France is a paradise for families with something and somewhere to please everyone.
Whether you’re looking for a gentle first holiday with a baby or your children are at the difficult to please stage, you’ll find France is diverse enough for the ideal holiday for all. Read on for tips and ideas on making your holiday child friendly and relaxing too.
Family holidays in France with babies and young children
France has many regions and destinations which are ideal for families with young children, toddlers and babies. Top locations for self-catering family holidays with young children include north west France, especially Normandy and Brittany. Popular for their wide sandy beaches, unspoiled seaside towns and glorious countryside, there’s plenty to keep the whole family happy all day.
Charente-Maritime is also a fabulous place for seaside holidays. Lots of sunshine but not as hot or as busy as the Mediterranean, which when you have young ones, is likely to be a good thing. All along the Atlantic Coast you’ll find great seaside towns where there’s loads of water sports and traffic free cycle paths.
Family self-catering holidays in France with young children can make life much easier. For one, you don’t have to worry about being out of your hotel room at a certain time. And you can cook the meals your kids like – France is famous for its marvellous markets so there’s plenty of choice for buying fresh, local produce. And the supermarkets are fabulous! But if you do want to eat out, children are welcomed in restaurants throughout France which makes for a holiday that’s just as relaxing for the kids, as it is for you.
Family holidays in France with teenagers
It’s not always easy to please teenagers but, a big, rambling country house where the whole family can relax is ideal. Especially if it has a swimming pool, garden, and satellite TV and Wi-Fi for those all important social media updates. Whether your teen loves beach holidays, city breaks, history and culture, street art or sports – there really is a massive choice in France.
Theme parks are also great for kids and teens and there are several outstanding parks in France, where you can easily stay a day or more. The biggest and most famous park in France is Disneyland® Paris. But for something different, multimedia technology-based Parc du Futuroscope in Poitiers is superb. Very unusual and very high tech – it’s futuristic and fabulous. The historical Puy du Fou, in the Vendée, is multi award winning, including the title of best theme park in the world in 2012. There’s nowhere else quite like it with 1200 actors and a 23 hectare stage – expect to meet Romans, Vikings and dinosaurs among much else. It’s absolutely outstanding.
Activities for kids
From skiing to cycling, hiking, kayaking and water sports – in the wide open spaces, mountains, rivers, beaches and canals – you’ll find a sport or activity to suit every child.
There are museums galore, chateaux, galleries and historic cities. And we haven’t even mentioned the food! Kids love to be able to pop to the boulangerie to fetch freshly baked croissants for breakfast, a crunch baguette for a picnic, and to shop for food for a barbecue. Whether you cook for yourselves at your self-catering holiday home or indulge in a restaurant or authentic café – eating in France is a cultural experience in itself.
