We are planning to spend 3 weeks in France this June and are interested in recommendations for where to visit. We have a 4 and 2 year old and ideally would be choosing a small city or town to stay in, with possibly a few overnight trips during that time. My husband will likely be working remotely for a week of our trip so I'm particularly interested in a place that is easy to be out and about with little ones. Maybe a good library or museum in the area, preferably very walkable and I hope to expand my beginner French vocabulary. We're currently looking at Avignon, Arles, Marseilles, Aix-en-Provence. Thanks for the help!
Posted by
SoCal
1144 posts
Orleans is a lovely city with plenty of recreation opportunities for you and the kiddos along the Loire River, which is crystal clear at that location. Extremely walkable. Not much in the way of museums, though.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10629 posts
I have had experience with my children in Paris, small cities, and even a village in France where their grandparents lived. And I know that you are thinking in terms of peace and tranquility when asking for a small city or town, but frankly, I think Paris is the best place. There is an abundance of parks, playgrounds, and museums that could interest a 4 year old and benefit a 2 year old. What isn't within walking distance is easily reachable by public transportation. You can find a few English-language bookstores but I'm not sure if there are any English-language libraries nowadays.
Since you are looking in the south and I am familiar with these four towns, I would opt for Aix, but since I didn't raise my children there, I can't tell you about the quantity or quality of the playgrounds and public transportation to get them outside your neighborhood. I know that my own city in the south seems to me to be a bit limited for the little ones. Despite having the second largest pedestrian historic center in France, there's not much for children. They aren't going to browse shops and sit around cafés. Instead, people take their children to the small neighborhood playgrounds. I can't think of any museums for children in my city, or Aix, Marseille, Avignon or Arles.
With all this in mind, Paris has the most variety, parks large and small, and many different museums for little ones.
Posted by
1056 posts
I am in agreement with Bets. There are many parks in Paris that children can also enjoy and run around in, such as Parc Monceau, Coulée Verte (above the city), Luxembourg Garden to see the turtle fountain, etc. I haven't visited Bois de Vincennes, but it looks quite large.
There is the American Library in Paris which has many books in English for children. I haven't been, yet, but we will go when we are back in Paris in May. I learned about it when I read The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles. It is based on a true story of how the library helped servicemen during WWII. I have to see it!
When my children were 5 and 2, we spent the summer in Oxford while my husband worked at JET. I know how important those parks were and Oxford had nothing compared to Paris for spaces to just run safely away from traffic!