French road trip with kids

[blondie87]

Good evening,

All this stormy weather is starting to make me think towards sunnier climes! Next summer we are looking to travel through France for two weeks, either ending or starting with a week in the Alps.

We have three primary aged children who are used to long car journeys. We would love to explore different parts of France as part of the trip. The children are adventurous and active, so we are looking for inspiration of interesting places to see and stay. If anyone has been somewhere fabulous and family-friendly in France then we’d love to hear about it! Or if there’s an awesome itinerary that can be shared, that would also be great. TIA.

For many years we holidayed in France with our children. Places we liked were:

Brittany, although very popular with Brits in the summer.
The Vendee, around Trinity Sur Mere and La Rochelle
One year we drove down the East side to Vias on the Med stayed and then drove back up the West side.
Having said that we had several lovely holidays in Normandy, which is much closer.

Can't rate Les Arcs in the French alps highly enough- awesome in Summer!

Thank you! We will explore options for Normandy I think. Had a look and Les Arcs looks brilliant!

A few ideas, we loved the Auvergne and it's a beautiful area, not many non-French people visit there and it can be a bit more expensive than other areas.

You could also swing by Guedelon castle which is near Treigny in northern Burgundy.

This would be a trek from the Alps but Puy du fou is amazing.

I loved the Alsace- quite a different area.

Normandy is also great for the history.

We loved the Haute Loire with small children. So many castles, forts, river activities etc. Fewer foreign tourists too.

I spent all my childhood holidays in the alps. Les Arc is fab, as is Bourg St Maurice. We also stayed in Chamonix and Megève too. Both beautiful. And have a day trip over to Italy or in to Switzerland too!

We also spent a lot of time in the Vendée and the auvergne and they both have a lot to offer. Charente is a much underrated area imho. Aw I'm all nostalgic now. Have a lovely
Time.

We've explored a bit (every year but it's such a vast country) and we all absolutely adored the Dordogne. Castles and caves and swimming in the rivers. Bliss

Thank you for all the inspiration. Husband and I will get a map out and start planning. This has been super helpful!

Ooh we are planning similar this year.
looking at Alps or possibly the Ardeche. Kids are 8 and 10 so following.

or west coast near La Rochelle but best way to that is the Saint Malo ferry which is great but very expensive

we are going to detour to Disneyland for 2/3 days on the way back. Probably taking the euorotunnel.