When it's raining, freezing or too dark by dinnertime to stay at the playground, these are the places that let kids use up their energy under a roof. Some are built for toddlers, with ball pits and soft play; others suit older kids who want to boulder, bounce, race karts or skate. Here's what we checked, from pirate soft play to a glass-roofed ice rink.
Seven Squares is a 5,000m² indoor leisure center inside the Boom Boom Villette mall, next to the Cité des Sciences. Its pirate-themed soft play, L'Île de Tortuga, has a separate toddler area with ball pits and foam blocks, and a big-kid maze of slides, tunnels, a pirate ship and a kart track.
Older kids can move on to the trampoline park, bowling, laser game, VR and the arcade.
Hapik is a fun-climbing hall inside the Centre sportif et culturel Camille Muffat. The walls are colorful themed challenges rather than standard routes, each with an auto-belay rope, so kids climb on their own with no experience.
There is also an indoor ropes course in via ferrata style, a leap-of-faith jump, bamboo poles and an interactive climbing game, plus a snack bar.
A bouldering gym at the foot of Montmartre, a few steps from Montmartre Cemetery, with more than 12 problems at each grade and routes reset all the time. Kids from 3 to 12 get their own area of colorful walls, while teens climb the adult sectors.
Classes, school-holiday camps and climbing birthday parties run year-round, and the Cantine restaurant on site serves seasonal dishes with vegetarian options.
Arkose Chevaleret is a bouldering gym with more than 1,000 m² of short walls climbed without ropes over thick mats, plus a warm-up area and a sauna. Routes are reset continuously and set for every level.
Younger climbers get a separate kids space with easier boulders, and teens have their own walls before moving on to the adult areas. The Cantine restaurant has a terrace for parents waiting.
The largest bouldering and roped-climbing gym in the capital, spread over 4,000 m². Kids can boulder on walls up to 4 meters high over thick mats with no harness, or tie in on roped walls around 10 meters high.
Instructors run a climbing school, family sessions and school-holiday programs. A café-bar serves light meals, and a separate studio hosts yoga.
An indoor play park built around giant soft-play structures, heated in winter and air-conditioned in summer. Under-4s get their own area with a motor-skills course, a ball pit and a slide.
Older kids get tunnel slides, a sled run, monkey bridges, mini motorbikes, giant Lego, a multisport court, a zip line and a small disco. Parents stay to supervise, with a snack corner and free Wi-Fi.
Smile World Bercy 2 fills 4,000 m² on the top floor of the Bercy 2 shopping center with an indoor karting track, a trampoline park, a laser game maze, arcade games and private karaoke rooms. It is the only Smile World with karting and trampolines.
Kids can book one activity or combine a few, and a bar serves pizzas and sharing boards between sessions.
Bowling Mouffetard has eight bowling lanes plus billiard tables, on Rue Mouffetard, the old market street of the Latin Quarter. Shoes and balls come with each game, and socks are required (disposable ones are handed out).
Weekend mornings and weekday afternoons draw families. Evenings, especially Friday to Sunday, turn into a grown-up night out with no bookings taken.
An 800 m² ice rink under a glass roof, inside the Espace Sportif Pailleron a few streets from the Buttes-Chaumont park. Most of its ice time goes to public sessions rather than clubs, with music playing over the ice.
A rest area sits beside the rink, and a walkway and stands around it let parents watch from off the ice. Skates and helmets are for hire at the desk.
When it's raining, freezing or too dark by dinnertime to stay at the playground, these are the places that let kids use up their energy under a roof. Some are built for toddlers, with ball pits and soft play; others suit older kids who want to boulder, bounce, race karts or skate. Here's what we checked, from pirate soft play to a glass-roofed ice rink.
Seven Squares is a 5,000m² indoor leisure center inside the Boom Boom Villette mall, next to the Cité des Sciences. Its pirate-themed soft play, L'Île de Tortuga, has a separate toddler area with ball pits and foam blocks, and a big-kid maze of slides, tunnels, a pirate ship and a kart track.
Older kids can move on to the trampoline park, bowling, laser game, VR and the arcade.
Hapik is a fun-climbing hall inside the Centre sportif et culturel Camille Muffat. The walls are colorful themed challenges rather than standard routes, each with an auto-belay rope, so kids climb on their own with no experience.
There is also an indoor ropes course in via ferrata style, a leap-of-faith jump, bamboo poles and an interactive climbing game, plus a snack bar.
A bouldering gym at the foot of Montmartre, a few steps from Montmartre Cemetery, with more than 12 problems at each grade and routes reset all the time. Kids from 3 to 12 get their own area of colorful walls, while teens climb the adult sectors.
Classes, school-holiday camps and climbing birthday parties run year-round, and the Cantine restaurant on site serves seasonal dishes with vegetarian options.
Arkose Chevaleret is a bouldering gym with more than 1,000 m² of short walls climbed without ropes over thick mats, plus a warm-up area and a sauna. Routes are reset continuously and set for every level.
Younger climbers get a separate kids space with easier boulders, and teens have their own walls before moving on to the adult areas. The Cantine restaurant has a terrace for parents waiting.
The largest bouldering and roped-climbing gym in the capital, spread over 4,000 m². Kids can boulder on walls up to 4 meters high over thick mats with no harness, or tie in on roped walls around 10 meters high.
Instructors run a climbing school, family sessions and school-holiday programs. A café-bar serves light meals, and a separate studio hosts yoga.
An indoor play park built around giant soft-play structures, heated in winter and air-conditioned in summer. Under-4s get their own area with a motor-skills course, a ball pit and a slide.
Older kids get tunnel slides, a sled run, monkey bridges, mini motorbikes, giant Lego, a multisport court, a zip line and a small disco. Parents stay to supervise, with a snack corner and free Wi-Fi.
Smile World Bercy 2 fills 4,000 m² on the top floor of the Bercy 2 shopping center with an indoor karting track, a trampoline park, a laser game maze, arcade games and private karaoke rooms. It is the only Smile World with karting and trampolines.
Kids can book one activity or combine a few, and a bar serves pizzas and sharing boards between sessions.
Bowling Mouffetard has eight bowling lanes plus billiard tables, on Rue Mouffetard, the old market street of the Latin Quarter. Shoes and balls come with each game, and socks are required (disposable ones are handed out).
Weekend mornings and weekday afternoons draw families. Evenings, especially Friday to Sunday, turn into a grown-up night out with no bookings taken.
An 800 m² ice rink under a glass roof, inside the Espace Sportif Pailleron a few streets from the Buttes-Chaumont park. Most of its ice time goes to public sessions rather than clubs, with music playing over the ice.
A rest area sits beside the rink, and a walkway and stands around it let parents watch from off the ice. Skates and helmets are for hire at the desk.
