Children centered activities in Normandy
 

Hi all, am heading to Lisieux in France for a week with my sister and her 3 children, ages 5, 8 and 14. We have planed a day in Paris (with the help of this board). We will be staying with my wife's parents in Lisieux, Normandy for the week. While my in-laws they know the area well, they would not necessarily know kid centered activities.

I know that it is a long shot - but is there anyone out there who knows of places to visit or things to do in the area that would keep the age group mentioned occupied? Anybody holiday there with kids? Anyone live there with kids?

Many thanks in advance - all advice welcome.

I do believe children live in Normandy. :)

When we were there, seven years ago, we stayed in a B&B where two families (a total of five kids) spent the week.

My experience was before my children, but if I were to go again with my kids, I would visit: the WW2 museum in Caen, Point de Hoc (open area with huge craters and a few barracks) and spend a day at the beach. Mont St. Michelle is another idea.

Good luck!
~M

Mont. St. Michel, without a doubt the higlight of the Normandy portion of a trip we took w/ our four when they were between ages 6 and 17. They started yelling "HOGWARTS" as we approached. We splurged and stayed overnight. Walking around MSM at night when there are very few people around is amazing. The also liked the Peace Museum, The American Cemetery, and the tapestry at Bayeau. In Brittany we did a few boat rides (river trips) and I imagine you might find that in Normandy as well. Also, I feel like we saw a castle....but the name is escaping me. Somewhere near our home base of Bayeaux.

You could try some of these:


http://normandy.angloinfo.com/af/281...-for-kids.html


http://www.france4families.com/Norma...sFestyland.htm


You are near Deauville which has nice beaches. A little north of that is Honfleur which is a very scenic port town with a small museum. Bayeux is not too far away, the other side of Caen. Mont St Michael is quite a distance away and the roads are single lane each way and busy. The old capital of France, Rouen isn't that far away and has a fair bit to see, including scenic buildings, churches, museums and an art gallery.

Lisieux has a railway line.

I just returned from a week in Paris with my kids. They had a great time playing at the local playgrounds because in their opinion, the French have cooler playground equipment. Look for local playgrounds near where you will be staying. We just happened upon many in Paris, and I'm sure the kids in Normandy have some too. :)

Not in Normandy, but on your way to Paris, you might come close to Futuroscope Poitiers, my very favourite park ever. It deserves one full day.

We took our kids to Normandy a few times when they were in that age range and didn't plan anything particularly "kid-centered" for them (except Futuroscope, which is great, if you're fluent in French), yet we had a great time on every trip. We went to local festivals, visited the WWII sites, spent time on the beach, watched the fishing boats come in early in the morning in Honfleur, visited a couple of cheesemakers we came across as we were driving on back roads, saw the Bayeux tapestry and roamed all over Angers and Saumur. They ran into other kids sometimes and played, for example at a wonderful fountain in Saumur on a hot day. We kept our eyes out for the ubiquitous posters advertising circuses and musical events and such and when they looked like fun, went to them.

You could go online at www.whatsonwhen.com and see if there's anything appealing happening during your stay.

Thank you everyone for your ideas. Not having children myself, it is a little daunting thinking about entertaining 3 kids (they are really great kids by the way) for a week. It will be good to put a smile on their faces again. Many thanks.