Center Parcs France

[ciderfromeleven]

Has anyone been to Center Parcs in France? Do they work in a similar way to the ones in the UK?

I have family near the Loire valley and considering combining a trip to see them with something else over Easter.

Looking at a map Les Haute De Bruyeres and Le Bois Aux Daims look the best location for us (we'd get the ferry over to Caen so wouldn't go near enough Paris for the one nearest Paris).

Any and all tips/advice welcome!

We've been to the Villages Nature Center Parcs (close to Paris) in half term for the past 2 years. (given it's less than half the price of CP in the UK for a longer break). The overall look and set up is pretty much the same as CP at home - easy to check in, arrive any time, park up and use all facilities until your lodge/apartment is available. (Village Nature is mostly apartments rather than lodges, but all have terraces or balconies). Everything is booked via an app so no issues with language if you don't speak too much French. There seem to be far more free activities available than on UK sites- especially for younger children. We managed to get away with hiring bikes (again cheaper than the UK and easy to do once you're there - helmets for kids are free and bike locks are provided) and spend all day in the swimming pools/farm/huge indoor soft play/adventure playground in the woods/on the beach etc - not a single paid for activity, where as in the UK, there's not really anything to do without paying out. Getting a take-away from an onsite restaurant was a mission - I just couldn't figure out how to order without joining in the huge queue for those wanting to eat in - and restaurants opened on a slightly bizarre timetable with one which was only open at lunchtime and others only later at night, but nothing which couldn't be navigated with a bit of planning ahead (the second time around we had it sussed and did a shop at the local hypermarket and then ate in most of the time). Wifi was free in the accommodation and strong enough for us to watch films, but bring a laptop or Prime stick or you're limited to BBC News on the TV... When you book, download the CP app and everything is managed / booked from there. I found it great with kids - very safe, loads to do, and driving in France is easy as there's so little on the roads. I'm currently looking at booking for this year - Villages Nature is crazily more expensive than last year (possibly school holidays clash) so am looking at Le Bois instead which is older and doesn't have quite such great reviews, but a third of the price (and almost £1000 less than Elveden!) and I'm happy to give it a go!