The extended family adventure hunting for animals across central Paris! From sea gods at Place de la Concorde to big cats in the Tuileries, monster masks on Pont Neuf, gargoyles at Notre-Dame, and guardian lions at Hôtel de Ville – with stories, legends and spotting games at every stop.
This route has 9 stops.
🐚 Start at Place de la Concorde: Sea Creatures & Fountains! The two monumental fountains are covered in sea creatures: tritons, sea nymphs, fish and sea horses. They celebrate France's rivers and oceans in a theatrical 19th-century way.\n\n👀 WHAT TO SPOT (kids):\n• Count how many fish or sea creatures in one fountain\n• Can you find a sea horse?\n• Which statue looks like it could come to life at night?
🦁 Enter the Tuileries Garden: Lions & Big Cats! Bronze big cats guard the paths: lions, tigers, sometimes in dramatic poses. Made in the 19th century when animal sculptors tried to show animals as realistically as possible – they drew real animals at the Jardin des Plantes!\n\n👀 WHAT TO SPOT (kids):\n• Find a lion that looks ready to jump\n• Find a big cat that looks relaxed\n• Which one would you not want to meet in real life?
🦅 Look up at the Louvre Facades: The Palace Bestiary! Among the columns and statues, animals everywhere – eagles, horses and fantasy creatures. Many added under the kings to show royal power, victory and virtues like courage. The walls are like a secret code!\n\n👀 WHAT TO SPOT (kids):\n• One animal with wings and one with hooves\n• An animal alone and one in a group\n• Ask: "If this animal could protect the palace, what would it do?"
🐀 Discover Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois: Rats, Gargoyles & Creatures! Opposite the Louvre, this church hides a "boule aux rats" – a stone ball covered in sculpted rats high on the facade! Nobody knows why they were carved there. The pinnacles are full of gargoyles and hybrid creatures.\n\n👀 WHAT TO SPOT (kids):\n• Try to spot any animal in the stone (rat, monster, bird)\n• How many gargoyles from the front?\n• Question: "Why would someone carve rats on a church?"
👹 Cross Pont Neuf: Monster Faces over the Seine! Almost 380 sculpted faces – "mascarons" – stare at the river. Some look human, others are forest spirits, satyrs or monsters. In the 17th century they amused passers-by and protected the bridge!\n\n👀 WHAT TO SPOT (kids):\n• Choose your favourite monster face and describe it\n• Find the angriest face and the funniest face\n• Imagine: "If this mascaron could speak, what would it say about the boats?"
🦆 Rest at Square du Vert-Galant: Real River Life! At the tip of Île de la Cité, almost at water level. After stone creatures, see real urban wildlife: ducks, swans, pigeons, cormorants, fish under the surface. The Seine is now protected and animals have slowly returned!\n\n👀 WHAT TO SPOT (kids):\n• One animal on water, one in air, one on land\n• Look for ripples that might be fish\n• Close your eyes: how many animal sounds in 20 seconds?
🐉 Notre-Dame: Gargoyles & Chimeras! The creatures on the towers look like they flew from a storybook: some are gargoyles (real rain pipes), others are purely decorative chimeras added in the 19th century. They mix wings, claws, horns to create new monsters!\n\n👀 WHAT TO SPOT (kids):\n• A creature guarding the cathedral\n• A creature that looks sad or bored\n• Invent a name and superpower for one chimera!
🐲 Fontaine Saint-Michel: Angels, Dragons & Water! The Archangel Michael fights a dragon above the water, surrounded by winged chimeras that spit water. The whole composition shows "good" defeating "evil" – the dragon is the ultimate dangerous animal!\n\n👀 WHAT TO SPOT (kids):\n• Count the winged creatures\n• Is the dragon scary or theatrical?\n• Ask: "If you could change the dragon into a real animal, which one?"
🦁 End at Hôtel de Ville: Lions on Guard! Two impressive bronze lions by Auguste Cain and Henri-Alfred Jacquemart keep watch. Paris is full of lions – on doors, fountains, bridges – because they symbolize strength, courage and protection. The king of animals guards the city!\n\n👀 WHAT TO SPOT (kids):\n• Which lion looks more calm / more ready to jump?\n• Look around: can you spot other lions (lampposts, facades)?\n• Ask: "If this lion could protect one thing in Paris, what should it be?"