and tick off a few more famous landmarks on our first day. Two of eight royal parks in the city, we traced the banks of the Serpentine Lake where we met a family of swans amongst the picnickers and horse riders. Kensington Gardens is home to the Peter Pan statue and where you’ll also find the Princess Diana Memorial Playground with its popular pirate ship. We eventually found ourselves under the immense bony shadow of a Diplodocus at London’s Natural History Museum. From walking with dinosaurs and digging up fossils to retracing the footsteps of man and understanding how life on earth began, adults and children alike will find the labyrinth of science and natural history exhibits mesmerizing. With entry to the permanent exhibits free you’ll be tempted back again and again as long as time permits. The Big Bus Tour gave us a chance to learn about the city as we later explored, plus we could also hop on and off at leisure to venture beyond the major roads – to watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace for instance or part with pocket money over seven floors of Hamley’s Toy Store on Regent Street. While she’s never read JK Rowling book or seen a Harry Potter film (yet), the boy wizard’s collection of wands quickly caught Miss Seven’s eye. “Do they work?” she whispered.

Our multi-day bus ticket also included a boat trip along the Thames River which took us passed Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre on our way to the Tower of London. Surprisingly, my daughters found the former riverside palace and prison’s gruesome history highly entertaining, but (not surprisingly) nothing quite captured their imaginations as much as the sparkly crown jewels on display. Dress ups have never been the same at our house.

 As well as a traditional high tea experience (enjoyed at department store Harrods) no trip is complete without a ride one of the world’s largest Ferris wheels. Situated on the South Bank, we soared high above the city on The London Eye – taking in the views of Parliament House as Big Ben chimed in one direction and as far as the freshly painted London Bridge they’d sung about at Kindy in the other.

 Before leaving London we squeezed in a visit to Legoland (in Windsor on the city’s outskirts), but left wishing we’d allowed ourselves more time.

Paris

Renowned as the world capital of high fashion and food Paris proved just as popular with my kids, especially Miss Seven who has just started learning French.

The heat and crowds didn’t deter us from conquering the summit of the city’s most famous icon, the Eiffel Tower. And we did it the hard (and most fun) way – tackling the stairs to the second level to avoid the longest queues for the lifts before taking the elevator the rest of the way up to see the famed city in all its well-deserved glory. A carousel ride (they are dotted all over the city) provided the first night’s thrills but a visit to Disneyland Paris – a 30-minute train ride away – was high on our agenda. Celebrating 20 years, it was as expected, a big hit with my little princesses. I wasn’t so impressed however;  having been to the original (and much bigger) Disneyland in California we noticed marked differences in the cleanliness, service and the quality of the rides. The girls couldn’t go on their favourite Space Mountain ride because they weren’t tall enough according to French law. Mechanical problems also plagued our visit – creating longer queues than normal on those that did work. To add to our misfortune an approaching thunderstorm (which never eventuated) shut down all the best rides for over an hour.

Summer queues were unavoidable even at the royal palace and gardens in Versailles but the girls killed time in line singing their favourite Barbie songs. Their impromptu busking earned them eight euros from an entertained crowd which they happily spent on souvenirs inside. This trip also proved an invaluable introduction to French history for Miss Seven who found herself discussing the demise of the monarchy during the French Revolution at school a month later. “Not more head chopping” quipped Miss Five, with tales from London’s Tower visit still fresh in her mind.

At the 850-year-old Notre Dame cathedral we hunted for a legendary hunchback and marvelled at the grotesque faces of the gargoyles; we tasted snails in the artist district of Montmartre and played beach games along the Seine. Sand is dumped along a section of the riverbank near the Louvre during the summer months to create the ‘Paris Plage’ complete with deck chairs and umbrellas for hire. We also found a water play area and sandy creche for the kids, plus eateries, musicians and ice cream vendors. Popular with both locals and tourists alike it’s a cool way to experience city life.

Often overlooked by visitors (which it shouldn’t be) is Paris’ Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie which houses a Planetarium, la Geode (domed Imax theatre) and Cité des Enfants – an excellent interactive museum for children from two to 10 years and over which teaches them about the natural and hi-tech world around them. A visit here and a walk from the Arc de Triomphe war memorial down the Champs Elysees (while browsing in the designer shops) completed our visit to the French capital.