Recommend me a 3-4 hour amusement roughly between Poitiers and Rouen??

[Lovage]

Something we can do to break up the long boring drive home. DC are 8 and 5. Not waterparks because we are planning not to take speedos.

Any suggestions?

You don't say where you are starting your journey but Futuroscope which is near Potiers would get my vote.

So around Le Mans? half way? there is the 24h auto museum?
Can you read French? here

Sorry bad phrasing, anywhere between about Poitiers and Rouen, it doesn't have to be half-way. We are staying about an hour south of Poitiers and need to end up in Rouen by the adults' bedtime, so there are lots of possibilities, which is part of my trouble - so many nice places we could go! I was just wondering if anyone had somewhere they really rated.

pushka2 I had concluded the kids were probably a bit young (and non-French speaking) to really enjoy Futuroscope but I could be wrong - would be interested to hear if you have taken similarly young non-French-speaking kids and they had loved it. Also it looks a bit pricey... But worth it if is that great.

Thanks LeMA I can read enough French for that - the list of gardens looks promising.

Aha, I am beginning to have an idea, which is basically a French version of a National Trust place - a castle or something interesting for the adults to look at, with some grounds the kids can let off steam in.

But the usual plague of French stately homes is striking - lots only let you do guided tours, and that just doesn't work with my kids (or me), they (and I) want to go at their own pace. Château de Carrouges looked perfect (a moated castle with gardens) but it's guided tours in French only. I also found some lovely looking gardens www.mansoniere.fr/spip.php?rubrique3&lang=en but they ask that you keep children restrained and while mine are pretty well-behaved, I think somewhere they can rush about and roll down slopes and so on would work much better, mid-journey.

So, narrowing it down a bit, does anyone happen to know of a kid-friendly garden or a castle/stately home that allows you to wander at will, in this kind of location?

You better stop around Tours then the Sarthre is quite boring and desolated. Tourraine is great so many castle and wine around.
Villandry?
Azay le rideau?
Tours itself?
If you can do a little detour: may be Angers if I remember correctly the castle is great for children and there are deers in the park.

Amboise might be a bit far away again but that is where Leonardo da Vinci ended up and there is a museum with some of his inventions.
le clos Luce. Actually "le clos Lucé" might be the best for the 8 yo. I know DD1(9) would be fascinated DD2(4) just follows her sister everywhere

Chenonceau?

Great thanks, will investigate those.

Great, Villandry it is. Thanks so much LeMA. DP and I went there years ago, pre-kids, and loved it and it's just the kind of thing we will all enjoy. Also under 8s are free so it's cheap for us (altho DS1 will have turned 8 the previous week, damn it).

Hope you all like it I haven't been for years!!